I started my Taekwondo journey in ITF. I've practiced martial arts for years, especially Taekwondo,…read morebut I never earned my black belt. I was a competitor, and that was my focus. I trained to compete, not to earn belts. As I've gotten older, I'm not old enough to complain, but let's just say I know my body a lot better now.
I always thought I knew a lot about Taekwondo because of how long I had trained, but my journey has taught me how much there is still to learn. My first major change came with Master J of Tiger J Kim in Houston. (Non Kukkiwon school) I have tremendous respect for him. He helped me transition from ITF to WT and, more importantly, helped me get my life together. Here is where I also restarted my belts. He used Taekwondo as a platform to change lives. He would tell me to show up, train, and then talk to me like a mentor while reinforcing the principles and tenets of martial arts. He talked to me like a kid sometimes, but honestly, it was something I desperately needed at the time. Because of him, I developed a completely different approach to martial arts, became happier, and even grew closer to my faith, despite that never being his intention. I never earned my black belt under Master J due to military order, but looking back, I believe God had better plans.
After nine months of military training, I moved from Houston to Everett and wanted to get back into Taekwondo. I had already started my transition from ITF to WT with Master J, so I wanted to continue learning WT. I stumbled across Y.S. Lee Taekwondo without doing much research, something just felt right. I have no regrets about contacting this school.
Master Lee has shown me just how much I didn't know. I've trained at enough schools to develop a good sense of what makes a school genuine. I've seen schools become too profit-driven, and I've seen others that feel more like short term daycare or simply focus on teaching techniques and moving students through belts. I believe that if you do what is right and genuinely focus on helping people, everything else follows. Master Lee seems to understand that better than any instructor I've encountered and share the same philosophical approach, some in which came from when I was under Master J.
Other masters may show you how to do something and hand out belts. Master Lee goes further and DEMONSTRATES the why and makes sure the students are ready to move up. He has opened my eyes to the history, reasons, deeper philosophy, and tradition behind TKD and the form movements. It's so much more than a performance or learning how to kick/punch. Master Lee taught me that there are centuries of tradition, discipline, and study behind day to day practice. I always ask questions outside of the class when I didn't understand or I wanted to challenge my understanding. Master Lee encourages it more than any Master I've seen.
He encourages questions, builds on curiosity, and doesn't just demonstrate what I know. He demonstrates what I don't understand. That is the difference! Like Master J, he sees Taekwondo as a way of life and a tool for improving the person, not just the martial artist. I believe when you teach this way, Self-defense becomes a byproduct of that process and it truly does, but you must put in the work for your studies.
I'm now working toward the black belt I never got when I was younger, and I'm grateful that I didn't because now I have the opportunity to pursue it under through a Kukkiwon-recognized school with YS Lee. I have lots of respect for Master J for helping me on this path, and I'm equally grateful that life brought me here to continue it.
If you're looking for someone who will simply teach you how to kick, punch, do forms, earn belts, there are plenty of options. If you want an instructor who will challenge what you think you know, teach the history and philosophy behind TKD, encourage your questions, and help you become a better martial artist and person, I highly recommend Master Lee and Y.S. Lee Taekwondo.
My very long (lost count after 5 years) black belt journey brought me here.