Choi Chang-keun
founder - trainer
🌍 Korean-Canadian🥊 ITF patterns co-designer, ITF logo, Malaysia pioneer, UBC Taekwondo founder🎂 01-01-1941
Choi Chang-keun (born 1941)—universally known as C.K. Choi—is one of the twelve original Taekwon-Do masters and one of the most technically significant figures in the art’s history. He was the first official Taekwon-Do heavyweight world champion and one of the key architects of the ITF pattern system.
He began training in Taekwon-Do and karate in 1956 in the South Korean army, studying under Master Woo Jong Lim, Taekwon-Do director of the First Korean Army. In 1962, he won the first official Korean Taekwon-Do Championships in the heavyweight division and became a two-time Korean Mixed Martial Arts champion.
His technical contributions go beyond competition. In 1961, he worked directly alongside General Choi Hong Hi to design and refine the first Chang Hon patterns—including the well-known Ge-Baek pattern. In 1980, he made a contribution that hundreds of thousands of practitioners wear on their uniforms every day: he designed the iconic ITF boom logo, worn on the left sleeve of the dobok worldwide.
In 1964, General Choi sent him to Malaysia to develop the sport there, and he participated in numerous international demonstration teams. In 1969, he emigrated to Vancouver, Canada, opening the first Taekwon-Do school in Western Canada in 1970. In 1973, he founded the prestigious UBC Taekwondo School at the University of British Columbia.
Decades of selfless service to the sport and the Canadian community earned him induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and, most recently, the Order of Canada—the country’s highest civilian honour. Now in his eighties, he continues to serve the traditional ITF community through the Taekwondo Pioneers Council, working toward unity among the original ITF styles.
He began training in Taekwon-Do and karate in 1956 in the South Korean army, studying under Master Woo Jong Lim, Taekwon-Do director of the First Korean Army. In 1962, he won the first official Korean Taekwon-Do Championships in the heavyweight division and became a two-time Korean Mixed Martial Arts champion.
His technical contributions go beyond competition. In 1961, he worked directly alongside General Choi Hong Hi to design and refine the first Chang Hon patterns—including the well-known Ge-Baek pattern. In 1980, he made a contribution that hundreds of thousands of practitioners wear on their uniforms every day: he designed the iconic ITF boom logo, worn on the left sleeve of the dobok worldwide.
In 1964, General Choi sent him to Malaysia to develop the sport there, and he participated in numerous international demonstration teams. In 1969, he emigrated to Vancouver, Canada, opening the first Taekwon-Do school in Western Canada in 1970. In 1973, he founded the prestigious UBC Taekwondo School at the University of British Columbia.
Decades of selfless service to the sport and the Canadian community earned him induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and, most recently, the Order of Canada—the country’s highest civilian honour. Now in his eighties, he continues to serve the traditional ITF community through the Taekwondo Pioneers Council, working toward unity among the original ITF styles.