Choi Yong-sool

Choi Yong-sool, alternative spelling Choi Yong-sul, was the founder of the martial art Hapkido. He was born in today's North Chungcheong Province, South Korea and was taken to Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea when he was eight years old. Choi later stated that he became a student of Takeda Sōkaku, and studied a form of jujutsu known as Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (大東流合気柔術) while in Japan. Choi returned to Korea after the end of World War II and in 1948 began teaching his art at a brewery owned by the father of his first student Seo Bok-seob. He first called his art "Yu Sul (유술)" or "Yawara " later changing it to "Yu Kwon Sool " and "Hap Ki Yu Kwon Sool " and eventually Hapkido.