Park Jung-tae
founder - trainer
🌍 Korean-Canadian🥊 ITF technical director, GTF founder, Eastern Bloc pioneer, biomechanics🎂 01-01-1943- 11-04-2002
Park Jung-tae (c. 1943 - 11 April 2002) was one of the twelve original masters of Taekwon-Do and one of the most technically precise practitioners the art has ever produced. As Secretary-General and Technical Director of the ITF he was the guardian of the system's technical purity for decades - before a political split led him to found his own federation.
He began as a child with boxing and judo before moving to Taekwon-Do, then served in the South Korean army. From 1965 to 1967 he was deployed to Vietnam, where he trained Korean, Vietnamese and American soldiers in combat techniques. In 1970 he emigrated to Toronto, Canada, founding the Manitoba Taekwon-Do Association and becoming a leading pioneer in North America.
Within the ITF, Park Jung-tae became the man who safeguarded technical standards. In 1978 and 1979 he accompanied General Choi on major demonstration tours through Europe, teaching the exact biomechanics of the art. He rose to Technical Director and was formally elected Secretary-General of the ITF in November 1984. Under his direct leadership, Taekwon-Do was introduced to countries that were difficult to access at the time - the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia - making him one of the key architects of the sport's reach behind the Iron Curtain.
By the late 1980s deep political disagreements had emerged. General Choi's growing ties with North Korea were unacceptable to Park Jung-tae and several other masters, given the geopolitical tensions between North and South Korea. In 1989 he left the ITF, and on 14 June 1990 he founded the Global Taekwon-Do Federation (GTF).
As GTF founder he remained faithful to the original ITF system but brought his own innovations. Believing the art could be more complete, he developed six additional patterns (Hyong) practised within the GTF alongside the standard 24 ITF Tul: Jee-Goo, Jook-Am, Pyong-Hwa, Sun-Duk, Sam-Il and Tong-Il - each with its own technical interpretation.
Park Jung-tae passed away on 11 April 2002, aged 58 or 59, after a period of declining health. His wife Linda Park assumed the GTF presidency after his death to keep his technical vision alive.
He began as a child with boxing and judo before moving to Taekwon-Do, then served in the South Korean army. From 1965 to 1967 he was deployed to Vietnam, where he trained Korean, Vietnamese and American soldiers in combat techniques. In 1970 he emigrated to Toronto, Canada, founding the Manitoba Taekwon-Do Association and becoming a leading pioneer in North America.
Within the ITF, Park Jung-tae became the man who safeguarded technical standards. In 1978 and 1979 he accompanied General Choi on major demonstration tours through Europe, teaching the exact biomechanics of the art. He rose to Technical Director and was formally elected Secretary-General of the ITF in November 1984. Under his direct leadership, Taekwon-Do was introduced to countries that were difficult to access at the time - the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia - making him one of the key architects of the sport's reach behind the Iron Curtain.
By the late 1980s deep political disagreements had emerged. General Choi's growing ties with North Korea were unacceptable to Park Jung-tae and several other masters, given the geopolitical tensions between North and South Korea. In 1989 he left the ITF, and on 14 June 1990 he founded the Global Taekwon-Do Federation (GTF).
As GTF founder he remained faithful to the original ITF system but brought his own innovations. Believing the art could be more complete, he developed six additional patterns (Hyong) practised within the GTF alongside the standard 24 ITF Tul: Jee-Goo, Jook-Am, Pyong-Hwa, Sun-Duk, Sam-Il and Tong-Il - each with its own technical interpretation.
Park Jung-tae passed away on 11 April 2002, aged 58 or 59, after a period of declining health. His wife Linda Park assumed the GTF presidency after his death to keep his technical vision alive.