Grandmaster Choi Yong Sul is a historically acclaimed figure in the development of Hapkido, a Korean art of self defense. He has been an influential individual as well as a master of martial arts himself.
Choi Yong Sul was born in the Chung Buk province in 1904 in Korea and orphaned at a very early age. Choi has been said to have a troubling and largely undocumented childhood but he ultimately ended up in Japan as a young boy. While growing up, Choi did not develop a liking for education and school and often got into trouble and lacked discipline.
At one point in his life, Choi became a servant for Sokaku Takeda, a master of Aikijujitsu who also allowed Choi to learn the Japanese martial art. Many people disregarded anyone from a Korean and low class background to learn a Japanese fighting system. Despite these negative forces, Choi continued learning and studied with Takeda until the death of the teacher which resulted in Choi's return to Korea.
Choi helped establish Hapkido, a new martial art, which was based on the Daito Ryu Aikijujitsu teachings. Many people consider Ji Han Jae to be the founder of Hapkido, who has been said to have learned with Choi Yong Sul, due to a lack of documentation indicating that Grandmaster Choi actually did actively learn martial arts with Takeda Sokaku.
Regardless of the speculations, Choi Yong Sul went to the United States in 1982 to further unite various teachings of Hapkido, but found this endeavor to be unsuccessful. Master Rim has also continued the Hapkido teachings of Choi and supported the contributions of the Grandmaster in the world of martial arts. Master Rim was ultimately recognized by Choi as a dedicated Hapkido instructor and the traditional system of Hapkido continues to be taught till today.