Chapter 24: Taekwondo in the United States

Sihak Henry Cho

In 1961, Sihak Henry Cho opened a school in New York City that is believed to be the first permanent commercial Taekwondo school in the United States. Like Rhee, he originally came to the United States as a student (while working on his MBA). While visiting New York City, he visited a Judo school and gave a Taekwondo demonstration. Judo was popular at the time and was about the only martial art with which Americans were familiar. Spectators were amazed at his kicks and wanted to know more about Taekwondo. Cho decided to stay in New York and became one of the early pioneers of American Taekwondo.

Other early Korean Taekwondo masters included Richard Chun (1962), Chong Lee (1964), and Hee Il Cho (1969). Unlike some other oriental martial arts that were being taught by unqualified instructors, these early pioneers of Taekwondo offered the public highly qualified instruction and built solid public support for Taekwondo. The early migration of these and other skilled Taekwondo instructors to the United States gave Taekwondo an early lead in American martial arts.