ATA's new identity

sfs982000

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Well I guess someone sure earned their paycheck on that one. Looks like I have to update my patch now.
 

Balrog

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It was done to unify the three branches of Songahm Taekwondo into one organization. Not a bad thing, in my opinion.
 

tshadowchaser

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how much money is involved by joing the "new" ATA and how much do belt test go up
 

Balrog

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how much money is involved by joing the "new" ATA and how much do belt test go up

Do you know anything at all about the ATA? I wonder, because if you truly did, you would have realized how ridiculous that question was and you might not have posted it.
 

tshadowchaser

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No I do not. But I do know that when organizations change names or join together that sometimes there is a price increase in fees for the members.
I also know that most TKD organizations charge for testing and a large part of that fee goes to the organization and not to the school.
and seeing as I know nothing not being a member how about telling me about this organization. and when did it come into being and why and who started it and why did that person or people leave which ever TKD organization they used to belong to.
And NO I am not asking to be a smart *** I am asking because I want to know
 

Balrog

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No I do not. But I do know that when organizations change names or join together that sometimes there is a price increase in fees for the members.
I also know that most TKD organizations charge for testing and a large part of that fee goes to the organization and not to the school.
and seeing as I know nothing not being a member how about telling me about this organization. and when did it come into being and why and who started it and why did that person or people leave which ever TKD organization they used to belong to.
And NO I am not asking to be a smart *** I am asking because I want to know
My apologies if I came across a little harsh. I'll do my best to answer the questions for you.

ATA was founded in 1969 by Haeng Ung Lee. He had been sponsered to immigrate by a student of his who trained with him in Korea, Richard Reed. Not many people know that Chuck Norris also trained with him in Korea; H. U. Lee was his first instructor. H. U. Lee had a vision of a Taekwondo school in every city in the USA and we're still working on that. At the time ATA was founded, he was teaching the Chang Hun forms (Chon-Ji, Dan-Gun, etc.). He wanted to teach a more dynamic form of Taekwondo, so in 1983 he presented the first three forms of a new style called Songahm. In 1990, he became the first Grandmaster of the organization.

Grandmaster H. U. Lee died in 2000 and Soon Ho Lee became the new Grandmaster. He retired in 2012 and became our first Grandmaster Emiritus. In Ho Lee was promoted to 9th Degree and became the third Grandmaster of the organization.

ATA is headquartered in Little Rock, AR. We currently have over 2000 schools world-wide, with about 1300 of them here in the USA. The last numbers I heard said we had nearly 500,000 active students and we are growing every day. Each member school is individually owned and operated, so the chief instructor of the school determines the monthly dues and testing fees.

I hope this helps. If you want more detail, let me know and I'll do my best to get it for you.
 

tshadowchaser

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Master Sears, I thank you for answering my questions on the origin and history of your organization.
 

TrueJim

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Great info! When you say a more "dynamic" form of Taekwondo, what does the word "dynamic" mean in this case?
 
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hungryninja

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For more on the history of the org, you may want to read the following:
Taekwondo History, by Dr. He Young Kimm
A Killing Art: The Untold Story of Tae Kwon Do, by Alex Gillis
Both have good historical info on the ATA.
 

Tames D

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Do you know anything at all about the ATA? I wonder, because if you truly did, you would have realized how ridiculous that question was and you might not have posted it.

I'm glad tshadowchaser asked that "ridiculous" question, because I also didn't know anything at all about the ATA, but learned something valuable from your answer.
 

Balrog

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Great info! When you say a more "dynamic" form of Taekwondo, what does the word "dynamic" mean in this case?

Perhaps I could have phrased that better. When you look back at Korean history, they were occupied by Japan from the early 1900s until the end of WW2. The Japanese had a policy of killing off anyone that would or potentially could resist them, and that included a lot of the teachers of the traditional Korean martial arts, particularly Taekkyeon. As a result, when TKD was originated, the result was a martial art that had heavy Japanese karate influence and leaned more toward hand techniques. Grandmaster H. U. Lee was somewhat of a Korean martial arts historian, and he wanted to go back to the classical kicking styles of the earlier arts. As a result, he developed the Songahm (Pine Tree) style, which has an increased emphasis on kicking from White Belt onward.

For example, if you look at Chun-Ji, the White Belt form from Chang-Hun style, there are no kicks (start at about 1:00 to see the form).

Now look at Songahm 1, the White Belt form from our style. Note the front kick and the side kick in the form (start at about 1:16 to see the form).

Does this make our forms better? No, they're just a different application of the philosophy behind the style and a way of training the basic movements. After all, "a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick" (quoting an obscure martial artist here :D). And if I may quote another obscure :)D) martial artist with a minor change in wording: “The ultimate aim of martial arts training lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants ”

I got a little long-winded here, but I hope that I answered your question eventually!
 

Balrog

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I'm glad tshadowchaser asked that "ridiculous" question, because I also didn't know anything at all about the ATA, but learned something valuable from your answer.
Thank you. And I learned a little humility from his question, because I made an assumption that I shouldn't have made and as a result, my response to him was neither courteous nor respectful. And I know better than that - it was not a good job of practicing what I preach, so to speak.

It's good to get a little egg on your face every now and then. I may hold the title of Master Instructor, but all that means is that I've gotten really good at being a student. And there are always opportunities to learn, especially after the egg smacks you in the forehead. :D
 

d1jinx

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a lot of people attack the ATA so I understand the defensive position. I learned long ago, that bad apples always stand out and every org has its fair share of bad apples.

GM Soon Ho Lee was very good to me during my time with him and I learned a lot from him. Though I never continued my path in Songham TKD, I learned a lot from him and his school that I continue today in my teachings of kukki-tkd.

Not sure if a lot of people know/knew, but the Lee brothers were also KKW certified and knew the kukkiwon forms. Every now and then, GM S H Lee would stay after class and have me practice my forms, while making corrections and giving explanations of movements and meanings.

Had the military not moved me away from there, I would have stayed with him.

So yes, I have much appreciation and respect for the ATA.
 

Balrog

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a lot of people attack the ATA so I understand the defensive position. I learned long ago, that bad apples always stand out and every org has its fair share of bad apples.
You got that right! In every large group of people, there are always going to be a few that wind up under the left side of the bell curve, and they are almost always the ones that get the attention and that people then wide-brush the entire group with.

GM Soon Ho Lee was very good to me during my time with him and I learned a lot from him. Though I never continued my path in Songham TKD, I learned a lot from him and his school that I continue today in my teachings of kukki-tkd.

Not sure if a lot of people know/knew, but the Lee brothers were also KKW certified and knew the kukkiwon forms. Every now and then, GM S H Lee would stay after class and have me practice my forms, while making corrections and giving explanations of movements and meanings.

Had the military not moved me away from there, I would have stayed with him.

So yes, I have much appreciation and respect for the ATA.
GM Soon Ho Lee took over the reins in a very troubled time for ATA following GM H. U. Lee's death, and he IMNSHO did a very good job keeping our ATA family together. His favorite saying is so simple and yet so profound: there's always more to learn. I saw him last month at World's and I can only hope I look half that good when I hit my 70s.
 

d1jinx

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I saw him last month at World's and I can only hope I look half that good when I hit my 70s.

does he still have a fascination for corvettes? he had a new one every 6 months!!!!!:supcool:
 

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