Instructor certification
In many martial arts styles, the assumption traditionally has been that once students earn their black belts they are ready to teach other students. But the ATA does not believe that simply being able to do something well qualifies a person to teach it. During the last 30 years, the ATA has developed an intensive instructor training program to insure that all ATA instructors are skilled and professional teachers.

Before becoming certified, ATA black belts spend 2-3 years as instructor trainees, during which time they are required to teach at least 300 hours under the supervision of a senior instructor. They are required to earn certification in CPR and Youth Protection, to write a research paper on some aspect of martial arts training, and to attend instruction seminars. Finally, they must pass several written and practical tests and submit to ATA headquarters a video of themselves teaching Taekwondo, for Grand Master Lee's instruction staff to evaluate. Instructors must repeat these requirements every few years in order to retain their certification. Back to top

Rank promotions
The ATA Black Belt Academy holds promotional testings approximately every two months. These testings are judged by certified instructors. The judges' scores are submitted to ATA headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, to insure that uniform standards are applied in ATA schools worldwide. Based on the judges' assessments, headquarters issues new ranks and printed certificates to each student, and these ranks are respected by every ATA school in the world.

At testings and in class, the emphasis is on individual accomplishment rather than competition or comparisons with other students. All students are encouraged to fulfill their potential -- to achieve "personal victories" -- and when they test for rank promotions they are judged on that basis alone. Back to top

Curriculum development
When Taekwondo was officially established in 1955, South Korea had only recently emerged from a thirty-year occupation by Japan. As a result, the forms (patterns of choreographed techniques) that Taekwondo instructors used were deeply influenced by Japanese martial arts styles. In particular, although Taekwondo strongly emphasizes kicking techniques, these forms had very few of them.

During its early years, the ATA used the Chahng-hun style of forms (also used by the International Taekwondo Federation). But although this style was widely accepted in the Taekwondo community, Grand Master Lee felt that its forms did not accurately reflect Taekwondo -- particularly the strength and beauty of Taekwondo kicking techniques. As a result, he believed, the forms contributed little to the Taekwondo curriculum. For example, white belts were expected to know front kicks and side kicks, but no front kick appeared until the third (yellow belt) form, and there was no side kick until the form after that!

From 1983 to 1990, Grand Master Lee introduced the eighteen Songahm forms (see ATA history). These forms are part of a fully-integrated curriculum, in which everything a student learns reinforces everything else. The forms contain all or nearly all of the techniques that students are expected to know at each rank, the one-step sparring segments complement the forms, and all of these patterns lead logically to the movements required for each succeeding rank. Songahm students now do front kicks and side kicks in their white belt form, round kicks in their orange belt form, and jump front kicks in their yellow belt form (for an explanation of the belt rank system, click here). The Songahm curriculum facilitates a smooth progression from one rank to the next, so that students who begin Taekwondo feeling they'll never be able to do a simple high block suddenly find themselves a few years later doing jump 360-degree hook kicks with ease. Back to top

ATA History
Grand Master Haeng Ung Lee founded the American Taekwondo Association in 1969, only seven years after arriving in the United States.

Early years. Born in Manchuria, China, Grand Master Lee moved with his family to Korea after World War II and began his martial arts training there in 1953. He served in the Korean Army as a Taekwondo trainer for special troops before retiring to open a Taekwondo school at the Osan Air Force Base. An American serviceman named Richard Reed was one of his students there, and in 1962 Reed (who is today a Senior Master) brought Grand Master Lee to Omaha, Nebraska. They opened a Taekwondo school there, and in 1969 the ATA began opening schools throughout the country.

From the beginning, 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 schools. In 1976, he hosted the first Grand National tournament, which was the predecessor for the Songahm Taekwondo World Championships that he now hosts annually. A year later, he re-located the ATA headquarters from Omaha 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 recordkeeping system. This innovation enabled the ATA to maintain rank histories and other important information about the thousands of ATA members. The same year, Grand Master Lee began publishing a tabloid entitled "ATA News" which has evolved into the international magazine The Way of Taekwondo that the ATA now publishes 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.

Songahm Taekwondo. The birth of the Songahm style of Taekwondo came on August 13, 1983, when Grand Master Lee introduced a group of 300 masters and other instructors to the first three Songahm poom-sae (forms), which he had developed after intensive research and consultation with other ATA seniors. (See curriculum development above.)

Having successfully established a traditional Taekwondo organization in the United States, Grand Master Lee was ready to bring the ATA to Taekwondo's birthplace. In 1987, he took 203 masters and other instructors to South Korea for a ten day camp at Haein Temple. The trip engendered a new tradition, and in 1991 ATA instructors were allowed to visit Korea's famous "Tiger" Division military base. During that trip, the ATA donated a monument to the Choong Moo Memorial Center, which memorializes a famous Korean general. The nine foot tall rock monument that the ATA donated stands on the Center's grounds today.

In 1990, Grand Master Lee completed the development of the 17 Songahm Taekwondo forms that would take a student from white belt through testing for ninth-degree black belt (click here for an explanation of belt ranks) . It had taken him 20 years to complete this part of his vision for traditional Taekwondo. At the ATA World Championships that year, then-Master Lee, tested before thousands of Songahm Taekwondo students for the rank of ninth-degree black belt. Over 100,000 ATA members had signed a petition in support of his advancement to this rank, which carries the title Grand Master.

Public service. The ATA helps numerous charitable organizations. From 1986 to 1989 the ATA donated over $1.5 million to fight muscular dystrophy, earning the Muscular Dystrophy Association Award for three consecutive years as a result. The ATA also raises money for the DARE Program, Arkansas Children's Hospital, and Arkansas Special Olympics. Grand Master Lee and the ATA currently are working with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in its fight against breast cancer.

In 1991, the H.U. Lee Scholarship Foundation was established to help deserving young adults pay for their college tuition. Each year at the Songahm Taekwondo World Championships, the Foundation awards over $8,000 in scholarships to high school seniors who show dedication to their academic and martial arts careers.

New resources. In 1992, Grand Master Lee introduced a series of books called "The Way of Traditional Taekwondo." Once finished, this series of books will offer the student a complete library of forms, one-steps, and self-defense techniques from white belt to ninth-degree black belt, with descriptions of how properly to execute each technique. Since 1997, the ATA has been developing a video series to complement these books. Both the books and the videos can be ordered through the ATA Black Belt Academy instructor.

The Lee family. Grand Master Lee died on October 5, 2000, after a six-month battle with lung cancer. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sun C. Lee, and his four children: David, Flora, Lisa, and Taekwon. Grand Master Lee also has several family members who have been integral to the development of the ATA. They include his brothers Grand Master Soon Ho Lee (9th Degree Black Belt and President of the ATA), Senior Master In Ho Lee (7th Degree Black Belt and Membership Chairman) and Senior Master Mal Kun Lee (7th Degree Black Belt and Instruction Chairman); as well as his cousin Senior Master Gyung Kun Lee (7th Degree Black Belt and Protech Chairman). Back to top

• For more information about the American Taekwondo Association, visit ATA international headquarters online.
• To learn more about Grand Master H.U. Lee, read his profile on the CompleteMartialArts.com Hall of Fame website.