On 29th October 2011 First Grandmaster Rhee Ki Ha made history by announcing his resignation from the ITF after 45 years of membership.
Two things need to be clarified:
1. He did not resign from the UKTA (he is no longer president and hasn't been for 12 months, but he'll always be our founder & mentor)
2. The UKTA are still members of the ITF.
Why did he do it?
He has unfalteringly followed one master (the founder) all of his Taekwon-do life and, like him, has pursued one goal, of a unified Taekwon-do and a unified Korea, but the time had come when he felt that he could do this better by shedding the constraints of affiliation in a climate where the ITF has now been divided for almost 10 years.
At the age of 73 he has decided that he wants to spend the time he has left teaching Taekwon-do to anyone who wants to learn, with no political affiliation, bias or preconceptions. As for us in the UKTA, he calls us his 'Taekwon-do babies' and has told us that he’s not going anywhere; he is still here for us. We are happy to call him our Taekwon-do father and mentor.
He said no bitter words to, or about, the ITF. He has left amicably and now, this most honourable of men, rises head and shoulders above those who put him down for what he has done, those who never met or knew the founder, and who know nothing of the echelons of power within the ITF(s). Their negative comments say so much more about them than they say about him.
Baekjool bool gool
