Han Cha-kyo (20 July 1934 – 1996) was a South Korean master of taekwondo,[1][2][3][4] and one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association.[5][6] He held the rank of 9th dan in taekwondo.[2] Following a career in the South Korean military, he emigrated to the United States of America in 1971 with his wife and newborn daughter Nancy Han. He later had another daughter, Catherine Han. After teaching taekwondo for many years in Chicago, he died in 1996.

Han Cha-kyo
Born20 July 1934
Seoul, Korea
Died1996 (aged 61–62)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
StyleTaekwondo
Teacher(s)Won Kuk Lee, Nam Tae Hi, Duk Sung Son, Woon Kyu Um
Rank9th dan taekwondo (UTF), 8th dan taekwondo (ITF)
Websitehttp://utf.whsites.net/

Early life

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Han was born on 20 July 1934 in Seoul, Korea,[3][7] during the period of Japanese occupation. He trained under three martial art masters: Nam Tae Hi, Duk Sung Son, and Woon Kyu Um.[1][3] From 1950 to 1959, Han served as a martial art instructor in the Korean military forces.[1] Through the 1960s, his career continued with both military assignments and leadership of demonstration teams overseas.[1] In 1965, Han was ranked 6th dan.[8]

United States

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In 1971, Han emigrated to the United States of America and settled in Chicago.[1] Together with his brother Han Min Kyo, himself a 9th dan, he developed the Han method and obtained patents for his exercises.[7] He founded the Universal Tae Kwon Do Federation around 1980.[9][a] He had a wife and two daughters who were both trained in Tae Kwon Do by their father. Han died in 1996.[2]

Han appears on Chang Keun Choi's list of taekwondo pioneers.[10]

See also

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Notes

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a. ^ Han's Universal Tae Kwon Do Federation is not the same as the Universal Taekwondo Federation based in the United Kingdom.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Han's Tae Kwon Do: Grandmaster Han Cha-kyo Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Han's Tae Kwon Do: About Han's Tae Kwon Do Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Universal Taekwon-Do Federation Madison: Grandmaster Han Cha-kyo Archived 2011-01-17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 13 January 2010.
  4. ^ Pacific International Taekwondo: World Taekwondo Alliance Archived 2010-03-24 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 13 January 2010.
  5. ^ Choi, H. H. (1972): Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence. Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.
  6. ^ A tribute to the original masters Archived 2010-05-25 at the Wayback Machine (c. 2007). Retrieved on 13 June 2007; link has expired, as at 1 July 2011.
  7. ^ a b Spiegel, A. B. (1995): Grandmaster Han Cha-kyo: The humble giant Tae Kwon Do Times (January 1995). Retrieved on 22 January 2010.
  8. ^ Taekwondo Homepage: Geschichte des Taekwondo (in German). Retrieved on 5 January 2010.
  9. ^ Han's Tae Kwon Do: History of Tae Kwon Do Retrieved on 22 January 2010.
  10. ^ Choi, C. K. (2007): Tae Kwon Do Pioneers Archived 2008-03-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 15 March 2008.
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