“Mr. Mighty Might”
Sihak Henry Cho 1934 – 2012
“Mr. Mighty Might”
Great Grandmaster Sihak Henry Cho was a taekwondo pioneer and instructor with the ranking of 9th dan. He is recognized as one of the originators to introduce Asian martial arts into the United States of America.He was the student of Yun Kwei-byun founder of Korean Tae Kwon Do in 1947, which was officially named Kong Soo Do by the founding Association comprised of members of the five original Kwans. Cho was one of the original teachers of Kong Soo Do, which ceased to exist because of dissension within the Association, and the outbreak of the Korean war.
Cho began his martial arts training in 1949 in South Korea.
He received his B.A. degree from Korea University in 1957, and was captain of the Tae Kwon Do (Kong Soo Do) team. . In 1958, he travelled to the USA in pursuit of a Master's Degree in Business Administration at the University of Illinois. He created many martial arts branch schools across the nation.He opened the first permanent, commercial Tae Kwon Do school in the USA in 1961 which he personally ran for over 40 years.
In 1964 he took a break from his daily teaching and toured ten major cities in the US and Canada in ten weeks with the Wonderful World of Sports to demonstrate Tae Kwon Do techniques. Cho frequently appeared in the media, including appearances on the Tonight Show in November 1962.
One of Cho’s proudest moments was in 1974 when he led a group of Tae Kwon Do masters in the United States and successfully lobbied to include Tae Kwon Do in the US Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) as a main competition sport.
As Chair of the AAU tournament committee, Cho wrote the new competition rules and regulations which became the first draft used by the World Tae Kwon Do Federation.
During his lifetime he befriended many notable martial artists including Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Michael DePasquale Sr., Ronald Duncan, Donald Nagle and Peter Urban. Sensei Urban nicknamed him “The Mighty Might”.
In 1965, Cho was the creator and promoter of the All American Open Tae Kwon Do/Karate/Kung Fu Championship Tournament which continues on to this day. The Open was held for 23 consecutive years at Madison Square Gardens, and was attended by many martial artists. Bruce Lee met Chuck Norris for the first time at the Open. In 1989, Cho received the Gold Ticket Award from Madison Square Garden to commemorate his 23 consecutive years of promoting the tournament. In 1971, he was inducted into Black Belt Magazine’s Hall of Fame as Man of the Year. He received the prestigious 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. Cho served as the Head Coach for the St John’s University Tae Kwon Do Club, and assisted other university clubs.
He was a member of the US Tae Kwon Do Grand Master Association, and President of the World Council of Martial Arts, Inc. from 1991-2012. In July 2003 he was named one of the honorees of the Centennial Committee of Korean Immigration to the United States. Cho is the author of a number of books including: Tae Kwon Do Secrets of Korean Karate 1968, and Korean Karate, Free Fighting Techniques & Self Defense Karate 1970.
Grandmaster Cho died on March 8, 2012. He is fondly remembered for his many achievements and contributions to Taekwondo, and the martial arts.