TaeKwonDo's origins go back thousands of years in the penninsula of Korea.
Several separate Korean arts that emphasized different aspects of the martial
art were brought together& named "TaeKwonDo" in the1950's. In the 1970's the
art was named a national sport in Korea as the emphasis started to shift to a
sport that would appeal to the International Olympic Committee. TaeKwonDo is
now an Olympic sport and for many has changed its emphasis from a self-defence
system to a sport.
Traditional TaeKwonDo retains the devastating arsenal of kicks as well as the training
of weapons, throws, punching and joint locks. Traditional TaeKwonDo is not a hard
contact sport for the young but rather a life-long study for self-perfection as well as
self-protection.

see Wikpedia for a longer definition & history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taekwondo
General Information Barrel.net
A history of Taekwondo scottshaw.com
Resource page http://paperwindow.com/tkd/
Portal to Taekwondo sites http://www.martialhub.com/korean/taekwondo.html

 

Our Style (kwan) of Taekwondo
Chang Moo Kwan

Chang Moo Kwan was founded at the YMCA in the Jong Ro section of Seoul in 1946 by Yoon, Byung In. During Japanese occupation, Yoon is said to have studied a Chinese system of self defense in Korea known as, Joo An Pa -- more commonly known as, Chuan Fa. He then relocated to Japan to attend Nihon University. While there, he studied Karate under the direction of Kanken Toyama, founder of Shudokan Karate. It is claimed that he eventually earned the rank of 4th Dan Black Belt in this sytem of Karate. It is also stated, in some documents, that he was the Captain of the Karate Team at Nihon University -- though there is no substantiated data to prove this claim.

Upon Korean independence, Yoon returned to his homeland and in 1946 opened the YMCA Kwon Bup Bu or Chang Moo Kwan. Initially, he had over five hundred students. But, his training method was so severe that it is rumored that less than two hundred students remain after only a few months.

Yoon, Byung In became missing-in-action during the Korean War. After the war, two of Yoon's senior students: Lee, Nam Suk and Kim Soon Bae reopened the school at the YMCA.

Important Dates in Chang Moo Kwan:

In 1946, Lee, Nam Suk was named the first official instructor of Chang Moo Kwan by its founder Yoon, Byung In. In 1953, he became the second president of this organization. From 1961 forward, he held several pivotal positions in the Korea Taekwondo Association, including Vice President.

Lee, Nam Suk was born in Yeo Joo, Korea, in 1925, When he was five years old his family moved to Seoul, where he was educated, eventually earning a degree in Electrical Engenering. He passed away in Southern California in late 2000.

The early Chang Moo Kwan Black Belts were:

Kang Duk Won

As the second incarnation of Chang Moo Kwan came into existence in 1953, Lee, Nam Suk and Kim, Soon Bae begin to have conflict with two other senior students of the kwan: Hong, Jung Pyo and Park, Chul Hee. These two men left and formed Kang Duk Won, "House of Teaching Generosity," in the nearby Shin Sul Dong district of Seoul in 1956.
from http://www.scottshaw.com/history/