History of Hitchin Choi Kwang Do

The history of Hitchin Choi Kwang Do goes back to 1981 with Mr Peter Wake.  He began his martial arts training that year studying the traditional Korean art of Tae Kwon Do at RAF Henlow.  By 1984, he had attained the rank of not only black belt, but also Chief Instructor.  Shortly after qualifying as a Chief Instructor, he took over the running of the school.

On 16th February 1986, a young Mr Simon Sparrow joined the Henlow Tae Kwon Do school under the instruction of Mr Wake and was followed later that year by the now Hitchin club owner, Mrs Karen Wake.

Two years later, in 1988, the school converted from Tae Kwon Do to Choi Kwang Do, the martial art of Grandmaster Kwang Jo Choi.

In 1989, the newly formed Choi Kwang Do school relocated to Hitchin, firstly to Bancroft Park Halls, and then in 1990 to its current location at the Town Hall Gymnasium.

Mrs Wake gained her Chief Instructor status in 1991, and that year, Mr & Mrs Wake established their second Choi Kwang Do school in Stevenage.  This school ran until 1992.  This school was re-opened in Stevenage in 1998 at its current location, the Stevenage Leisure Centre. Mr Sparrow became it's main Chief Instructor following his Chief Instructor qualification in 1996.

In 1998, Mr Wake became the UK Choi Kwang Do Association chairman and both himself and Mrs Wake took on the huge responsibility of running the UK side of Choi Kwang Do.

In 1999, Mr Mark Foster became a Chief Instructor and established a children's club at Hitchin. He joined the other students to qualify as Instructors and move on to start their own clubs, notably, Mr Darren Busby, St Neots Choi Kwang Do and Mr Roberto Parisi, Bedford Choi Kwang Do.  Mr Foster then went on to establish Royston Choi Kwang Do in October 2000.  Hitchin has also produced a vast number of Assistant Instructors.

July 2000 saw the tragic death of Mr Wake and was a devastating blow to the Hitchin club which he had founded.  The club continues with Mr Simon Sparrow now as the main Chief Instructor under the guidance of Mrs Wake.

In January 2002, Mr Huggins and Mr Rennie qualified as Chief Instructors and took over the Hitchin Junior school from Mr Foster.  As junior students progress and mature, they transfer from the junior to the adult school ensuring a more tailored type of tuition.

The background image on this page is of Mr Peter Wake performing a flying sidekick at the Hitchin club in 1994.  The shield holder is St Neots Chief Instructor Mr Darren Busby.  The photograph was taken by Stevenage Assistant Instructor Mr Huw Rogers. ©