Dai-won Moon is a South Korean-born Mexican

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

and is known as the Father of Mexican Taekwondo. He introduced

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

to Mexico in 1969. Since then, with over 1.5 million taekwondo practitioners and 3,500 schools throughout the country, taekwondo has become one of the most popular sports in the nation.

Biography

Moon was born in the small village of Duk Hap, 200 km south of

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. His father, Chang Wook Moon worked in the administration of President

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisiona ...

. He became a black belt at the age of 16. Moon graduated from

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

with a degree in architecture and originally had plans to settle in the United States. He competed in various American martial arts tournaments between 1963 and 1968. He is also an alumnus of

Kyung Hee University Kyung Hee University (KHU; ) is a Private university, private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. It was founded in 1949. Kyung Hee University is part of the Kyung Hee University System, which offers comprehensive ...

. He first arrived in Mexico in 1968 on an invitation from a friend. According to Moon during his first visit, "I'd teach, it was very tough and he Mexican studentsendured, that I liked, a lot of spirit, courage, attitude and devotion." On May 22, 1969 he arrived with intentions to stay and has lived in the country since then. In 1975 he became a naturalized Mexican citizen and he has four Mexican-born children. In Mexico he established ''Moo Duk Kwan'', a school to "make Mexican taekwondo one of the strongest in the world". From 1973, when the

World Taekwondo Championships The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years by World Taekwondo. In addition to the kyorugi (full contact fighting) Championships, there are also Para World Championships as well as Poomsae and Para Poomsae Championships held every ...

began, Mexico was represented by Moon's school. Until the sixth World Championship, in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in 1983, he personally took, trained and bankrolled the Mexican athletes. In 1975, Moon promoted the creation of the ''Federación Mexicana de Taekwondo''. The association of ''Moo Duk Kwan'' schools numbers around 350. Moon taught over 300,000 students and 50,000 earned black belts, earning the title of “ Gran Maestro".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Dai-won Mexican people of Korean descent South Korean male taekwondo practitioners Mexican male taekwondo practitioners Living people South Korean emigrants to Mexico Martial artists from Seoul Texas Tech University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Kyung Hee University alumni Naturalized citizens of Mexico