Imagine a hall at RAF Changi in Singapore in the 1960s. A Korean instructor, Rhee Ki Ha, then a 5th Dan, is teaching taekwondo to Royal Air Force personnel. 15,100 When their posting ended, they invited him to Britain. 15,100
2 July 1967
Rhee Ki Ha arrived in Britain on 2 July 1967 and founded the United Kingdom Taekwon-Do Association, the UKTA. 15,100 The UKTA calls itself "the original Taekwon-Do organisation in Great Britain", and he is often called the "Father of British Taekwon-Do". 15,100 The art he taught was General Choi's, and the UKTA remains a full member of the ITF based in Vienna, and a founding member of the All Europe Taekwon-Do Federation, now the EITF. 63,100
Coventry, September 1971
The first British civilian black belts were promoted in Coventry in September 1971, according to one of them, Roy Oldham, who says he was among the first 12. 106 His later path shows how far the British story would branch. He was a founder member of the GTF in Toronto in 1990, and in 2002 he joined UK ITF under Choi Jung Hwa. 106
1983: the year of splits
In January 1983 Trevor Nicholls, then a 4th degree, as ITF clubs call their Dan grades, left the UKTA and founded the Imperial Taekwon-Do Association, which became UK ITF, incorporated in October 2010. 101 The same year the TAGB, the Tae Kwon-Do Association of Great Britain, was formed. 97,99 Why they separated is not recorded.
The TAGB grew into the largest independent body. It says every TAGB school follows the same syllabus, and that all students are graded by external examiners rather than their own instructor. 96 In 1993 it helped found an international body of its own, Tae Kwon-Do International, which describes itself as non-political. 97,99
1988: a council for the non Olympic styles
In 1988 the British Taekwondo Council, the BTC, was established, with the TAGB as a founding member; the UKTA also calls itself a founding member. 95,99,100 It is not a style. Its 14 member organisations practise ITF, independent and Kukkiwon styles, and it is recognised by the sports councils as a governing body for the non Olympic styles. 95
The Olympic style in Britain
The other family has its own governing body, British Taekwondo. By one account it was established in 1982. 16 GB Taekwondo, the elite performance body, was set up in 2002 after taekwondo joined the Olympic programme, and it runs a full time programme in Manchester. 91 In December 2022 British Taekwondo and the Kukkiwon signed a memorandum of understanding that set up a UK Kukkiwon Office. 83 And in 2025 British Taekwondo announced that all the home nation sports councils and UK Sport recognise it as the governing body for WT taekwondo. 89
How many clubs?
British Taekwondo says it has over 600 clubs. The TAGB says over 600. UKTC, an ITF style school chain, says 600. These are each body's own figures. 90,96,107
Two bodies called ITF England
The three world ITFs are reflected in Britain. There are two bodies called ITF England: one is the competition umbrella for the UKTA and others under the Vienna ITF; the other is the national association of the ITF led by Paul Weiler. 102,103 In Scotland, on 11 October 2026, that ITF reported an agreement to work towards merging its two Scottish associations, with a single Scottish team for the 2027 World Championships. 67,105
So the question "which taekwondo?" has a British answer as well as a Korean one. The last chapter is about the people who have answered it on the biggest stage.