Taekwondo Hall of Fame

The Taekwondo Hall of Fame ® (TKDHOF) is an international organization of technical advisors who are themselves members of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), and other major taekwondo entities.^{[citation needed]} The technical advisors are responsible for identifying, recognizing and honoring persons and groups who have significantly contributed to the development, growth, and advancement of taekwondo as a martial art and global sport.

Organisation

The Taekwondo[Hall of Fame® headquarters is located in New Jersey, USA, with technical advisory staff located in Korea, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Afghanistan, Russia, Ireland and India. For example, Senior Master Kavanagh of Ireland was appointed as an advisor (representing Ireand and Spain) at the 2011 Awards Ceremony and Banquet held at KUKKIWON World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on August 25.^{[citation needed]}

Kim Pyung Soo, a 10th-degree black belt and founder of the Chayon Ryu style who has been featured in Taekwondo Times magazine^{[citation needed]} and Black Belt magazine,^{[citation needed]} is the Senior Technical advisor in the United States.^{[citation needed]} Kim Pyung Soo was inducted into the Hall of Fame and received the "Journalist-Historian of the Year" award.^{[citation needed]}

According to the TKDHOF, "Taekwondo is an art which can be practiced by nearly everyone, designed to improve the human being on various levels".

Awards ceremonies

2007

The first official Taekwondo Hall of Fame® awards ceremony was held on April 6, 2007, in the USA.

2009

The second official Taekwondo Hall of Fame® awards ceremony was held on April 10, 2009, in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA.

2011

The third official Taekwondo Hall of Fame® awards ceremony was successfully held on August 25, 2011 in Seoul. Korea at KUKKIWON World Taekwondo Headquarters.

Members

Dong Keun Park was one of the first persons inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame®. He currently teaches in Jersey City, New Jersey and recently released a book on the subject.^{[citation needed]}

2004 Olympic silver medalist Nia Abdallah of Houston, Texas was the first actively competing female to be inducted.

Allen Steen, Skipper Mullins, and Mitchell Bobrow were inducted to represent the best fighters of the 60's.

Mike Warren, Joseph Hayes, Albert Cheeks, Fred Absher and members of the team that competed at the 1st World Taekwondo Championships held in Korea in 1973 were inducted to represent the period of the 70's.

Several of the most prominent figures in history of taekwondo were also inducted including Nam Tae Hi, Kim Bok Man, Rhee Ki Ha, Chang Keun Choi, Cho Sang Min, Young II Kong and the "Pioneer of American taekwondo" Jhoon Goo Rhee.^{[citation needed]}

Other inductees included Alejandro Chacon Zambada, John Critzos II, Mounir Ghrawi (Lebanon), William Sullivan, Ray Nikiel, Dawn Lefebvre, John Holloway, Chuck Stepan, Joe Corley, Sarah Chung, Darryl Henegan, Arlene Limas, US Army Sgt Louis Davis, Laxman Basnet, Ramiro Guzman of Mexico, and Benny Rivera. Benny Rivera's students were also awarded "Puerto Rico Team of the Year". M-Team of California gave a spectacular demonstration earning them the "Demonstration Team of the Year" award. Pradipta Kumar Roy (India)[1], Ruma Roy Chowdhury (India), Senior Traditional Taekwon-Do World Master, Paul Kavanagh (Republic of Ireland) (Inducted into TKD Hall of Fame in 2009) appointed Technical Advisor Ireland and Spain (2011), co-opted onto The Taekwon-Do Hall Of Fame® Organising Committee in Seoul 24 August 2011.

Other nominees for induction included Henk Meijer (Netherlands), Amr Khairy (Egypt), Levent Tuncat and Pinar Budak (Germany), Brigette Yague (Spain, Donal O'Donoghue (Ireland), and Wong Liang Ming (Singapore)

See also

• Korean martial arts
• International Taekwon-Do Federation
• List of taekwondo grandmasters

References

Hall of Fame

• Jack Bobrow, Jhoon Rhee and Mitchell Bobrow at the 2007 Taekwondo Hall of Fame® Inaugural Ceremony (photo). Black Belt Magazine. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
• TV Interview with Taekwondo Hall of Fame® Inductee Grandmaster Eun Woo Lee (video). Source: YouTube. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (Taekwondo in Swaziland and Africa.) (South Africa)
• Hampton, Deon. Fame finds a grand master: Still kicking, a Tulsa martial arts instructor is inducted into the Hall of Fame. Tulsa World. June 7, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (DW Kang inducted into TKDHOF.) (USA)
• Taekwondo experts Pradipta and Ruma meet Prime Minister. Zee News Ltd. (ZeeNews.com). June 13, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (Pradipta and Ruma inducted into TKDHOF on April 10, 2009.) (India)
• In the Hall of Fame: George Thanos. National Clothesline. November 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (USA)

In general

• The Greats of Tae Kwon Do / Chuck Norris. Taekwondo Hall of Fame® website. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
• Jagtiani, Jimmy R., History of Taekkwondo: A Korean Martial Art in Modern Times. Seoul Times. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
• Grandmaster Kim Soo Day (video). YouTube. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (Houston city proclamation on January 15, 2008, to honor 40th anniversary of founding of Kim Soo Karate.) (USA)
• Arlene Limas Olympic Medalist
• "Feather For Humble Olympian" - Guardian Newspapers - Nigeria
• Suh Chong Kang

Foreign language

• Ríos Olivero entró en el Salón de la Fama por su destacado liderazgo. Diario El Liberal (ElLiberal.com). Retrieved 2010-09-02. (Argentina) (in Spanish)
• Al Salón de la Fama: Por primera vez, una deportista mexicana entrará al Salón de la Fama del Tae kwon do. Milenio Online. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (Mexico) (in Spanish)
• Sociedad Amantes Del Pais - Peru. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (in Spanish)
• Miroslav Brežan i Marijeta Željković primljeni u "Kuću slavnih". Retrieved 2010-09-02. (in Croatian)
• Sunny Graff Mitglied in der Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (in German)
• Sigursteinn og Snorri í frægðarhöll Taekwondo. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (Iceland])
• Son Tae Hwan in Taekwondo Hall of Fame®. Retrieved 2010-09-02. (in Korean)
• Kevin Fernald krijgt award van Taekwondo Hall of Fame® CQ-Sport (Suriname)

External links

• Taekwondo Hall of Fame® website
• The World Taekwondo Federation