What happened in 1955
The name Taekwon-Do, proposed by Choi Hong Hi, was adopted on 11 April 1955. It opened a new stage: spreading a shared name, developing the technical system and building an international organisation.
Military figures, civilian leaders and representatives of Chung Do Kwan discussed the name. Nam Tae Hi played an important role in that circle. For later generations, 11 April became Taekwon-Do’s birthday and a shared annual commemoration.
Foot, fist and a way of life
“Taekwon-Do” brought together the foot, the fist and the idea of a way or path. The name expressed an ambition to combine physical and moral education. Within Choi’s schools, it gradually replaced earlier names such as Tang Soo Do and Kong Soo Do.
Work continued in the training halls after the name was adopted. Instructors agreed terminology, refined exercises and prepared students for grading. Kwan leaders worked towards cooperation while retaining their own schools and experience.
In 1959, Choi published the first Taekwon-Do manual and led a demonstration tour to Vietnam and Taiwan. The book explained the techniques and the team showed them to new audiences. The shared name was beginning to be heard beyond Korea.
Associations and a shared programme
In the late 1950s and the 1960s, Korean schools sought ways to work together. Association leaders and names changed, with Tae Soo Do adopted as a compromise. In 1965, Choi became president of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association and secured its renaming as the Korea Taekwon-Do Association.
Different approaches to teaching developed alongside these changes: formal exercises, self-defence and sporting sparring with protective equipment. Masters tested methods, established competition rules and gradually shaped their own programmes.
Choi’s network drew on the military school Oh Do Kwan and instructors connected with Chung Do Kwan. Together they developed new patterns: Choi proposed ideas and sequences, while experienced practitioners worked through them and refined the details. This became the Chang Hon system, named after his pen name.
Name, organisation and technique
Naming, school organisation and technical change developed alongside one another. The name supplied an identity, organisations structured cooperation and instructors transformed practice. For a time, students called their art Taekwon-Do while still practising inherited kata and gradually learning new patterns.
Choi transformed the schools associated with him into an international movement with its own programme. The founding of ITF in 1966 consolidated the previous decade’s work and opened new opportunities for Taekwon-Do’s expansion.