Nam Tae-hi was a pioneering South Korean master of taekwondo and is known as the "Father of Vietnamese Taekwondo".
10 Facts About Nam Tae-hi
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Nam Tae-hi began training in the martial arts in 1946, training after school for five nights each week.
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Nam Tae-hi's training continued in the Chung Do Kwan under Lee Won-kuk.
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Nam Tae-hi was pivotal in the development of taekwondo, and was called Choi's "right hand man" in the latter's official biography.
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In 1954, at the rank of 2nd dan, Nam Tae-hi participated in a military demonstration of martial arts for the president of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, and broke 13 roof tiles with a downward punch; Rhee was reportedly so impressed that he subsequently ordered all Korean military personnel to undergo training in martial arts.
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In March 1959, Nam Tae-hi was a member of the first Korean taekwondo demonstration team to travel overseas, demonstrating his martial art in Vietnam and Taiwan.
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In 1962, Nam Tae-hi was appointed as Chief Instructor of taekwondo for the Vietnamese army, and came to be known as the Father of Taekwondo in Vietnam.
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Syngman Rhee 8.
Nam Tae-hi designed the Chang Hon taekwondo patterns Hwa-Rang hyung, Chung-Mu hyung, and UI-Ji hyung.
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Nam Tae-hi moved to the Chicago area in 1972, opened a dojang in 1973, and then later lived in Los Angeles.
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Nam Tae-hi appears on Chang-keun Choi's list of taekwondo pioneers.