About
In 1968, Korean General Hong Hi Choi (the man responsible for
originally standardizing Taekwondo in 1955) met with then
Master Haeng Ung Lee (now Eternal Grand Master), who at the
time was teaching Taekwondo-Japanese mixed martial arts to his
organization of followers. General Choi quickly taught Eternal
Grand Master Lee the first 16 Cheon-jee forms of Taekwondo in
only 4 days and three nights (this system of forms was the first
set of forms developed under the new Taekwondo of Korea).
1936-2000
Eternal Grand Master
Haeng Ung Lee
Milestones
1936 Born in Manchuria, China
1953 Began martial arts
1954 Received 1st Degree
1955 Began teaching Taekwondo
1956 Trained Korean military
1959 Opened Taekwondo school in Korea
1961 Met Master Richard Reed
1962 Arrived in U.S. and started teaching in Omaha, NE
1969 Founded ATA
1970 Received 7th Degree
1973 Became U.S. citizen
1975 Married Mrs. Sun C. Lee
1977 Relocated ATA Headquarters to Little Rock, AR
1978 Received 8th Degree
1978 Began hosting Grand Nationals Tournament
1980 Computerized ATA
1983 Created Songahm style
1983 Started Taekwondo World magazine
1983 Founded Songahm Taekwondo Federation (STF)
1990 Hosted first World Championships
1990 Inaugurated to 9th Degree and received title of Grand
Master
1990 Founded World Traditional Taekwondo Union (WTTU)
1991 Established Master H.U. Lee Foundation
1992 ATA Day: March 22, 1992 Congressional Record
1992 Introduced The Way of Traditional Taekwondo book
series
1993 Arkansas Business of the Year award
1994 Presented with ATA patch taken into space by space
shuttle
1997 Created The Way of Traditional Taekwondo video
series
1998 Established Black Belt Academy program, created
Songahm Systems International
2000 Grand Opening of new Songahm Headquarters
2000 Passed away in Little Rock, AR; posthumously awarded
title of Eternal Grand Master
From this first meeting almost half a century ago, the stage was
set for the founding of The American Taekwondo Association
(ATA) in 1969 in Omaha, Nebraska by Eternal Grand Master Lee.
Eternal Grand Master Lee began his martial arts training in 1954
as a teenager. He taught martial arts to Republic of Korea
military intelligence personnel from 1956 to 1959, opening his
first commercial school in Osan, Korea after leaving the military.
Eternal Grand Master then opened several "branches" to his
commercial school, including one at a U.S. Air Force base. This is
where Master Richard Reed began training with Eternal Grand
Master, and the two forged a friendship that would ultimately
result in the ATA.
When Reed returned to the United States in 1962, Eternal Grand
Master joined him on a "visitor" visa, and began teaching in
Omaha. Although he had to return to Korea in December, 1963
while awaiting a "resident" status visa, he returned to the U.S. in
1965 and began working toward a national Taekwondo
organization that would be based on good martial arts and
sound business practices. As it grew from a regional
organization to one of national -- and ultimately international --
scope, the ATA began to establish standards that would ensure
consistent curriculum.
The ATA held "closed" tournaments -- you had to be a member
to compete. Instructors had to undergo a rigorous trainee period
to become a certified instructor, and the only way to receive
certification was to come to Little Rock for a week in August and
participate in a Trainee Instructor Camp, complete with physical
and written exams.
From the beginning, Eternal Grand Master Lee was determined to
establish the most professional martial arts organization
possible. In 1973, he introduced the first instructor manual,
which provided information and procedures to standardize the
operation of all ATA curriculum. In 1976, he hosted the first
Grand National tournament, which was the predecessor for the
Songahm Taekwondo World Championships now held annually. A
year later, he re-located the ATA headquarters from Omaha,
Nebraska to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he soon had 200 black
belts earning instructor certification each year.
In 1980, the ATA became the first martial arts organization to
introduce a centralized computer record keeping system. This
innovation enabled the ATA to maintain rank histories and other
important information about the thousands of ATA members.
The same year, the ATA began publishing a tabloid entitled "ATA
News" which has evolved into the international magazine The
Way of Taekwondo, now published quarterly to keep Songahm
Taekwondo students informed about upcoming events,
appraised of new programs, and knowledgeable about the
physical and mental aspects of Songahm Taekwondo.
The history of the ATA was set on a new and unique course in
1983 when, at a Certified Instructor Camp in Little Rock, Eternal
Grand Master introduced the Songahm system of Taekwondo.
The Songahm system represented the culmination of years of
study by Eternal Grand Master Lee. The ATA had used the Chang
Hun Taekwondo forms since 1969 -- and the "Pinan" forms prior
to that -- but he had noticed something missing in the forms.
With the assistance of senior instructors including Robert
Allemier, Bill Clark, In Ho Lee and Jee Ho Lee, Eternal Grand
Master developed a unified teaching system in which, for the
first time, White Belts learned kicks in their Taekwondo forms
and one-step sparring was closely integrated with the forms to
aid in student development by establishing a more logical
system for beginners. But even more than that the entire system
of Songahm forms worked together with balance and harmony,
reflecting the essence of the art.
In 1984, the Songahm Taekwondo Federation (STF) was founded
by Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee and Master Cezar Ozuna to
help spread Songahm Taekwondo outside of the United States. In
the fall of 1990, the World Traditional Taekwondo Union (WTTU)
was formed. While the ATA encompasses licensed locations in
the United States and Canada, the STF includes licensed locations
in South America and the WTTU covers the remaining portion of
the world.
With the passing of Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee in October
2000, our current leadership has taken up the torch of his
inspirational guidance and leadership and ensured the values the
ATA were founded upon remain our focus for today and into the
future.
Grand Master Soon Ho Lee, after many trials and tests for the
Grand Master title, was elevated to be our leader in Taekwondo
and guides and focuses the Songahm Taekwondo style. Mrs. Sun
C. Lee, wife of the late Eternal Grand Master H.U. Lee and the
ATA's Chairman of the Board, continues the legacy of her
husband by helping the youth of Songahm Taekwondo through
her philanthropic efforts and devotion. Our leadership ensures
that the ATA will continue to be one of the most innovative,
effective, and widespread organizations in martial arts
worldwide.
From its humble beginnings, today the ATA and its affiliated
organizations is beginning to register over 300,000 members
worldwide, including 53,000 black belts and 3,000 certified
instructors.
In many ways, this is still just the beginning. We know the ATA
has many wonderful surprises in store for Taekwondo in the
United States and across the world. We hope you will journey
with us as Songahm Taekwondo continues to evolve and improve
to help students and masters do the same.