Choi Yong-sool
South Korean martial artist (1904–1986)
崔龍述 · 최용술
- Born
- 9 November 1904, Yeongdong County
- Died
- 15 June 1986, Daegu
- Citizenship
- Korean Empire, South Korea
- Sport
- martial arts
- Occupation
- martial artist
Choi Yong-sool (Korean: 최용술; Hanja: 崔龍述; November 9, 1904 – June 15, 1986), alternative spelling Choi Yong-sul, was the founder of the martial art Hapkido (합기도; 合氣道). 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 (서복섭; Suh Bok-sub). He first called his art "Yu Sul (유술)" or "Yawara (야와라; 柔術)" later changing it to "Yu Kwon Sool (유권술; 柔拳術)" and "Hap Ki Yu Kwon Sool (합기 유권술; 合氣柔拳術)" and eventually Hapkido.
Teachers
Students
- Han Bong-soo
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q562516 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.