In 1972 The Chief Instructor of South East Asia, Grand Master Kang Uk Lee gave permission for one of his students from Malaysia, Mr Ivan C H Tnay Black Belt 2nd Dan, to start Tang Soo Do classes in the United Kingdom. Mr Ivan C H Tnay arrived in the United Kingdom in the Autumn of 1972 to study Accountancy. Mr Tnay taught Tang Soo Do at the YMCA in Watford until Grand Master K U Lee’s arrival in the Spring of 1974. Grand Master Lee came to the United Kingdom as the representative of the Korean Soo Bahk Do Association.
The United Kingdom Tang Soo (Soo Bahk) Do Federation (UKTSDF) was founded in 1974. Grand Master K U Lee was appointed the Chief Instructor/Technical Advisor and Mr. Ivan C H Tnay, the founder Secretary General. In 1976 Grand Master Lee was elected as President, the position he still holds today. The UKTSDF expanded to all parts of the United Kingdom.
After three decades of Tang Soo Do promotion in the UK, the Federation has trained over 27,000 members and is the official sole governing body for the Korean Martial Art of Tang Soo Do in Great Britain as recognised by Sport England. From its foundation in 1974 as a martial arts body offering Tang Soo Do training, the UKTSDF has risen to become one of Britain’s leading martial arts organisations under the leadership of our President.
The Federation had to register its emblem of a closed fist flanked with a circle of laurel leaves above Korean or Chinese wordings in 1987 to prevent other Tang Soo Do organisations in the United Kingdom from passing-off as the UKTSDF. The said Federation Championship Team participated in the 12th World Championships held in Greece in 2007 and will be sending a strong team of 20 participants to the forthcoming 13th World Championship to be held in Adelaide, Australia in 2009.
The technical improvement, championship successes and popularity of the UKTSDF over the years have naturally been a source of immense satisfaction. So too, has the development of students’/members’ facilities, seminars, referee/judges courses and newsletters within the UKTSDF. The history of the UKTSDF is one of continued expansion – physically and technically. The UKTSDF textbook was written by Grand Master Kang Uk Lee and published by A & C Black Limited of London in April 1998. The latest facility for our membership is the introduction of the UKTSDF VISA Card issued by MBNA International Bank Limited.
A substantial portion of that success must be credited to the rigorously planned teaching method which was introduced by our President, Grand Master Lee and implemented by the Executive Committee, Master instructors and assistant instructors. Throughout our period of expansion our basic priority has remained: to provide the best possible environment, technically and socially, for everyone who teaches and trains with the United Kingdom Tang Soo (Soo Bahk) Do Federation.