General Choi Hong Hi was born on November 9th 1918, in the Hwa Dae Myong Chun District of Korea. At the age of twelve he started to study Taek Kyon, an ancient Korean method of fighting with the feet. Later when he was studying in Japan, he met a karate teacher, who helped him to earn his first degree black belt. He then intensified his training, striving to earn his second degree. Around the same time he started teaching. Conscripted to the Japanese army during world war two, he was posted to Pyongyong, where he was imprisoned. Wanting to maintain his good physical and mental health during his imprisonment, he practised karate, alone at first, then by teaching it to the staff and the prisoners. Becoming an officer in the new Korean Army after the end of the war, he continued to teach his martial art to his soldiers. His beliefs and his vision of a different approach to teaching martial arts led to General Choi to combine elements of Taek Kyon and karate techniques to develop a modern martial art. He named this new martial art Tae Kwon Do, which means" the way of the feet and the hands". This name was officially adopted on April 11th 1955. In 1959, General Choi was named President of the Korean Taekwon-do Association. Seven years later, on March 22nd 1966, he created the International Taekwon-do Federation(ITF). As the founder of Taekwon-do and the president of the ITF, he had the ability to share his art with the students everywhere. Today, Taekwon-do training is available around the world. After a life dedicated to the development of Taekwon-do, a modern martial art based on traditional values, philosophy and training, General Choi, Founder of Taekwon-do and President of the International Taekwon-do Federation, died of cancer on June 15th 2002, in the country of his birth.
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