About the BUTF
Harrow Taekwondo is proudly affiliated with the British United Taekwondo Federation (BUTF), overseen by Grandmaster Au, 9th Dan.
The BUTF was formed on the 1st of March 1988 to promote and teach pure Taekwondo – the same Taekwondo that the founder Grandmaster Choi Hong Hi – 9th Dan created.
The federation was founded by Grand Master R. M. K. Choy 9th Dan – a genuine ITF Grand Master with over 40 years of 'hands-on' experience of practicing and teaching Taekwondo.
THE BUTF prides itself on its core values of fairness and integrity. This means that when you study and compete with the BUTF you can be assured that grades gained or results won are given fairly and squarely on your merits of being a properly trained Taekwondo practitioner. This means that everyone can enjoy Taekwondo without fear of prejudice or bias.
All BUTF Instructors are highly trained, fully qualified and certified. The Federation demands the highest possible standards from its Instructors. All BUTF schools are fully licensed and insured and operate within a strict code of conduct.
Learn more at the official BUTF website
In Memoriam:
Grandmaster RMK Choy IX Dan
Founder of the BUTF
Grand Master Choy commenced training in 1969 whilst still in the RAF. The school, in Barry Island South Wales was part of the United Kingdom Taekwon-Do Association.
Discharged from the RAF in March 1971 as a 2nd kup, he returned to reside in London and had to travel up and down the M1 to the Coventry area under Mr. Rhee (VI Dan at the time) to further his training. Finally after having to train under Mr. De' Silva II for an indefinite period, Mr. Choy gained his promotion to 1st Degree in 1972 and became only the 19th person in the UK to have achieved the coveted Black Belt.
Mr. Choy opened his first school, Hillingdon, in 1973 (Now entering its 33rd year) followed by others. Mr. Choy was elected as London & Southeast representative in the UKTA committee in 1975, and organised the UKTA English Championships in 1976, which was the first tournament hosted by the London area.
In Stuttgart, 1975, Mr. Choy represented the UKTA in the ITF All Europe Taekwon-Do Championships. This was his only opportunity to do so, in those days, instructors in the UKTA were not allowed to compete in National Championships, as they were needed more importantly to adjudicate and put on demonstrations, at the events.
At the 1977 English Championships in Pontefract, Yorkshire, Mr Choy became the first Black Belt to demonstrate in public the pattern Choi Yong as a 3rd degree, and the breaking of 4 x 1" pieces of piranha pine with a 180 degree jumping back kick.
His first school Hillingdon, won top honours in the UK at the Welsh & English Championships in 1978. Nominated to represent Taekwon-do in the newly formed Martial Arts Commission (MAC) in 1978, Mr Choy later went on to be elected on it's executive.Mr Choy was elected to the position of chairman of the UKTA in 1983, and during this year he also became the first ITF Black Belt in the UK to be promoted to 5th Degree. He remained in the position of chairman until 1988.
During a large period of this time, he took on the responsibility of the holding together and running of the UKTA during Master Rhee's illness which necessitated his return to his homeland of Korea for surgery - another task Mr. Choy took upon himself to organise. During this period the responsibility also fell upon Mr. Choy, to take over the duty of Chief Grading Examiner until Master Rhee's return.
In 1988 for reasons which have now become a matter of public record, Mr. Choy, along with a handful of other instructors (including Miss Au, Mr Sangha & Mr. Whitley) left the UKTA to form the British United Taekwon-Do Federation. He was elected Chairman & Chief Examiner, a position that he still holds to this day. He also held the position of Secretary General for the newly formed BTC (British Taekwon-do Council) until January 1996. He also held for the period of two years, 2002 -2004, the post of Secretary General of the ITF (Canada)Since its formation in 1988, (the year of the dragon) the BUTF has now completed more than a full cycle.
There have been periods of turbulence & uncertainty, but throughout, the leadership along with a strong coalition between Grand Master Choy IX Dan, the Executive & the Instructors of the organisation, the BUTF with its impeccable standards has become one of the most highly respected independent Taekwon-do organisations in the world.
