Hapkido is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. It also teaches the use of traditional weapons, including knife, sword, rope, nunchaku, cane, short stick, and middle-length staff, gun, and bō (Japanese), which vary in emphasis depending on the particular tradition examined.
Choi Yong-sool, alternative spelling Choi Yong-sul, was the founder of the martial art Hapkido. He was born in today's Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea, and was taken to Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea when he was eight years old. Choi later stated that he became a student of Takeda Sōkaku, and studied a form of jujutsu known as Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (大東流合気柔術) while in Japan. This is disputed by some parties, due to the historically acrimonious relationship between Japan and Korea, and lack of clear documentary evidence.
Han Bong-Soo, also known as Bong Soo Han, was a Korean martial artist, author, and the founder of the International Hapkido Federation. He was one of the foremost and recognized practitioners of hapkido through his participation in books, magazine articles, and popular films featuring the martial art. He is often referred to as the "Father of Hapkido" in America.
Jidokwan is one of the original nine schools of the modern Korean martial arts that became Taekwondo and was founded in what is now South Korea at the end of World War II. Its name translates as "School of Wisdom". The Jidokwan in Korea still exists today. It functions as a social fraternal order. Jidokwan supports and endorses the Kukkiwon method of Taekwondo, and supports World Taekwondo.
Korea Taekwondo Association, originally the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (1961), is the first taekwondo organisation. It was founded in 1959, although official South Korean sources give 1961 as its year of establishment. In 1966, some members of the KTA, led by H. H. Choi, broke off from the KTA and formed the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF). The Kukkiwon and the then-World Taekwondo Federation were created by the KTA in the early 1970s. The KTA sits under the Korea Sports Council, is aligned with Kukkiwon, and is a Member National Association (MNA) of the WT. Its goal is to promote the martial art taekwondo as a national sport within South Korea.
Chang Moo Kwan is a Korean martial arts group that was founded by Lee Nam Suk and Kim Soon Bae.
Chung Do Kwan, created by Won Kuk Lee in 1944, is one of the first of nine schools or kwan teaching Tang Soo Do, later the school began to teach what came to be known as taekwondo. This style of Tang Soo Do is known for its overall power and emphasis on kicks to the head.
Kwan in Korean literally means building or hall, but when used in martial arts it can also refer to a school or clan of martial artists who follow the same style and/or leader.
Tae Kwon Do Times is a magazine devoted to the martial art of taekwondo, and is published in the United States of America. While the title suggests that it focuses on taekwondo exclusively, the magazine also covers other Korean martial arts. Tae Kwon Do Times has published articles by a wide range of authors, including He-Young Kimm, Thomas Kurz, Scott Shaw, and Mark Van Schuyver.
Kwon Tae-man was an early Korean hapkido practitioner and a pioneer of the art, first in Korea and then in the United States. He formed one of the earliest dojang's for hapkido in the United States in Torrance, California, and has been featured in many magazine articles promoting the art.
Seo Bok-seob was the first student to study under hapkido founder Choi Yong-sool, with whom he founded the art's first school, the Daehan Hapki Yu Kwon Sool dojang in Daegu, Korea. Moving to Seoul he later became a professor of East Asian medicine and worked for a time at Kyung Hee University.
Hwang Jung-oh is a retired judoka from South Korea, who represented his native country at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. There he won the silver medal in the men's half-lightweight division (–65 kg), after having been defeated by Seoi nage in the final match. He is also the founder of Hwang's Martial Arts.
Park Jung-tae was a South Korean master of taekwondo and a pioneer of that martial art in Canada. He was one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association. Following a career in the South Korean military, Park emigrated to Canada in 1970. He was a key leader in the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) under Choi Hong-hi, but founded the Global Taekwon-Do Federation in 1990 after leaving the ITF. After teaching taekwondo for many years, Park died in 2002.
The original masters of taekwondo is a group of twelve South Korean martial art masters assembled by the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) in the early 1960s to promote the newly established art of taekwondo. In alphabetical order following Korean naming conventions, they are: Choi Chang-keun, Choi Kwang-jo, Han Cha-kyo, Kim Jong-chan, Kim Kwan-il, Kong Young-il, Park Jong-soo, Park Jung-tae, Park Sun-jae, Rhee Chong-chul, Rhee Chong-hyup, and Rhee Ki-ha.
Tae-hong Choi was a grandmaster in taekwondo, winner of multiple martial arts titles and a teacher of thousands of students in Oregon.
Kim Pyung-soo, also known as Kim Soo, is a South Korean taekwondo practitioner.
Sihak Henry Cho was a Korean taekwondo pioneer and instructor with the ranking of 9th dan who is recognized as one of the first people to introduce Asian martial arts into the United States of America. He was the student of Yun Kwei-byung. S. Henry Cho was originally a teacher of Kong Soo Do.
Sun-hwan Chung, also known as James Sun-hwan Chung, is one of the highest-ranking Tang Soo Do, Hapkido, and taekwondo grandmasters in the world. He is founder of the Moo Sool Do form of martial arts and is president of the World Academy of Martial Arts, LLC.
Kim Yun-sik is a South Korean hapkido and taekwondo instructor. He was born in Seoul, Korea in 1943. He is one of the highest ranking hapkido and taekwondo instructors in the world and founder of Bum Moo Kwan Hapkido.
