{{short description|South Korean martial artist}} {{family name hatnote|Choi||lang=Korean}} __NOTOC__ {{Infobox martial artist | name = Choi Chang-keun<br><small>{{post-nominals|country=CAN|size=100%|OC}}</small> | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1941}} | birth_place = Korea | death_date = | death_place = | martial_art = Taekwondo | teacher = Choi Hong-hi, Lim Woo-jong | rank = 9th ''dan'' taekwondo (ITF)<br>4th ''dan'' karate | students = | url = http://www.taekwondopioneers.com/ }}

'''Choi Chang-keun''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|size=100%|OC}} ({{Korean|hangul=최창근|hanja=崔昌根}}; born 1941), widely known as '''C. K. Choi''', is a South Korean–Canadian master of taekwondo,<ref name="CKChoi">[http://www.taekwondopioneers.com/grand_master.html Tae Kwon Do Pioneers: Grand Master C. K. Choi] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311123152/http://www.taekwondopioneers.com/grand_master.html |date=March 11, 2009 }} Retrieved on 5 January 2010.</ref><ref name="Park1993">Park, S. H. (1993): "About the author." In H. H. Choi: ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence'', 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 241–274). Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.</ref><ref name="WTAChoi">[http://wtaonline.net/gm-ck-choi.htm World Taekwon-Do Alliance: Grand Master C. K. Choi] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309114040/http://wtaonline.net/gm-ck-choi.htm |date=March 9, 2010 }} Retrieved on 5 January 2010.</ref><ref name="Hawkins2005">Hawkins, P. (2005): [http://www.raynerslanetkd.com/TTKD/TotallyTKD_Issue_4.pdf An interview with Grandmaster C. K. Choi] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715155801/http://www.raynerslanetkd.com/TTKD/TotallyTKD_Issue_4.pdf |date=July 15, 2011 }} ''Totally Tae Kwon Do'', 4:6–13.</ref><ref name="PioneersChoiCK">[http://www.cdmaf.org/?page_id=9 Pioneers of Taekwon-Do: Grand Master Choi Chang-keun] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213234946/http://www.cdmaf.org/?page_id=9 |date=February 13, 2010 }} Retrieved on 13 January 2010.</ref> and one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association.<ref name="ITF1972">Choi, H. H. (1972): ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence''. Mississauga: International Taekwon-Do Federation.</ref><ref name="OriginalMasters">[http://www.itfnz.org.nz/ref/documents/masters.htm A tribute to the original masters] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525230014/http://www.itfnz.org.nz/ref/documents/masters.htm |date=2010-05-25 }} (c. 2007). Retrieved on 13 June 2007; link has expired, as at 1 July 2011.</ref> Following a career in the South Korean military, Choi emigrated to Canada in 1969, where he continues to teach his martial art.

==Early life== Choi was born around 1941 in Korea, during the period of Japanese occupation. He began training in the martial arts in 1956, studying taekwondo and karate under instructors Hong and Kim in the South Korean army, and subsequently trained under Lim Woo-jong, Director of Taekwondo for the Korean 1st Army.<ref name="CKChoi"/> By 1960, Choi had attained the rank of 2nd ''dan'' in taekwondo.<ref name="Hawkins2005"/> In 1961, he helped Choi Hong-hi to create many of the present day Chang Hon patterns, Ge-Baek ''hyung''.<ref name="CKChoi"/>

In 1962, Woo promoted Choi to the rank of 3rd ''dan''.<ref name="Hawkins2005"/> That same year, Choi became the first taekwondo world champion in sparring and patterns, and then became the first tae soo do world champion (full contact, heavyweight, 3rd–5th ''dan'' division) in 1963.<ref name="CKChoi"/> He later became one of the twelve original masters of taekwondo and taught in Malaysia.<ref name="CKChoi"/> Through the late 1960s and 1970s, Choi was a key member of the taekwondo demonstration teams that accompanied H. H. Choi around the world.<ref name="Cox2004">Cox, S. (c. 2004): [http://visiontkd.co.uk/tkdhistory.htm The history of Taekwon-Do and its founder] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404195245/http://visiontkd.co.uk/tkdhistory.htm |date=2009-04-04 }} Retrieved on 3 February 2010.</ref>

==Canada== Choi moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1969. He opened the first taekwondo school there in 1970.<ref name="CKChoi"/> He also established the University of British Columbia's taekwondo club in the 1970s.<ref name="UBCTKD">[https://archive.today/20070518081843/http://www.ams.ubc.ca/clubs/taekwondo/ UBC Tae Kwon Do] Retrieved on 22 January 2010.</ref> In 1973, Choi held the rank of 7th ''dan''.<ref name="ITASlovenia">[http://tkd-gorenjske.si/en/index.php?subpage=2 International Taekwon-Do Association Slovenia: ITF history] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831060448/http://tkd-gorenjske.si/en/index.php?subpage=2 |date=2011-08-31 }} Retrieved on 3 February 2010.</ref>

In 1980, Choi designed the International Taekwon-Do Federation's (ITF) tree logo that is worn on the back of every ITF uniform.<ref name="CKChoi"/><ref name="KidokwanDobok">[http://www.kidokwan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=56 Kido Kwan Martial Art International: Origins of the Taekwon-Do Dobak (''sic'')] Retrieved on 31 January 2010.</ref> He attained the rank of 8th ''dan'' in 1981, promoted by H. H. Choi,<ref name="Hawkins2005"/> and 9th ''dan'' in 2002.<ref name="CKChoi"/>

Choi has started a campaign to reunite ITF practitioners across the world.<ref name="TKDPioneers">[http://www.taekwondopioneers.com/ Tae Kwon Do Pioneers] Retrieved on 20 January 2010.</ref> He continues to teach, conduct grading tests, give seminars, and offer assistance to those involved in taekwondo.

He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2023. He currently resides in Surrey, British Columbia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/order-canada-appointees-december-2023|title=Order of Canada appointees – December 2023 |publisher=Governor General of Canada|accessdate=2023-12-28}}</ref>

==See also== * List of taekwondo grandmasters

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==External links== * [http://www.taekwondopioneers.com/ Tae Kwon Do Pioneers]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Chang-keun}} Category:Living people Category:Historians of martial arts Category:Martial arts school founders Category:Martial artists from Vancouver Category:Martial artists from British Columbia Category:South Korean male taekwondo practitioners Category:South Korean male karateka Category:Canadian male taekwondo practitioners Category:Canadian male karateka Category:1941 births Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:South Korean emigrants to Canada Category:Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen Category:20th-century South Korean sportsmen