Rhee Ki-ha
founder - trainer
🌍 Korean-British🥊 ITF patterns, European Taekwon-Do pioneer, UKTA founder🎂 20-03-1938
Rhee Ki-ha (born 20 March 1938) is a living legend of ITF Taekwon-Do, universally known as the Father of British and European Taekwon-Do. In 1997 General Choi Hong Hi promoted him to 9th Dan Grandmaster - the first person outside Korea ever to receive that rank.
He began his Taekwon-Do training in 1956 during military service in the 35th Infantry Division of the South Korean army, training directly under General Choi. His talent was immediate - he was quickly appointed instructor to the Special Forces. In 1964 he became the first person in Korean history to leave the country with the official designation Taekwon-Do Instructor stamped in his passport.
From 1964 to 1967 he taught in Singapore and Malaysia, where he trained personnel from the British Royal Air Force. The RAF soldiers were so impressed they invited him to bring the art to the United Kingdom. On 2 July 1967 Rhee Ki-ha landed in Britain - intending to stay two years. He never left.
He opened the first British Taekwon-Do school in Coventry immediately, expanding within months to Derby and Oxford. That same year he founded the United Kingdom Taekwon-Do Association (UKTA). In 1972 he established the Republic of Ireland Taekwon-Do Association (RITA), and in 1979 he founded the All Europe Taekwon-Do Federation (AETF) - building the organisational backbone of the sport across an entire continent.
Beyond his organisational genius, Rhee Ki-ha was technically one of the most precise practitioners the art has produced. General Choi relied on him to demonstrate and document techniques during the codification of the ITF patterns. On the iconic ITF posters and early instructional materials, it is often Rhee Ki-ha himself performing the Tul - making him quite literally the face of ITF Taekwon-Do for generations of practitioners worldwide.
He began his Taekwon-Do training in 1956 during military service in the 35th Infantry Division of the South Korean army, training directly under General Choi. His talent was immediate - he was quickly appointed instructor to the Special Forces. In 1964 he became the first person in Korean history to leave the country with the official designation Taekwon-Do Instructor stamped in his passport.
From 1964 to 1967 he taught in Singapore and Malaysia, where he trained personnel from the British Royal Air Force. The RAF soldiers were so impressed they invited him to bring the art to the United Kingdom. On 2 July 1967 Rhee Ki-ha landed in Britain - intending to stay two years. He never left.
He opened the first British Taekwon-Do school in Coventry immediately, expanding within months to Derby and Oxford. That same year he founded the United Kingdom Taekwon-Do Association (UKTA). In 1972 he established the Republic of Ireland Taekwon-Do Association (RITA), and in 1979 he founded the All Europe Taekwon-Do Federation (AETF) - building the organisational backbone of the sport across an entire continent.
Beyond his organisational genius, Rhee Ki-ha was technically one of the most precise practitioners the art has produced. General Choi relied on him to demonstrate and document techniques during the codification of the ITF patterns. On the iconic ITF posters and early instructional materials, it is often Rhee Ki-ha himself performing the Tul - making him quite literally the face of ITF Taekwon-Do for generations of practitioners worldwide.