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Choi Hong Hi (최홍희; 崔泓熙; 9 November 1918–15 June 2002), also known as General Choi, was a South Korean army general and martial artist who is a controversial figure in the history of the Korean martial art of taekwondo.[1] Choi is widely regarded as the 'Founder of Taekwondo'—most often by International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) organizations.[1][2][3][4] Others, such as World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) organizations, portray Choi as either an unimportant or dishonorable figure in taekwondo history, whether by omitting him from their versions of taekwondo history[5] or through explicit statements.[6]
[edit] Early lifeChoi was born on 9 November 1918 in Hwa Dae, Myŏngch'ŏn county, in what is now North Korea.[7] Choi's father sent him to study calligraphy under Han Il Dong, who was also "a master of Taek Kyon, the ancient Korean art of foot fighting" (Park, 1993, p. 241).[7] Choi travelled to Japan, where he studied English, mathematics, and karate.[7][8] In Kyoto, he met a fellow Korean with the surname Kim, who was a karate instructor and taught Choi this martial art.[7] Choi also learned shotokan karate under Funakoshi Gichin.[9] Just before he had left Korea, Choi had apparently had a disagreement with a wrestler named Hu, and the possibility of a future confrontation inspired him to train hard; in his own words, "I would imagine that these were the techniques I would use to defend myself against the wrestler, Mr. Hu, if he did attempt to carry out his promise to tear me limb from limb when I eventually returned to Korea" (Park, 1993, p. 242).[7] Choi attained the rank of 1st dan in karate in 1939, and then 2nd dan soon after.[7][2] [edit] Military careerChoi had been forced to serve in the Japanese army during World War II, but was implicated in a rebellion and imprisoned, during which time he continued practicing martial arts. [7] Following the war, in January 1946, Choi was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Korean army.[7] From 1946 to 1951, Choi received promotions to first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and then brigadier general.[7] Choi was promoted to major general in 1954. [edit] TaekwondoChoi stated he combined elements of taekkyeon and karate to develop a martial art that he called "Taekwon-Do" (태권도; 跆拳道), which means "foot, hand, art" or "the art of hand and foot" and it was so named on 11 April 1955.[7][10] Choi founded the Oh Do Kwan, and held an honorary 4th dan ranking in the Chung Do Kwan. Due to accusations of dishonesty, Choi was stripped of his rank and position in the Chung Do Kwan.[6] ITF taekwondo organizations credit Choi with starting the spread of taekwondo internationally by stationing Korean taekwondo instructors around the world,[7] and have consistently claimed that ITF-style taekwondo is the only authentic style of taekwondo, most notably in early sections of its textbooks.[11] He was also the author of the first English taekwondo syllabus book, Taekwon-Do, published by Daeha Publication Company in 1965. ITF Taekwondo is a martial art that was developed by Choi Hong-Hee who himself conducted a good R&D after he had learned taekkyeon and Karate. But, later on, he included 24 different Korean historical training system such as Chunji, Dangun, and Dosan to establish Sine-Wave theory which can be applied to every technique and create his own unique martial art system.[12] In 1972, Choi went into exile in Canada and the South Korean government formed the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) in 1973.[8] He was based in Toronto until he returned to North Korea in 2000. [edit] DeathChoi died from cancer on 15 June 2002 in Pyongyang, North Korea.[8] Choi is listed in the Taekwondo Hall of Fame with various titles: "Founder and First President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation," and "Founder of Oh Do Kwan."[13] Choi was survived by his wife, Choi Joon Hee; his son, Choi Jung Hwa; two daughters, Sunny and Meeyun; and several grandchildren.[8] [edit] See also[edit] Notes^ The spelling of "taekwondo" varies widely in English usage. The WTF and affiliated organizations typically use "taekwondo," while the ITF and affiliated organizations typically use "taekwon-do" (as Choi used this spelling). In Wikipedia, the default spelling is "taekwondo." This article follows this standard, but uses "taekwon-do" when referring specifically to the ITF or affiliated organizations' names. ^ In Park's (1993) article, the note on Choi's promotion to 2nd dan in karate is followed by a note about the outbreak of World War II, which would suggest that Choi's 2nd dan promotion occurred no later than the early stages of that conflict (c. 1939–1940). [edit] References
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