About Taekwondo

Brief history of Taekwondo:

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art that was founded by the Korean military General Choi, Hong Hi alongside other martial arts masters. The name “Taekwon - Do” was first proposed to a council of masters by General Choi in 1955 . His goal was to create a genuine Korean martial art and give the martial arts that were being taught in Korea at that time a common identity. Taekwon- Do traces its technical roots back to Shotokan Karate, which General Choi studied in Japan during his stay there, and Taekkyon, a Korean folk sport / martial art.

General Choi first taught Taekwon - Do to the 29^th Infantry division of the Korean Army and then spread it into the civilian population and later the world.

In 1965 Gen Choi led a team of 5 masters on a Goodwill tour to introduce Taekwon - Do to the world. One of these masters, Grandmaster Kwon Jae Hwa was the founder of Taekwon - Do in Europe. The HTF derives its lineage from GM Kwon.

Taekwon - Do has spread into many individual factions and systems, but the two main systems remain the ITF (International Taekwondo Federation) and WTF (World Taekwondo Federation). The ITF is the original Taekwondo Organization founded by General Chi Hong Hi in 1966.

The WTF was founded in 1973 and is an Olympic sport.

The HTF (Hawaii Taekwondo Federation) is an independent organization that was founded in 2015 by GM David Ippen in order to preserve and advance Traditional Taekwondo in Hawaii.

The korean word Taekwon -Do means :

Tae - Foot or to kick

Kwon - Fist or to punch

Do - The Way, it refers to the philosophical parts of Taekwon -Do

Taekwon - Do is " The way of the Foot and Hand"