A brief biography of Grandmaster Hee Il Cho |
| Hee Il Cho grow up in a harsh area of post war Korea in what was little more that a hut on the outskirts of South Po Hoang, like most, Cho's family were very poor. His father left to, when Cho was still young, to find a better life, which meant that Cho, being the eldest boy, had the responsibility of providing for himself his mother and his 5 siblings at just 8 years old. His mother left long before sun rise every morning to search for a days work in the city but was often unsuccessful. In one particularly harsh winter all of his family had not eaten for a week, his mother had told him and his siblings to lay down on the floor to conserve their energy. They did as she said, Cho felt very weak and became dazed. Even at such a young age he knew death was close but was not willing to accept it laying down. He stood up and made his way to the door in search of food, his mother shouted at him to stop, but he didn't listen. Cho took to the streets, knocking on doors to beg for food, but he had no luck; everyone was in the same situation as him. He became disorientated and fell to the floor. An old woman awoke him pushing a bag of food into his hands, and Cho ran home to share the food with his family. Cho began training in martial arts after he was viscously beaten by a group of youths at a carnival. The beating left a massive impact on his life, vowing never to be defeated in such a way again, he joined a local Tae Kwon Do club. Training was very, hard for three hours each session. Sparring was extremely competitive and so to compensate for his small stature and weakness, due to childhood under nourishment, he began to lift weights. However, unable to afford weights he made his own by tying blocks of concrete to a piece of wood. Whatever the weather he lifted weights every day, incorporating them into his normal training regime. This gave him much needed strength and body weight, enabling him to become a great sparer. He loved to spar, entering every competition possible and winning most. In addition to his Tae Kwon Do training he enrolled in a boxing gym to develop his footwork and full contact techniques. At age 22 Cho had to serve 2 and a half compulsory years in the Korean army. Having a strong reputation as a martial artist and boxer, he was assigned to train Korean special forces in Tae Kwon Do. There were still many American troops stationed in Korea and Cho was "lucky" enough to be selected to transfer to the U.S division to teach martial arts to the American soldiers. This promotion was a great change in his life, he had large meals three times a day, and observed what it was like to live freely. He also learnt a little English. Observing this different culture made him re-examine his future. After he left the army, Cho made the decision to leave Korea, but at this time it was extremely difficult to gain permission to leave the country. He had only one option open to him; to enrol in a Tae Kwon Do instructors training centre. The centre was run by General Choi Hong Hi, the man who created Tae Kwon Do! The students who graduated first and second from this course would have the chance to go over seas and work for the government as Tae Kwon Do instructors. Cho graduated first with honours. After training the Indian Special Forces in the desert he decided to set out towards the unknown, and hed for America. In America he began to set up a string of martial art schools and continued entering competitions. He gained a loyal following and rose to become one of the most popular and well known martial artists in America. Cho then decided to take his ideas world wide, holding seminars in numerous countries. At 64 years old Grandmaster Cho still trains every day, and holds seminars world wide. Grandmaster Cho's popularity is still rising and he has club teaching his unique style of martial arts in numerous countries world wide. |
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