About Songahm Taekwondo

ATA Martial Arts offers quality traditional martial arts instruction for men, women and children. The instructors are internationally-certified to teach the ATA's Taekwondo curriculum.

For more information about our Taekwondo program, please read on -- or choose one of the topics below to skip ahead.

Karate for Kids
The ATA's innovative program for children encourages goal-setting and teaches values like respect, self-control and perseverance. The Karate for Kids program includes the Star System, which rewards students for their accomplishments at home, at school, in their communities and in Taekwondo class. Back to top

Adult Taekwondo classes
You don't have to be a kid to enjoy the physical and personal benefits that Taekwondo offers. Songahm Taekwondo can help adults...

• Increase flexibility
• Develop cardiovascular fitness
• Lose weight
• Reduce stress
• Improve coordination
• Build confidence
• Learn self-defense
• Have fun!

Taekwondo is not just for jocks. Our Taekwondo program is built on the philosophy of ATA founder Grand Master H.U. Lee that anyone can do Taekwondo. ATA members range from three-year-olds to octogenerians, and they include students who had never done any physical activity as well as those who have excelled in professional sports.

We also readily accommodate students with special needs. The ATA has always made its training programs available to people of all ages and physical abilities.

If you have not exercised in the past or are unsure of your current level of physical conditioning, please consult your health care professional before starting any exercise program. Back to top

Taekwondo history
Like any martial art properly taught and properly practiced, Taekwondo is a non-agressive and ethical system of self-defense. Its roots in Korea go back to the third century A.D., but the word "Taekwondo" was not adopted officially until 1955. South Korea had recently emerged from a 30-year occupation by Japan (1915-1945), which was followed by the Korean War. During the Japanese occupation, Korean martial arts were practiced only in secret. When South Korea emerged as an independent nation, General Hong Hi Choi sought to unify the traditional Korean training styles under one rubric.

At the time, several schools of martial arts existed in Korea, all of them influenced by Japanese and Chinese styles. These schools included Tang-soo Do, Gong-soo Do and Soo-bak Do. General Choi started a movement to unify these schools under the name Taekwondo, which was derived from the ancient name Taekyon. Taekwondo means "the way (do) of the hand (kwon) and foot (tae)."

General Choi presented this name to a committee whose purpose was to organize the national martial art, and the committee unanimously adopted the name Taekwondo. The government ratified this choice on April 11, 1955, and Taekwondo became Korea's national martial art.

In 1968, General Choi met with then-Master Haeng Ung Lee, who would found the ATA one year later (see ATA history). Master Lee at that time was teaching the Japanese-based Pyeong Ahn forms. General Choi taught Master Lee the first 16 Cheon-jee (or Chahng-hun) forms in only four days and three nights, a feat of speed-learning that was possible because of the simplicity of each form.

The Chahng-hun system was the first set of forms developed for Korea's new martial art. It was followed in the early 1970s by the Pal-gae system. Both of these forms systems were deeply influenced by Japanese styles, and as a result they did not demonstrate the dynamic kicking techniques for which Taekwondo is famous.

To return Taekwondo to its traditional roots and to align the Taekwondo forms with the rest of the curriculum, Grand Master Lee in 1983 introduced the Songahm style of traditional Taekwondo. Back to top

The Songahm style
With the assistance of other senior ATA masters and instructors, Grand Master Lee developed a forms system that incorporated the the kicks, traditions and philosophy of traditional Taekwondo. He called this traditional style of Taekwondo "Songahm."

The Songahm 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. 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.

Songahm Taekwondo mixes traditional Korean martial arts techniques with the world's most modern and professional curriculum, instructor training program, and business operations. The word Songahm itself represents this combination of tradition and growth.

Songahm is interpreted to mean "pine tree and rock." The rock represents the solid traditional foundation on which the Songahm style of Taekwondo rests. Grand Master Lee chose the pine tree as the symbol of Taekwondo because, as an evergreen tree, it symbolizes in the Korean culture unchanging human loyalty, longevity, respect, and happiness. Like the pine tree, Songahm Taekwondo students (and the style itself) grow continuously. In the Songahm style, there is no ending point -- black belts of all levels, including Grand Master Lee, continue to develop and learn.

Songahm Taekwondo is not just a physical activity. Grand Master Lee calls Taekwondo "the martial art that trains people physically and mentally." In addition to physical fitness, Songahm Taekwondo classes promote discipline, honor, self-control, respect, courtesy, perseverance and loyalty. These values are reflected in the student oath that ATA members recite at the beginning and end of each Taekwondo class (click here to see the student oath). Back to top

The Scrolls of Songahm
Upon introducing the first Songahm forms on a mountaintop in 1983, Grand Master Lee also presented the assembled masters and other instructors with the Scrolls of Songahm:

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© 1999- Jordan Schreiber