Rhee Taekwon-Do


Rhee Taekwon-Do, also known as Rhee Tae Kwon-Do, Rhee Tae Kwon Do, or Rhee Taekwondo, is a martial art school in Australia teaching the Korean martial art of taekwondo. Its full name is "Rhee International Taekwon-Do ". Chong Chul Rhee, one of the original masters of taekwondo, founded the school in the mid-1960s. Two of Rhee's brothers, Chong Hyup Rhee and Chong Yoon Rhee, later came to assist him in the 1970s.
C. C. Rhee claims the title 'Father of Australian Taekwondo' and Rhee Taekwon-Do is widely publicised as being Australia's first and biggest taekwondo school. It has at least 294 publicly listed dojang in Australia, with perhaps around 1,400 dojang in total at its peak. Several Australian martial art [|school founders] received their foundational taekwondo training in Rhee's school.
Rhee Taekwon-Do is an independent martial art organisation. It was once affiliated with the International Taekwon-Do Federation, but has had no relation to the World Taekwondo Federation.

Founding

, 8th dan, is the founder and head of Rhee Taekwon-Do. He holds the title 'World Master' and claims the title 'Father of Australian Taekwondo.' Rhee is one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo selected from the South Korean military to develop taekwondo under Choi Hong Hi in the Korea Taekwon-Do Association. Rhee is a former unarmed combat instructor in the Korean Marines, and helped introduce taekwondo to Southeast Asia before becoming the first taekwondo master sent to Australia by the Republic of Korea.
Rhee has worked towards the reunification of Korea, serving as a member during the third through ninth terms—and as Chairman for the eighth term—of the Oceania Division of the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification. He has also served as Chairman of the Seoul Olympics Supporting Committee and founding President of the Korean Community Hall Construction Supporting Committee. The Republic of Korea awarded Rhee the Dongbaeg Medal in 2003 for promoting taekwondo and Korean culture over the past 33 years.
Two of Rhee's brothers, Chong Hyup Rhee and Chong Yoon Rhee, also hold the title of 'Master' in Rhee Taekwon-Do and assist him in managing parts of the school. Chong Hyup Rhee, 7th dan, is in charge of operations in Melbourne. He appears on the right in the school's logo. C. H. Rhee is also one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo, and helped introduce the art of taekwondo to Malaysia and Singapore before arriving in Australia in 1970. He conducts grading examinations in Melbourne and Darwin. Chong Yoon Rhee, 9th dan, is in charge of operations in parts of Sydney. He trained under Nam Tae Hi during the late 1950s, served as a South Korean army officer, and helped introduce the art of taekwondo to Vietnam in the late 1960s. C. Y. Rhee retired from military service at the rank of Major, and moved to Australia in January 1976.
C. C. Rhee and C. H. Rhee are listed as pioneers in Asia and Australia in Chang Keun Choi's list of taekwondo pioneers, while C. Y. Rhee came to Australia some time later.

Significance

Rhee Taekwon-Do occupies a prominent place in Australian taekwondo history. This is reflected in three key claims: Chong Chul Rhee is the Father of Australian Taekwondo, Rhee Taekwon-Do is the first taekwondo school in Australia, and Rhee Taekwon-Do is the biggest taekwondo school in Australia. The school has widely publicised these claims since at least the 1980s.

Father of Australian Taekwondo

Numerous claims have been made on who was the father of Australian Taekwondo by other martial art masters:
  • Chan Yong Kim, 9th dan, was the first tang soo do instructor in Australia. He arrived in the early 1960s, sponsored by the Silvertop Taxi Karate Club or the Judo Federation of Australia, and stayed for one or two years before moving overseas. Kim might be considered the first taekwondo instructor in Australia if tang soo do were recognised as taekwondo retrospectively, and so might lay claim to the title. Kim did not establish a taekwondo school in Australia.
  • Jack Rozinsky, 9th dan and, founded the Shuto Karate Club in 1963; it later became the Melbourne Taekwondo Centre. As Rozinsky taught tang soo do there, he might be considered the first taekwondo school founder in Australia, and so might lay claim to the title. Rozinsky did not introduce taekwondo outside Victoria.
  • Ke Hyung No, 8th dan, was invited to Australia by the Victoria Judo Federation in 1965, and taught taekwondo alongside judo. If tang soo do were not recognised as taekwondo retrospectively, No might lay claim to the title. He travelled back to South Korea for further training, returned to Australia in 1971, and established his own martial arts centre at that time. As with Rozinsky, No did not introduce taekwondo outside Victoria.
  • Terence Walsh, 8th dan, claims to have introduced taekwondo to New South Wales in 1969. If he was the first to introduce taekwondo to Australia's most populous state, then he might lay claim to the title. Walsh did not introduce taekwondo outside the eastern states.
  • Young Ku Yun, 8th dan, has been described as having introduced taekwondo to Sydney in 1971. If he was the first to introduce taekwondo to Australia's largest city, then he might lay claim to the title. Yun arrived around five years after Rhee, however, and himself claimed to be the first ITF instructor in Australia.
  • Wee Hin Cheah, 9th Dan. Sent by the ITF to Australia in the 1960s, opened his first school in Melbourne. In 1969 was promoted to Queensland Chief Instructor and opened a school in Townsville, Cheah is also considered to be one of the fathers of Australian Taekwon-Do. Having trained under General Choi and C.K Choi in Malaysia. Grand Master Cheah holds the rank of 9th Dan and runs his own federation. Cheah Advanced Taekwondo Australia.
Cheah, Kim and No would have been in the lower dan ranks, and would not yet have held the title of 'Master,' when they were invited to teach in Australia. A biography of No indicates that he had four years' training when he arrived. Rozinsky and Walsh would have held 1st dan ranking in the 1960s. Both Rhee and Yun would have been in the middle dan ranks and held the title of 'Master' when they arrived, as they were sent to Australia by their respective Korean governing bodies.
Image:Rhee TKD 2nd Dan Tile Breaking.jpg|thumb|upright|A twin knife-hand strike into two stacks of roof tiles as part of a Rhee Taekwon-Do 2nd dan grading test

First taekwondo school in Australia

Rhee Taekwon-Do was the first Australian martial art school founded by a Korean master and using the name of taekwondo. Rhee's school was also the first nationwide taekwondo school in Australia, having operated in South Australia from its founding in the mid-1960s, Western Australia from at least 1970, Victoria from at least 1970, the Australian Capital Territory from 1971, Queensland from at least 1973, New South Wales from 1973, and Tasmania from at least 1983. The first Rhee Taekwon-Do class was held in the Adelaide YMCA centre.
Rhee Taekwon-Do's position as the first taekwondo school in Australia might be challenged by the Melbourne Taekwondo Centre, as tang soo do was one of the arts taught there. Such status would, however, involve recognising tang soo do as taekwondo retrospectively. The Melbourne Taekwondo Centre incorporated taekwondo into its name in the 1970s.

Biggest taekwondo school in Australia

Rhee Taekwon-Do's position as the biggest taekwondo school in Australia is supported by independently verifiable listings of dojang. It has at least 294 publicly listed dojang in Australia, with perhaps around 1,400 dojang in total at its peak. The claim might be disputed if the Australian member schools of the ITF and the WTF were considered as 'schools' as a whole, whether in terms of numbers of dojang or numbers of members. Rhee Taekwon-Do is, however, a single school under the direct leadership of Rhee while both the ITF and WTF are groups of schools under a larger governing body.

Ex-Rhee members

At least 25 founders of Australian martial art schools received their foundational taekwondo training in Rhee Taekwon-Do or are former Rhee Taekwon-Do instructors. Of these ex-members, the highest-ranked was a Rhee Taekwon-Do 6th dan instructor when he left Rhee's school.

International Taekwon-Do Federation

Ex-members who founded ITF schools include some of the most senior ITF instructors in Australia. Peter Barbour, 9th Dan, was a 2nd Dan instructor in Victoria, under C.H. Rhee in the '80's. Ming Tuck Low, 8th dan, was promoted to Rhee Taekwon-Do 1st dan in 1971, and was a Rhee Taekwon-Do instructor at the University of Western Australia in 1972. Peter Wong, 7th dan, trained in Rhee Taekwon-Do in Western Australia in the early 1970s. Jamie Moore, 8th dan, commenced Rhee Taekwon-Do training in Queensland in 1976. Several other ex-members have founded ITF schools across Australia.

Other taekwondo styles

Ex-members who founded non-ITF taekwondo schools include some of the more expansionist instructors in Australia. John Ivanov, 9th dan, was a Rhee Taekwon-Do regional instructor in Queensland in 1995. Robert Frost, 7th dan, was a Rhee Taekwon-Do regional instructor in New South Wales in 2003. Lesley Hicks, 6th dan, commenced Rhee Taekwon-Do training in the late 1970s, and was a Rhee Taekwon-Do 3rd dan regional instructor in New South Wales in 2003. Vernon Low, 7th dan, was the Rhee Taekwon-Do State Master Instructor of South Australia, was the first Rhee Taekwon-Do instructor promoted to 5th dan, and had been ranked at 4th dan as early as 1974, prior to establishing his own school. Neville Creevey 6th dan, was a former Student of C.C Rhee in the 1970s, would later become a regional Instructor for Russell Fallon’s K.A.T.O. Several other ex-members have founded non-ITF taekwondo schools.