Tae-hong Choi was a grandmaster in taekwondo

Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...

, winner of multiple martial arts titles and a teacher of thousands of students in Oregon.

Childhood studies

When Choi was a boy in Seoul, he had a paper route. When he first approached the martial artists he met on his route, they sent him away. After seven days of his pestering, the men seemed to relent, but they put him to work instead of teaching him. Choi worked for them for three weeks before they were sufficiently impressed to begin teaching him. He earned his black belt in two years. He soon began winning titles including Korean National Champion. Eventually he earned a ninth-degree black belt, the sport's highest designation. He also studied for a Masters degree in Health and physical education.

Military service

Choi was a Korean Marine Corp Training officer stationed in South Vietnam. He was part of the detail that guarded the U.S. Embassy. He taught hand-to-hand combat skills to Korean, South Vietnamese and U.S. Special Forces. That got him his next job of instructing hand-to-hand combat for top-level U.S. security agents.

Emigration

Choi moved to Washington, D.C., in 1971. He taught taekwondo to secret service agents and CIA operatives. His family did not move with him to Washington, D.C., but they emigrated to Oregon where a distant cousin lived. In 1972, Choi joined his family in Oregon and started teaching tae kwon do at the YMCA, Lewis and Clark College and Reed College (Judo - '74-'75) before opening his own studio in Northeast Portland. Choi's Taekwondo Academy was the first taekwondo school in Oregon.

"Mr. Choi was one of the pioneers for tae kwon do in this country. When the word 'tae kwon do' didn't even exist in this country, he was already teaching."
-- Joon Pyo Choi, co-chairman of USA Taekwondo's martial arts commission.

Choi eventually opened two more schools for students in Beaverton and North Portland.

National Leadership

Choi founded the Oregon State Taekwondo Association and the Northwest Black Belt Association and was its president for 30 years. In 1980, Choi served as head of team at the first Pan American Taekwondo Championships. In 1982, When the Amateur Athletic Union

Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

 was the governing body for Taekwondo in the USA, Choi was elected vice president. He also served as a vice president in the United States TaeKwonDo Union. He has served as tournament director of the Northwest Oregon Taekwondo Championships and the 17th U.S. National Taekwondo Championships. In 1988, Choi traveled to Seoul with one of his students who competed in the 1988 Olympic Games. In the 1990s, he served as advisor to the United States Taekwondo Union. In 2007, Choi received the lifetime achievement award from the United States Taekwondo Grandmasters Society. Some of his notable students are Master Leon Preston (8th Dan and 2008 Summer Olympics Tae Kwon Do Referee), Gordon Graaff, Scott Rohr (1979 and 1980 World Championship Medalist) and Naim Hassan (1988 Olympics Taekwondo athlete).

Death and burial

Choi died at Providence Portland Medical Center

Providence Portland Medical Center

Providence Portland Medical Center, located at 4805 NE Glisan St. in the Center neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, is a full service medical center specializing in cancer and cardiac care. Opened in 1941, the hospital is licensed for 483 beds, and has over 3,000 employees. There are approximately...

 in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 on March 8, 2009. Services were held March 12 in the Korean Mission Church (Portland). He was buried at Skyline Memorial Gardens (Portland), He was survived by his wife, two daughters, two sons and five grandchildren.

External links

• Choi's Tae Kwon Do Academy
• NW Tae Kwon Do Association Kinship of Black Belts who either trained directly with, or under, senior students of Grandmaster Choi]