Grandmaster Lee Jung Nam (John Lee)

The President and chief Instructor of the New Zealand Taekwondo Federation is Grandmaster Lee, the most experienced and highly qualified Taekwondo Instructor in the South Pacific Region.

Grandmaster, 9th Dan black belt in both Taekwondo and Hapkido, and president of the New Zealand Taekwondo Federation Inc. A man who changed his life forever over 25 years ago by coming to New Zealand to establish and develop Taekwondo here. With over 55 years involvement in Taekwondo, here is a brief look into his life...

Time Line:

• 1948: Started Taekwondo
• 1955 to 57: Chosen University - Physical Education majoring in Taekwondo and Hapkido
• 1958: Welterweight Taekwondo Champion in Korea
• 1964 to 66: Chief Taekwondo and Hapkido Instructor, 1^st Airborne Brigade, Korean Army.
• 1966 to 71: Chief Taekwondo and Hapkido Instructor, Vietnam Airborne Division.
• 1967: Awarded Education Medal from South Vietnam Government for Instruction in Taekwondo and Hapkido.
• 1968: Awarded In Hun Medal, Korea.
• 1969: Awarded Bronze Star Medal, Korea.
• 1971: Discharged from army at rank of Captain (Special Forces).
• 1971 to 75: Director of Bong Hwa Taekwondo / Hapkido Gymnasium, Seoul Korea.
• 1975: Arrived in New Zealand.
• 1990: Promoted to 9^th Dan Hapkido
• 1991: Promoted to 9^th Dan Taekwondo.

Personal History:

GM Lee was born in Kwangju, a city situated next to Moo Doung San mountain. Beginning Taekwondo training at age 7, he stopped for a brief period when he was 10. At 12 he resumed his training, and earned his 1st Dan black belt at age 13. At this time most of GM Lee's training was done high on the slopes of the mountain. He received his instruction from a monk at a Bhuddist temple situated on the mountainside.

GM Lee's training was based first and foremost on self-defence. The training was hard in the thin mountain air and also dangerous. This was tiger country, there were no roads, and only narrow walking tracks and the countryside was infested with snakes and wild dogs. The inherent danger of this environment served to sharpen GM Lee's senses and skills, and he became very proficient at his martial arts training. The original style GM Lee was trained in was Bong Hwa Kwan, one of the several styles that evolved into Taekwondo as we know it today.

GM Lee won a technical scholarship at high school and went on to study at Chosun university, majoring in physical education. After graduating he set up his own dojang in Kyangju City. At this time not many people studied the martial arts in Korea because the Japanese had occupied Korea since1907, and had forbidden the study of Korean martial arts. When the Japanese occupation ended in 1945 the few Koreans who were experienced in their traditional martial arts by studying in secret, began the long and arduous task of re-establishing the arts in the Korean culture. GM Lee was one of these people.

Shortly afterwards, GM Lee became eligible for his stint of compulsory Army service. He signed up as an officer and began with a one year course at the Army's training academy in 1959. Graduating with the rank of first lieutenant he went on to begin another 12 month course - this time training as a commando in the special forces. Needless to say, the training involved in becoming a Special Forces Commando was extremely tough. Every week the trainees would be tested and any that did not pass were taken off the course and put back into the regular Army. Out of 800 trainees at the beginning of each course, only 12 would pass on average.

As part of the course, sometimes the trainees would have to go without food for a week, and other times living off the eating tree roots, catching birds, or whatever was necessary survive. GM Lee explains that after a week without food the sense of smell becomes very acute. They would be tested on this by being placed two miles downwind from a village and told to record everything that happened during a day - such things as when the cooking was done, what was cooked, when toilets were used, if women wore perfume, and so on.

GM Lee not only passed, but excelled in his Special Forces training to the point where his superiors made him an Instructor and put him in charge of a large section of the Demilitarised Zone between North and South Korea. While their relationship with the North Koreans was outwardly friendly during the daytime his unit would often across into the North at night and occasionally be called upon to undertake covert assignments such as infiltrating North Korea to gather intelligence. Often he would have to agents safely up to 30 km behind enemy lines, overcoming booby traps, mines, guards, and patrols in the process.

Sometimes GM Lee would be involved in testing the skills and abilities in various ways. At one time the Army was put on alert that there was a dangerous North Korean spy in Seoul. They were given a description and photographs of the spy and told to capture or kill. The "spy" was in fact GM Lee. Only his superiors and himself knew it was an exercise. He survived the manhunt unscathed.

GM Lee left the Korean army in 1971 with the rank of captain (special forces) and took up the position of Director of the Bong Hwa Taekwondo Hapkido Gymnasium in Seoul, Korea. As one of the many people involved in establishing the World Taekwondo Federation internationally he would travel to many countries for this purpose, staying sometimes for several months at a time. From his time in the army GM Lee developed quite a reputation for himself, particularly among many of the Americans who had been stationed in Vietnam. When he left the army the American Taekwondo Association invited GM Lee to the USA and provided a work visa so that he could teach martial arts. However, at the time, GM Lee personally knew the New Zealand ambassador in South Korea and had heard a lot about New Zealand from knowing several kiwis in Vietnam.

GM Lee considered the opportunities both in New Zealand and in the USA and ultimately decided to move to New Zealand. There were many reasons: many of GM Lee’s former American students in Vietnam had set up Taekwondo schools in America, and Lee did not feel it was appropriate for him to set up schools in competition to students who were diligently promoting Taekwondo. In addition, New Zealand represented a great opportunity to establish and develop Taekwondo in a new country. This "challenge" and the prospect of raising his family in a country with a clean healthy reputation far outweighed the greater financial rewards available in the USA.

With his decision made GM Lee arrived in New Zealand in 1975 and began teaching Taekwondo. He started at the YMCA in Wellington with seven people and soon expanded by running special courses for the police, traffic officers, army, airforce, prison officers, and women’s groups. For the first two years GM Lee devoted all his time to establishing Taekwondo while his wife and three children stayed in Korea with relatives.

GM Lee founded the New Zealand Taekwondo Federation and it did not take long for him to establish new clubs by helping his senior students to become instructors. GM Lee spent the first five years concentrating his efforts and establishing Taekwondo clubs around Wellington and the lower North Island before expanding to the Taranaki area. He founded the New Plymouth Taekwondo club in 1981 and soon established other clubs in the area.

In 1983 came the first club in Auckland at the Auckland Technical Institute and it was not long before there were federation clubs throughout NZ. GM Lee would travel extensively, sometimes driving for five hours, teaching at one club from 5.30 to 7, another from 7.30 to 9, and then driving another five hours home. In 1991 GM Lee moved from Wellington to Auckland to concentrate his efforts in promoting Taekwondo to a larger population base.

During his time in NZ GM Lee has also worked on extending his own qualifications, going from 6^th Dan black belt when he arrived, to 9^th Dan and the title of Grandmaster which he graded for in 1991. He explains that the higher dan gradings are not just physical tests but involve a great deal of written work - similar to a university degree. His last grading, for 9^th Dan, involved what amounted to a thesis on various counter attack techniques against other martial art styles such as kung-fu and karate, training techniques, and training equipment that maximise performance and remove the risk of injury.

Current:

Grandmaster Lee’s goals are to continue developing Taekwondo and the NZ Taekwondo Federation over the next few years, and then to select trustworthy people within the federation that he can pass all his knowledge and skill to, so that he can step back and take more of an advisory role. GM Lee says that the NZ Taekwondo Federation, like the World Taekwondo Federation, has always had its doors open to other Taekwondo and martial art groups, and he looks forward to the day when all such groups can be united in their promotion and development of Taekwondo.