First Grand Master (FGMR)
Father of British and Irish TAEKWON-DO • Born March 20, 1938 • Age 87 (2025)
“If you say the rose is the nicest flower and then destroy all others, then you have nothing to compare the rose to.”— Pioneer RHEE KI HA
RHEE KI HA (born March 20, 1938, in Seoul, South Korea), the eldest of seven children, began martial arts at age 7 or 8, studying judo under his father and later karate from a schoolteacher. The only sibling to pursue martial arts, he served in the South Korean military's 35th Infantry Division, training under General CHOI HONG HI, TAEKWON-DO's founder, and became one of the twelve original Masters of the Korea TAEKWON-DO Association.
In 1964, as the first pioneer instructor to leave Korea with the job title of TAEKWON-DO Instructor on his Passport, RHEE KI HA taught TAEKWON-DO to the US 8th Army and RAF personnel in Singapore, (the birthplace of MYSTIC-EAGLE's Founder and Chief International Instructor Mr Patrick Lee 5th Degree). Pioneer RHEE KI HA founded the Singapore TAEKWON-DO Association in 1967.
After this he moved to the UK, establishing the United Kingdom TAEKWON-DO Association (UKTA), followed by the Republic of Ireland TAEKWON-DO Association in 1972 and the All European TAEKWON-DO Association in 1979. Teaching in Armed Forces Schools in the mid 1970s, where MYSTIC-EAGLE's Founder graded to Green Belt Blue Tag between April 1976 and 1977.
Promoted to 5th dan upon arriving in the UK, he became a 9th Degree in 1997, earning the title "First Grand Master" (FGMR) from The Founder General CHOI HONG HI, who called him TAEKWON-DO's "best ever student." Now 87 (2025), Pioneer RHEE KI HA FGMR serves as patron of the Authentic Centres of Excellence (A.C.E.) TAEKWON-DO, revered as the "Father of British and Irish TAEKWON-DO."
The connection between Pioneer RHEE KI HA and MYSTIC-EAGLE runs deep through both geography and training lineage:
