List of taekwondo practitioners

Choi Hong Hi and Original Twelve Masters of Taekwondo • Choi Hong-hi (Chung Do Kwan → Oh Do Kwan → KTA → ITF) – Founder of International Taekwon-Do Federation. While contested, Choi is still regarded by many as the "Founder of Taekwon-Do". • Nam Tae-hi (Chung Do Kwan → Oh Do Kwan→KTA→ITF) – was a pioneering South Korean master of taekwondo and is known as the "Father of Vietnamese Taekwondo". • Choi Chang-keun (ITF) – began his martial arts training in the South Korean army in 1956, studying taekwondo and karate. Choi taught taekwondo in Malaysia from 1964, and moved to Vancouver, Canada, in 1970. • Han Cha-kyo (Oh Do Kwan → ITF → UTF) – Following a career in the South Korean military, he emigrated to the United States in 1971 with his wife and newborn daughter. After teaching taekwondo for many years in Chicago, he died in 1996. • Kim Jong-chan (ITF) – based in Vancouver, Canada. • Kim Kwang-il (ITF) – contributed to the introduction of taekwondo into West Germany. He was head instructor of the ITF in West Germany, but was relieved of this duty in October 1971. In 1975, Kim was ranked 6th dan. Between 1974 and 1977 Kim had a restaurant in Stuttgart and had completed training as a Brewmeister prior to 1974. • Kong Young-il (ITF) – Following a career in the South Korean military, Kong emigrated to the United States just before or in 1968. In 1973, he held the rank of 7th dan. Park and Choi went their separate ways after Choi insisted on establishing relations with North Korea during a politically sensitive period. • Park Jung-tae (ITF → GTF) – Park moved to Toronto, Canada in 1970. During the 1970s, Park established the Manitoba Tae Kwon-Do Association. In 1975, he was ranked 6th dan. At the time, he was ranked 8th dan in the ITF and in November 1984, Park was elected Secretary-General of the ITF. He also held the position of Technical Chairman of the ITF. Park founded the Global Taekwondo Federation (GTF) on 14 June 1990, the year after his departure from the ITF due to North–South Korean political issues. He created six additional hyung to be practised along with the earlier ITF patterns. Shortly before he died, Park promoted Salleh to 9th dan (GTF). He introduced taekwondo to Italy around 1968. In 1968, he was ranked 5th dan, and in 1975, he was ranked 7th dan. In 2002, he was a member of the arbitration board for the WT's World Cup Taekwondo championship in Tokyo. On 15 February 2004, the Executive Council of the WT elected him as Acting President of the WT following Un-yong Kim's resignation from the presidency of the organisation. He is Vice President (Italy) of the WT. Park was President of the Federazione Italiana Taekwondo (Italian Taekwondo Federation) around 1998, and 2009. • Chong-chul Rhee (KTA → Rhee Taekwondo) – South Korean master of taekwondo who arrived to Australia in the 1960s. He is the founder of Rhee Taekwon-Do, which is widely publicised as Australia's first and biggest taekwondo school. Rhee holds the title 'World Master' and the rank of 8th dan in taekwondo. • Rhee Chong-hyup alias C.H Rhee (KTA → Rhee Taekwondo)– In the mid-1960s, he contributed to the introduction of taekwondo to Malaysia and Singapore. • Rhee Ki-ha (ITF) – widely recognised as the 'Father of British Taekwon-Do' for introducing the martial art to the United Kingdom since arriving in 1967. He is also considered the 'Father of Irish Taekwon-Do'. Other Notable Grandmasters • Sun-hwan Chung alias James Sun-hwan Chung (WT → Moo Sool Do) – one of the highest-ranking Tang Soo Do, Hapkido, and taekwondo grandmasters in the world. He is founder of the Moo Sool Do (Martial Arts United) form of martial arts and is president of the World Academy of Martial Arts, LLC. • Yun Dukan (Moo Duk Kwan → Oh Do Kwan → KTA → ITF → D.A.Yun's TKD) ㅡ South Korean Taekwondo Pioneer and Grandmaster who, with the encouragement of Choi Hong Hi, introduced his style of Taekwon-Do to the United States of America in 1968 and founded the first Taekwon-Do school of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. • Kim Ki-whang (WT) • Sang-chul Lee (WT) • Hong Sung-chon (WT, 9th Dan) – is an early proponent of Taekwondo in the Philippines. He is the vice-president of the Philippine Taekwondo Association. • Sang-kee Paik (WT) • Park Dong-keun (WT) • Park Yeon-hwan (WT) • Tae-hong Choi (WT) • Brenda Sell (WT) • Choi Jung-hwa (ITF) • Robert Howard (martial artist) (ITF) • Frank Massar (ITF) • Tran Trieu Quan (ITF) • Nguyễn Văn Bình (judoka) (ITF) • Haeng Ung Lee (ATA) • Kwang Sung Hwang (ITF → KATU) • Kyongwon Ahn (WT → UTA) • Jhoon Rhee (Chung Do Kwan → ITF → Jhoon Rhee TKD) – South Korean master of taekwondo who is widely recognized as the 'Father of American Taekwondo' for introducing this martial art to the United States since arriving in the 1950s. He was ranked 10th dan. • S. Henry Cho (other) • Hee Il Cho (other) • Kim Pyung-soo (other) • Hwang Jang-Lee (other) ==Olympic medalists==