GREAT
MASTERS OF MARTIAL ARTS HISTORY
YONG SOOL CHOI
Founder
of Hapkido. Yong-Sool Choi (1904-1986), born in Chung Buk province
in Korea, was one of the most influential people in the development
of modern Korean martial arts. His parents died when he was
very young, and he was taken to Japan from Korea by a Japanese
candy maker when he was 8 or 9. Choi became very homesick and
was abandoned by the candy maker so he had to wander the streets
as a beggar which resulted in him being regularly assaulted
by other children.
A Japanese man noticed Choi's situation so he took Choi in and
eventually adopted him. Before Choi went to school to get an
education, his name was changed to Tatujutu Yoshida.
His education was not a success because he did not speak enough
Japanese to understand the teachers. He became disinterested
and often wound up fighting with the other school-children,
so he was asked if he wanted to get a regular education or learn
to fight.
He chose fighting, and went to a Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jutsu dojo with
Sokaku Takeda (1860-1943), where he trained for nearly 30 years.
He began to make plans to return home to Korea and did so in
the winter of 1945. Upon his return, he changed his name back
to Yong-Sool Choi.
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During the trip home, Choi lost his money and the certificates
which were proof of his training with Takeda Sensei. Because
of this lack of money, he decided to stay in Tae Gu rather than
to return to his home in Chung-Buk. He worked as a bread salesman
on the street for a year, and managed to save enough money to
begin raising pigs. To feed his pigs, he would travel to the
Suh Brewery Company to obtain free leftover grain chaff.
In 1947, Bok-Sub Suh, who was the president of the Suh Brewery
Company, witnessed Choi defend himself successfully against
several attackers, with little effort. He was very impressed
so he sent someone down to bring this man to his office.
Suh
asked Choi what kind of martial arts he practiced. Choi didn't
answer, instead he just asked Suh to grab him by the lapel.
When Suh grabbed the lapel, Choi easily executed an elbow lock
and threw Suh to the floor. Suh grabbed Choi's lapel again,
and he was thrown to the floor a second time. After being defeated
twice, Suh asked for Choi to teach him, promising him more free
chaff, as well as paying him for lessons.
Choi agreed so Suh prepared a Dojang at the brewery where Choi
could teach what he had studied for so many years in Japan.
Over the next few years, Choi began to establish himself as
an outstanding, well respected martial arts instructor. He called
his art Yoo Sool (Korean pronunciation of Ju-Jitsu). He mainly
taught what he had learned from Takeda Sensei, slowly adding
other techniques, including some kicks and weapon techniques.
Suh suggested to Choi that the name Yoo Sool be changed to Yoo
Kwon Sool, to represent the fact that as well as joint locks
and throwing techniques, they were also practicing strikes and
kicks.
After the end of the Korean war, he opened his own private school
and began to teach a few other students. This was in 1953. Some
of the students during this period had already founded, or have
gone on to found their own martial art styles. These include,
Hwang-Kee (Tang-Soo-Do), In-Hyuk Suh (Kuk Sool Won), Dr. Joo-Bang
Lee (Hwa Rang Do), and Han-Jae Ji (Hapkido).
