__NOTOC__ Park Jung-tae (c. 1943 – 11 April 2002) was a South Korean

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

and a pioneer of that martial art in Canada.Younglai, R. (2002)
Obituary of Grand Master Park
Retrieved on 14 February 2009.
Retrieved on 14 February 2009.Global Taekwon-Do Federation
Retrieved on 14 February 2009. He was one of the twelve

original masters of taekwondo The original masters of taekwondo is a group of twelve South Korean martial art masters assembled by the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) in the early 1960s to promote the newly established art of taekwondo.Choi, H. H. (1972): ''Taekwon-Do: T ...

of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association.Choi, H. H. (1972): ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence''. Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.A tribute to the original masters
(c. 2007). Retrieved on 13 June 2007; link has expired, as at 1 July 2011. Following a career in the South Korean military, Park emigrated to Canada in 1970. He was a key leader in the

International Taekwon-Do Federation International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is an international taekwondo organization founded on March 22, 1966, by General Choi Hong Hi (Korean: 최홍희) in Seoul, South Korea. The ITF was founded to promote and encourage the growth of the K ...

(ITF) under

Choi Hong-hi Choi Hong-hi (9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) was a South Korean Army general, defector to North Korea, and martial artist who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to h ...

, but founded the Global Taekwon-Do Federation in 1990 after leaving the ITF. After teaching taekwondo for many years, Park died in 2002.

Early life

Park was born in 1943 or 1944 in Korea, during the period of Japanese occupation.Malaysian Global Taekwondo Federation: GTF Founder/History
Retrieved on 14 February 2009. He began training in the martial arts as a child, starting with

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

before moving on to

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

and then taekwondo. Park was one of the twelve original taekwondo masters of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association. In 1964, he was the second President of the Korean Tae Soo Do Association.Choong, T. H. (c. 2005): Retrieved on 21 February 2009. Link has expired, as at 13 August 2010. From 1965 to 1967, he was ranked 4th ''dan'' and directed instruction of soldiers in Vietnam.ITF Phoenix Group: Biography of Master John Tompkins
Retrieved on 16 February 2009.

Canada

Park moved to Canada where he met his future wife, Linda, in Toronto in 1970.TaeKwonDo Times: Taking the Wheel – More with Grandmaster Linda Park
Retrieved on 14 February 2009. During the 1970s, Park established the Manitoba Tae Kwon-Do Association.
Retrieved on 17 February 2009. In 1975, he was ranked 6th ''dan''.Derby School of Taekwon-Do: Forty years of Taekwon-Do in the United Kingdom
Retrieved on 13 January 2010; link updated on 25 January 2012. In 1978 and 1979, he accompanied Choi on taekwondo demonstration tours in Europe.
Retrieved on 14 February 2009. In 1984, he conducted a seminar in Brisbane, Australia.McPhail, P., & Pygott, V. (2006)

Retrieved on 16 February 2009.
Retrieved on 16 February 2009. At the time, he was ranked 8th ''dan'' in the ITF. In November 1984, Park was elected Secretary-General of the ITF.Taekwondo Legacy: The Founder - Biography (p. 9)
Retrieved on 17 February 2009. He also held the position of Technical Chairman of the ITF.
Retrieved on 3 February 2010. Park founded the Global Taekwondo Federation (GTF) on 14 June 1990, the year after his departure from the ITF due to North–South Korean political issues.
Retrieved on 14 February 2009.
Retrieved on 14 February 2009. He created six additional ''hyung'' to be practised along with the earlier ITF patterns. Amongst those who affiliated with the GTF was Sabree Salleh in 1998. Retrieved on 17 February 2009. Shortly before he died, Park promoted Salleh to 9th ''dan'' (GTF).

Later life

Park died on 11 April 2002 due to poor health, and is survived by his wife and their children: Juliann, Heather, and Christopher.
Retrieved on 14 February 2009; link has expired, as at 3 February 2010. Linda Park succeeded her husband as President of the GTF, and holds honorary 9th ''dan'' ranking.
Retrieved on 3 February 2010. Park is listed as a pioneer in Canada (1970s) in Chang Keun Choi's list of taekwondo pioneers.Choi, C. K. (2007)
Tae Kwon Do Pioneers
Retrieved on 15 March 2008.

References

External links

Global Taekwon-Do Federation

With Grandmaster Park Jung-tae
contains photographs of Park with Sabree Salleh from 1985–2002.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Jung-tae 2002 deaths Martial arts school founders South Korean male taekwondo practitioners Sportspeople from Mississauga 1943 births South Korean emigrants to Canada 20th-century philanthropists

Early life

Canada

Later life

See also

References

External links