He is widely recognized as the "father of American taekwondo" for introducing the Korean martial art to the United States when he immigrated in the 1950s.
[8] Rhee received martial art training from Nam Tae Hi and graduated from the Chung Do Kwan.
[10] In 1973, Rhee made his only martial arts movie, When Taekwondo Strikes; he also had a small role in Fist of Fury.
In 1975, he met Muhammad Ali before the latter's Thrilla in Manila fight with Joe Frazier.
Rhee demonstrated the accupunch to Ali, who was unable to block it and asked to be taught it.