Choi Jung Hwa
founder - trainer
🌍 Korean🥊 ITF President, son of General Choi Hong Hi, authentic ITF biomechanics, original 24 Tul🎂 01-05-1951
Choi Jung Hwa (born May 1951 on Jeju Island, South Korea) is the only son of General Choi Hong Hi and the president of one of the principal branches of the International Taekwon-Do Federation. He is the living custodian of his father’s original vision—and one of the most quietly principled figures in the martial arts world.
He grew up entirely within the world his father was building. His earliest training memories date back to the years when General Choi served as the Korean ambassador to Malaysia. There were no dojangs yet, so at the age of seven he trained on the lawn of the embassy compound. During his youth, he was taught not only by his father but also trained alongside the original Korean masters who visited their home.
At the 12th ITF Congress in Rimini, Italy, in 2001, he was democratically elected as the official successor and new ITF president. Out of respect for his father, he proposed that General Choi remain as figurehead president for the first two years so that he could retire with dignity. Shortly afterward, a deep conflict emerged: Choi Jung Hwa resisted growing attempts by the North Korean government to exert political control over the ITF. This led to a split in early 2002. After General Choi’s death in June 2002, the ITF fractured definitively into several organizations. Choi Jung Hwa remained at the helm of the independent, traditional ITF branch, whose administrative headquarters are in the United Kingdom.
At the 50th anniversary of Taekwon-Do in Atlantic City in April 2005, he was promoted to 9th Dan Grandmaster by the official promotion committee. His response is characteristic of the man: although he carries the rank with pride, he consistently declines to be addressed as Grandmaster at seminars and in daily life. He maintains that he is far from finished learning and that his father, General Choi, was the only true and ultimate Grandmaster of the art. He prefers simply President Choi or Master Choi.
Under his leadership, his ITF branch remains strictly faithful to the original biomechanics, physics, and 24 patterns (Tul) as his father documented them in the 15-volume encyclopedia—without modern or political adaptation. Several Dutch schools and federations, including ITF Royal Dutch, are directly affiliated with his organization because of this commitment to authentic tradition.
He grew up entirely within the world his father was building. His earliest training memories date back to the years when General Choi served as the Korean ambassador to Malaysia. There were no dojangs yet, so at the age of seven he trained on the lawn of the embassy compound. During his youth, he was taught not only by his father but also trained alongside the original Korean masters who visited their home.
At the 12th ITF Congress in Rimini, Italy, in 2001, he was democratically elected as the official successor and new ITF president. Out of respect for his father, he proposed that General Choi remain as figurehead president for the first two years so that he could retire with dignity. Shortly afterward, a deep conflict emerged: Choi Jung Hwa resisted growing attempts by the North Korean government to exert political control over the ITF. This led to a split in early 2002. After General Choi’s death in June 2002, the ITF fractured definitively into several organizations. Choi Jung Hwa remained at the helm of the independent, traditional ITF branch, whose administrative headquarters are in the United Kingdom.
At the 50th anniversary of Taekwon-Do in Atlantic City in April 2005, he was promoted to 9th Dan Grandmaster by the official promotion committee. His response is characteristic of the man: although he carries the rank with pride, he consistently declines to be addressed as Grandmaster at seminars and in daily life. He maintains that he is far from finished learning and that his father, General Choi, was the only true and ultimate Grandmaster of the art. He prefers simply President Choi or Master Choi.
Under his leadership, his ITF branch remains strictly faithful to the original biomechanics, physics, and 24 patterns (Tul) as his father documented them in the 15-volume encyclopedia—without modern or political adaptation. Several Dutch schools and federations, including ITF Royal Dutch, are directly affiliated with his organization because of this commitment to authentic tradition.