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This is a list of highly notable practitioners of Taekwondo.
Grandmasters
editChoi H.H and Original Twelve Masters of Taekwondo
edit- Choi Hong-hi (Chung Do Kwan → Oh Do Kwan → KTA → ITF) – Founder of International Taekwon-Do Federation. While contested,[1][2] Choi is still regarded by many as the "Founder of Taekwon-Do".[3][4][5][6][7]
- Nam Tae-hi (Chung Do Kwan → ITF) – was a pioneering South Korean master of taekwondo[8][9][10][11] and is known as the "Father of Vietnamese Taekwondo".[8] With Choi Hong-hi, he co-founded the "Oh Do Kwan" and led the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association (KTA).[8][12]
- Choi Chang-keun (ITF) – began his martial arts training in the South Korean army in 1956, studying taekwondo and karate.[13] Choi taught taekwondo in Malaysia from 1964, and moved to Vancouver, Canada, in 1970.[13] In 1973, he held the rank of 7th dan.[14] Choi was promoted to 8th dan in 1981 by H. H. Choi, and attained the rank of 9th dan in 2002.[13] He is still based in Vancouver.
- Choi Kwang-jo (other/Choi Kwang Do) – Following a career in the South Korean military, he emigrated to the United States in 1970. Choi is the founder and head of the Choi Kwang Do international martial art organization, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.[15][16]
- 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.[17][18] He was head instructor of the ITF in West Germany, but was relieved of this duty in October 1971.[19] In 1975, Kim was ranked 6th dan.[20] He promoted Rolf Becking, head of the ITF Germany Technical Committee, to the rank of 2nd dan in 1976 in Stuttgart, West Germany.[21] Between 1974 and 1977 Kim had a restaurant in Stuttgart and had completed training as a Brewmeister prior to 1974.[citation needed]
- Kong Young-il (ITF) – Following a career in the South Korean military, Kong emigrated to the United States just before or in 1968.[22] He and his younger brother, Young-bo Kong, founded the Young Brothers Taekwondo Associates in 1968.[22] Kong was promoted to the rank of 9th dan in 1997 by H. H. Choi in Poland.[23][24] He is based in Las Vegas.
- Park Jong-soo (ITF) – In 1968, Park settled in Toronto, Canada.[25] In 1973, he held the rank of 7th dan.[14] Park and Choi went their separate ways after Choi insisted on establishing relations with North Korea during a politically sensitive period.[26]
- Park Jung-tae (ITF → GTF) – Park moved to Toronto, Canada in 1970.[27] During the 1970s, Park established the Manitoba Tae Kwon-Do Association.[28] In 1975, he was ranked 6th dan.[20] At the time, he was ranked 8th dan in the ITF[29] and in November 1984, Park was elected Secretary-General of the ITF.[30] He also held the position of Technical Chairman of the ITF.[31] 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.[32][33][34] He created six additional hyung to be practised along with the earlier ITF patterns.[31] Amongst those who affiliated with the GTF was Sabree Salleh in 1998.[35] Shortly before he died, Park promoted Salleh to 9th dan (GTF).[35]
- Park Sun-jae alias S.J. Park (ITF → WT) – a pioneer of taekwondo in Italy.[17][36] He introduced taekwondo to Italy around 1968.[37] In 1968, he was ranked 5th dan,[38] and in 1975, he was ranked 7th dan.[20] He was elected vice-president (Italy) in the European Tae Kwon Do Union (within the World Taekwondo Federation) at the union's inaugural meeting in 1976.[39] In 2002, he was a member of the arbitration board for the WT's World Cup Taekwondo championship in Tokyo.[40] 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.[41] He is Vice President (Italy) of the WT.[42] Park was President of the Federazione Italiana Taekwondo (Italian Taekwondo Federation) around 1998,[37] and still held the position as of 2008[43] and 2009.[44]
- Chong-chul Rhee (KTA → Rhee Taekwondo) – South Korean master of taekwondo who arrived to Australia in the 1960s.[45] He is the founder of Rhee Taekwon-Do, which is widely publicised as Australia's first and biggest taekwondo school.[46][47][48] Rhee holds the title 'World Master' and the rank of 8th dan in taekwondo.[45][46][47][49]
- 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.[50] He arrived in Australia in 1970 and settled in Melbourne, Australia. Rhee is in charge of Rhee Taekwon-Do operations in Melbourne.[51][52]
- 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.[53] He is also considered the 'Father of Irish Taekwon-Do'.[54]
Other notable grandmasters
edit- 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.[55][56] 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.[57]
- Kim Ki-whang (WT)
- Sang-chul Lee (WT)
- Hong Sung-chon (WT, 9th Dan) – is an early proponent of Taekwondo in the Philippines.[58][59] He is the vice-president of the Philippine Taekwondo Association.[60]
- 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.[61][62] He was ranked 10th dan.[62]
- S. Henry Cho (other)
- Hee Il Cho (other)
- Kim Pyung-soo (other)
- Hwang Jang-Lee (other)
Olympic medalists
editAll the practitioners listed in this section are part of World Taekwondo.[63][64][65]
- Hadi Saei – Iranian councilor and former taekwondo athlete who became the most successful Iranian athlete in Olympic history and the most titled champion in this sport by winning 9 world class titles (three olympic titles in 2000 and 2004 and 2008, two world championships titles, four world cup titles and one world olympic qualification tournament).[66][67]
- Yousef Karami[68]
- Steven López
- Hwang Kyung-seon
- Chen Zhong
- Wu Jingyu
- Jade Jones, OBE – Welsh taekwondo athlete. She is the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medallist in the women's 57 kg category, and the 2019 World champion, 2016, 2018 and 2021 European champion and 2015 European Games champion at the same weight. In 2012, she won Britain's first taekwondo Olympic gold medal in this category.[69] Jones was at the time the reigning Youth Olympic champion in the girls' 55 kg category, winning gold for Great Britain in 2010.
- Dana Hee - United States taekwondoin who competed in Women's Lightweight and won gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She subsequently built a career as a stuntwoman, action film actress and model, among other things.
- María Espinoza
- Chu Mu-yen
- Servet Tazegül
- Cha Dong-min
- Joel González
- Alexandros Nikolaidis
- Huang Chih-hsiung
- Mauro Sarmiento
- Lee Dae-hoon
- Nur Tatar
- Pascal Gentil
- Rohullah Nikpai
- Milica Mandić
- Alexey Denisenko
- Maksim Khramtsov
- Vladislav Larin
- Beth Munro
- Jimmy Kim
- Lynnette Love - United States taekwondoin who competed in Women's Heavyweight (+70 kg) and won gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a bronze medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
- Park Tae-joon - South Korean taekwondo athlete, participated in the 2024 Summer Olympics, where he won the gold medal in the men's flyweight (-58kg) event.
- Ulugbek Rashitov - Uzbekistani taekwondo practitioner. He won the gold medal in the Men's 68 kg event at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
- Panipak Wongpattanakit - Thai taekwondo athlete, who competed in women's Flyweight (49 kg). She won Gold in 2020 and 2024 Summer Oympics, as well as Bronze in 2016 Summer Olympics.
Kickboxers and Mixed Martial Artists
edit- Anthony Pettis – is a 3rd dan black belt in Taekwondo[70]
- Yair Rodríguez[71]
- Anderson Silva - is a 5th dan black belt in Taekwondo[72][73]
- Mirko Filipović (alias Cro Cop) - Filipović began formal training in taekwondo at the age of 7.[74][additional citation(s) needed]
- Rose Namajunas[75][76]
- Valentina Shevchenko[77]
- Bas Rutten
- Edson Barboza
- Benson Henderson
- Akop Stepanyan
- Nina Ansaroff
- Keiji Ozaki
- Yuta Kubo
- Dale Cook
- Uriah Hall
- Jung Chan-sung (alias The Korean Zombie) – started training in Taekwondo when he was in the South Korean Navy.[78]
- Conor McGregor [citation needed]
- Dennis Siver
- Mayhem Miller
- Michael Page – Page describes his discipline as a "hands down kickboxing style" created from a "mishmash" of taekwondo, karate, and kung fu styles competing under a points scoring ruleset.[79][80][81] Page was scouted by the Great Britain Taekwondo team to train and qualify for the Olympics but turned it down to pursue a professional combat sports career.[82]
- Thanh Le - one time holder of ONE Featherweight World Championship. He has been training in Taekwondo since his infancy, as his father ran a Taekwondo Gym.[83]
- Cung Le[84]
Celebrity practitioners
edit- Chuck Norris - while primarily known as Tang Soo Do practitioner, as well as having devised his own martial arts system,[85] Norris was awarded 8th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo in 1997 - being the first American to receive such honor.[86]
- Michael Imperioli - American actor, writer, director and musician, best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama The Sopranos (1999–2007). He and his family are avid practitioners of Taekwondo.[87]
- Jean-Claude Van Damme
- Sarah Michelle Gellar
- Jessica Alba
- Criss Angel
- Phil Mickelson
- D'Brickashaw Ferguson - former American football offensive tackle who played ten seasons for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He is a brown belt in taekwondo.[88][89]
- Dave Mustaine - American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth. Mustaine holds a black belt in taekwondo and was made a Goodwill Ambassador of the World by the World Taekwondo Federation in 2007.[90]
- Eric Roberts[dubious – discuss]
- Michael Jai White - has studied various martial arts, including Taekwondo.[91][92]
- Joe Rogan - According to Black Belt Magazine, Rogan started competing in taekwondo tournaments at 15 and claimed his U.S. Open title four years later.[93][94]
- Katheryn Winnick[95]
- Sean Patrick Flanery
- Rick Yune
- Will Yun Lee
- Evan Rachel Wood
- Willie Nelson
- Patrick Swayze
- Ryan Phillippe
- Lorenzo Lamas
- Emmanuel Lewis[96]
- Mackenzie Foy[97]
- Noah Ringer
- Jerry Trimble
- Young Kun Kim (alias Y.K Kim) – received a taekwondo black belt at age 13, making him among the youngest in Korea to do so. At first he studied and taught taekwondo in Korea. In 1976 he moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina and taught taekwondo there. In 1977 he moved to New York City. In 1978 he moved to Orlando, Florida and opened Y.K. Kim's TaeKwon-Do, his first taekwondo school.[98] Known also for the 1987 cult movie Miami Connection, which Y.K Kim produced and starred in.[99]
- Phillip Rhee - South Korean-American martial artist, actor, director, screenwriter, and film producer, most famous for his role in the Best of the Best movie series.[100][101] While primarily known as a Hapkido practitioner, he also holds a black belt in Taekwondo.[102]
- Simon Rhee
- Gary Daniels[103][104]
- Scott Adkins
- Dick Wei
- Donnie Yen - Hong Kong martial artist and actor. As the son of a Chinese martial artist, he primarily trained Kung Fu in his youth however learnt Taekwondo as well as other martial arts in his teenage years. He has achieved a 6th Dan Black Belt[105]
- Adrian Paul
- Brenda Song
- Akshay Kumar - obtained a black belt in Taekwondo while in India.[106]
- Ariel Winter[107]
- Tiger Shroff[108]
- Sun Chien - Taiwanese actor and martial artist worked in Hong Kong known for his Taekwondo kicks (earning him a nickname "Korean Kicker" despite the fact being not a Korean) and his career as a member of Venom Mob, a group of actors-martial artists who starred in 1978 Shaw Brothers film Five Deadly Venoms, in which he plays as Gao Ji/the Scorpion, as well as other films from that studio both with and without Venom Mob.
- Dev Patel - a British actor known for Slumdog Millionaire and The Last Airbender, started to train in Taekwondo when he was a teenager and competed in both national and international championships, including the 2004 AIMAA (Action International Martial Arts Association) World Championships in Dublin, Ireland competing as a red belt fighting against red belt and other black belts in junior division, winning a bronze medal after losing to an Irish black belt named Niall Fitzmaurice in "a very close and tough fight" in the semifinals. Patel later earned a first degree black belt in 2006.[109]
- Ho Chung Tao Taiwanese Martial artist and retired actor famous from the Hong Kong Bruceplotiation era of martial arts movies.
Honorary Black belts
edit- Barack Obama – studied taekwondo from 2001 to 2005, when he served as a junior senator in Illinois. In 2009 Obama was awarded honorary black belt by then-South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.[110][111]
- Arnold Schwarzenegger[112][additional citation(s) needed]
- Vladimir Putin (WT) – Was awarded 9th Degree Black Belt by World Taekwondo in 2013.[113] World Taekwondo stripped Putin's Honorary belt after the instigation of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[114][115]
- Donald Trump (WT) – was presented with the honor by Lee Dong Seop, the president of Kukkiwon, on November 22, 2021. This event drew public derision, due to Trump's general negative image and his generally perceived lack of fitness required for the martial art.[116][117][118]
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic – was awarded an honorary black belt in 2010.[119]
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One of the most famous practitioners of taekwondo is an American, Chuck Norris. In 1997, Norris became the first American to be awarded an eighth degree black belt in taekwondo
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A black belt in both taekwondo and hapkido, Phillip Rhee burst onto the martial arts movie scene in Best of the Best... Rhee followed up that role in 1993, show-casing his kicking and joint-manipulation skills in Best of the Best II.
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... A black belt in taekwondo, Daniels has 23 years of martial arts training, including background in kickboxing, ninjutsu, aikido and shaolin kung fu.
- ^ Terrence Allen (January 1996). "Meet the Martial Arts Movie Stars of the Next Century". Black Belt Magazine (Jan 1996 issue). p. 57. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
Beginning his martial arts studies at the age of 8, he has a black belt in taekwondo...
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- ^ Diaz, Jaclyn (2 March 2022). "World Taekwondo strips Russia's Vladimir Putin of his honorary black belt". NPR. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ "Official Announcement from World Taekwondo". World Taekwondo Official Site. February 28, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
World Taekwondo strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against the World Taekwondo vision of "Peace is More Precious than Triumph" and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance. In this regard, World Taekwondo has decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Mr. Vladimir Putin in November 2013. In solidarity with the International Olympic Committee, no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems will be displayed or played at World Taekwondo events. World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union will not organise or recognise Taekwondo events in Russia and Belarus. World Taekwondo's thoughts are with the people of Ukraine and we hope for a peaceful and immediate end to this war.
- ^ Ali, Shirin (November 23, 2021). "Ex-President Trump given ninth-degree black belt in taekwondo". TheHill.
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