Interviewing General Choi Hong Hi the 75-year-old founder of Tae Kwon Do, is no easy task. Despite his age, he’s constantly traveling around the world teaching his global network of instructors in his International Taekwon-do Federation. The author was able to land the following brief interview with General Choi while in Kuala Terennganu, Malaysi
a, photographing the 9th ITF World Championships.
By Susan Richards, 1st Dan, owns and operates ARA Tae Kwon Do in Dover, Delaware USA
General Choi Hong Hi is, at the age of 75, the president of the International Taekwon-do Federation (ITF). General Choi is recognized by many aficionados as the founder of the art of Tae Kwon Do and has dedicated his life to teaching it. With a travel schedule that would exhaust a man half his age, he travels the globe giving seminars and promoting his art.
Born in Korea in 1918, the General has live a fascinating life with an outstanding military career that could compose a book in itself. “The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do,” a fifteen volume work written by the General Choi, is considered a technical masterpiece.
This is the first interview Gen. Choi has granted in some time. Assitin in the interview is Master Rhee Ki Ha, 8th Dan and Vice President of the ITF. Master Rhee is a pioneer of Tae Kwon Do in Great Britain and Singapore. Also assitin are Master Choi Jung Hwa, Gen. Choi’s son and the ITF Under Secretary of General Planning; and Master Tom MacCallum, ITF Under Secretary General.
Susan Richards: You are recogninedas the father of Tae Kwon Do. How many countries are in the Tae Kwon Do family now?
General Choi Hong Hi: Well, I’m a big father! I have over 40 million of my sons and daughter worldwide [are] under the banner of the ITF. It’s a big family! We are a family organization for the first time in human history, You cannot find a stronger organization.
Susan Richards: Tell us about the people in the permanent administrative part of the ITF?
General Choi Hong Hi: They are a very small number of people that do so many things. Their brains are like computers, I am very proud of them.
Susan Richards: There has been a rumor that you will be moving the ITF administration from Austria to Canada . Is this true?
General Choi Hong Hi: Someday the [ITF] congress will discuss this. I don’t know. I hope someday to have enough money to move the entire staff.
Susan Richards: Today, many women and children are training in Tae Kwon Do. How do you feel about this?
General Choi Hong Hi: That is very nice. I always say, if a women wants to train in Tae Kwon Do to be beautiful and to show a nice figure and get the admiration of her husband I say try it. Children eventually become old. When they are young, they learn very fact. They can become champions of freedom and justice. Not only that, but they will become wonderful, outstanding instructors, you see. So, we emphasize children.
Susan Richards: At what age would you like to see children start training?
General Choi Hong Hi: Maybe 7 or 8.
Susan Richards: Tell us about your wife.
General Choi Hong Hi: You have to have very strong support from your wife. If your wife disagrees [with what you are doing], you can’t spread Tae Kwon D0. Lucky for Tae Kwon Do, I have a very beautiful, good and helpful wife. So,I advise all wives, please help your husbands like General Choi’s wife does. My wife is much happier staying at home with our six grandchildren. I am annually traveling 365 days per year. For my wife, this would be very tiring. So, I say, may home is in the air. Six rounds of travel around the globe per year. I have to work very hard polishing everything.
Susan Richards: What makes Tae Kwon Do stand out from other martial arts?
General Choi Hong Hi: For the founder, this is very hard to answer. Master Rhee, the Vice President will answer.
Master Rhee Ki Ha: Do you know of any other martial art whose founder is still in the present world? Tae Kwon-Do is the only one. The other martial arts, all they have is history, even some people interpret this differently, so they have different styles. But in Tae Kwon-Do we don’t claim any style, we just follow and improve it. This is a big privilege. Only we can take advantage of our founder still [being] in this world, so we are still learning and improving, progressing and promoting.
Master Choi Jung Hwa: Tae Kwon Do is known for its technical excellence over the other martial arts. Technical excellence meaning constant development and advancement in the arena of the martial arts. Unfortunately, the other arts, although advanced in their period, do not have their founders still on this earth, so their technical development stopped from that time on. Whereas Tae Kwon Do is constantly being improved by the founder himself, which is handed down to us. So Tae Kwon Do is constaing being developed and its excellence is unparalleled.
General Choi Hong Hi: I have not much money, you see, but I have plenty of first-class instructors. In 1955, there was only one Choi Hong Hi. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of General Choi’s, all over the world. First-class instructors, they are. Soldiers as strong as the General that leads them in the right manner. Our standard is that a student can only excel under a qualified instructor. You cannot find a big bamboo in the little field, only is big bamboo in the big bamboo field. So Tae Kwon Do spreads like wildfire all over the world. In 39 years of time, Tae Kwon Do has covered the entire world. In America, there was an argument where to find space for a Tae Kwon Do school. It was big, but still not big enough. So fast it is spreading. [That’s because] Tae Kwon Do people say every movement is designed scientifically so that anyone can learn and teach scientifically very fast. That is the advantage of Tae Kwon Do.
Susan Richards: What do you think of the competitors this year?
General Choi Hong Hi: Improving, but still have more room to develop.
Susan Richards: What makes you happiest about Tae Kwon Do?
General Choi Hong Hi: My dream has become a reality; that is, the utmost fantasy of spreading and teaching Tae Kwon Do regardless of race, religion, nationality, or ideological boundaries. I do not hesitate to say I am the happiest man alive.
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