
Pioneers of Tae Kwon Do in Argentina
Yang
Dae-Chol
Master
Yang Dae-Chol
The official date of introduction of Taekwondo in Argentina is 1967. It
was then that Kim Han-Chang,
Choi Nam-Sung and Chung Kwang-Duk arrived and settled in Buenos Aires. They
got into contact with Judo
instructor Norberto Aspera and initially started teaching their "Korean Karate"
in Judo academies. In prior times
there had existed other Korean nationals teaching karate, but never developed
schools of their own. On the contrary,
these three instructors -who were in their late twenties- reported to the
International Taekwondo Federation under
Gen. Choi Hong Hi. A fourth instructor that started teaching around that
time is Lee Chong-Seo, who had advanced
ranking in Moo Duk Kwan.
Yang Dae-Chol was a three time national junior Korean champion that arrived
by 1970. He was from Ji Do Kwan,
and was very focused into competitive training. He was medium height and
very strong, particularly in his legs since
he had also been a speedskater in Korea. In his classes sparring was heavy
and intense, and instead of using punches,
students used to slam their palms vigorously into their opponents' chests.
His main students were E. Carrillo, R.Burman,
Ciabardelli, O. Alderete (the first female black belt in Argentina), and
from 1976 until his retirement in 1979, P. Florindo.
He is semi-retired and lives in San Carlos de Bariloche at the Patagonia.
- by Master Manuel E. Adrogué |
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