United States
ITF
The history of ITF in the United States is a history of fragmentation. Taekwondo arrived before the ITF existed — Jhoon Rhee had been teaching in San Antonio since 1957, and General Choi visited the country in 1960. When the ITF's founding in 1966 and the schism with the WT in 1972–1973 reshaped the world map, most Korean masters in the US chose the Olympic path. ITF remained an active but secondary tradition, anchored in Charles Sereff's USTF — until General Choi's death in 2002 fractured it again. Today multiple ITF organizations exist in the US, none dominant.
Pioneers
The pioneers — Jhoon Rhee and American Taekwondo
The art arrives in the U.S. before the ITF existed
Jhoon Rhee (1932–2018), trained in the Chung Do Kwan under Nam Tae-hi, arrived in the U.S. in 1956 with an army programme. From 1957 he taught in San Antonio, Texas — his first students, Pat Burleson and Allen Steen, would form the influential Southwest Black Belt Association. On 28 June 1962 he opened the first Taekwondo school in Washington D.C.
When General Choi visited him in Texas in 1960, he convinced Rhee's students to adopt the name 'Taekwondo' instead of 'Karate', retroactively making Rhee the first Taekwondo instructor resident on American soil. Rhee would go on to train Muhammad Ali and several U.S. congressmen.
“Jhoon Rhee taught in San Antonio from 1957 — American Taekwondo was born before the ITF itself.”
Foundation
Founding of the ITF and the first American bodies
ATA, ATF and USTF — three paths, one common origin
On 22 March 1966, General Choi founded the ITF in Seoul. In 1969, Haeng Ung Lee founded the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) in Omaha, Nebraska, initially affiliated with the ITF and using the Chang Hon patterns. That same year, Nam Tae-hi settled in Chicago and founded the American Taekwon-Do Federation (ATF).
On 20 July 1974, in Chicago, the United States Taekwon-Do Federation (USTF) was founded at the direct request of General Choi; its first president was Robert 'Bob' Mathias — Olympic decathlon champion and congressman. Charles Sereff was elected president in 1979 and became the linchpin of American ITF: the first non-Korean promoted to ITF International Instructor, and the second person in the world to reach 9th Dan awarded by Choi himself.
“The USTF was founded in Chicago on 20 July 1974 at the direct request of General Choi.”
The Schism
The North Korean schism and the mass departures
Choi's alliance with Pyongyang empties American ITF
In 1972 General Choi fled to Canada and the majority of Korean masters in the U.S. migrated towards the Olympic path (WTF, founded in 1973). In 1980, General Choi introduced ITF Taekwondo to North Korea — the reaction was immediate: the ATA cut all its ties with the ITF (politically unacceptable for its American membership), and in 1981–1982 the International Taekwon-Do Association (James Benko, Michigan) followed the same path.
In 1983, Haeng Ung Lee launched the Songahm system — its own patterns that replaced the Chang Hon — formalising the ATA's definitive separation from the ITF. By the mid-1980s, the American ITF community was smaller but ideologically more cohesive, anchored in Sereff and the USTF based in Colorado.
“1980 — the alliance with North Korea was the red line that split American ITF in two.”
The ATA
The ATA — its own universe with ITF roots
300,000 members, 800+ schools, Songahm system
The ATA represents the most successful path in commercial scale: more than 300,000 members, 800+ schools, presence in 21 countries, and headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, since 1977. The Songahm ('Pine and Rock') system replaced General Choi's tuls with its own forms, and the licensed franchise model ensured curricular uniformity.
Haeng Ung Lee passed away on 2 June 2000. The ATA today operates fully independent from the ITF and the WT — it is its own universe. It is not strictly ITF, but its historical origin lies in Choi-style Taekwondo of the 1960s: Nam Tae-hi's Chang Hon and General Choi's technical vocabulary are the original DNA on which Songahm was built.
“The ATA was born from the ITF and is today bigger than the ITF in the U.S. — 300,000 members, its own system.”
Post-Choi
Post-Choi fragmentation — the most complex landscape in the world
Multiple organisations, none dominant
General Choi's death on 15 June 2002 was a direct blow to the USTF: Charles Sereff and the USTF separated from the ITF, leaving an enormous institutional void. Out of the ashes emerged multiple organisations: ITF America (501c3, formed in 2019–2020 from the merger of ATFI + NTA + OTFA + Red Tiger TKD), ITF-USA (Master Jason Morris, 8th Dan, president), and others affiliated regionally.
The ITF-Pyongyang branch has no presence in the U.S. due to political sanctions. The USTF continues as an independent organisation with GM Mike Winegar (9th Dan) as Technical Director and GM Renée Sereff (9th Dan) as Director of Testing — but its international affiliation remains unclear. The American ITF landscape remains the most fragmented in the hemisphere.
“American ITF — the most fragmented in the world. Multiple organisations, no dominant national body.”
Taekwondo in United States
- ›Primer instructor de Taekwondo con residencia en EE.UU. (San Antonio, 1957)
- ›Primera escuela TKD en Washington D.C. (1962)
- ›Entrenó a Muhammad Ali y congresistas de EE.UU.
- ›El General Choi acuñó 'Taekwondo' en las clases de Rhee (1960)
- ›Presidente USTF desde 1979
- ›Primer no coreano — Instructor Internacional ITF
- ›2° en el mundo en alcanzar 9° Dan otorgado por el General Choi
- ›Promovió más de 14.900 cinturones negros
- ›Su salida en 2002 marcó el fin del ITF unificado en EE.UU.
- ›Fundó la ATA en Omaha (1969) — origen ITF, patrones Chang Hon
- ›Creó el sistema Songahm en 1983 — separación definitiva del ITF
- ›800+ academias, 300.000+ miembros, 21 países
- ›La mayor red de TKD no olímpica en América del Norte
Keep exploring
The history of Taekwondo continues in every dojang, every class, every student.