Bondi Junction Taekwondo was established in March 1993.
Head Instructor Lindsay Osborne remembers the start up…
“It was right in the impact of “the recession we had to have”. I’d been working in what is now called a “gig economy” and naturally that had well and truly dried up. I had never really intended to teach Taekwondo but a friend encouraged the thought and I decided that, as it was a very stressful time for a lot of people, it was a good time to pass on the benefits that Taekwondo can bring.
We started the school with nothing. No students. No money, but we said we would teach it properly and within the Taekwondo Tenets of Courtesy, Modesty, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control and Indomitable Spirit.
Real timeless values that are relevant in any period and can really improve peoples lives. We also said that then, if it didn’t work out, we could close the doors with our Integrity intact.
Now it’s 2022 and we have been and still are blessed with amazing students. Really good people who are great ambassadors of Taekwondo.
We have seen, and are still seeing, positive transformations in people that are true miracles. Confidence, Self Esteem, Careers, Education and more.
As a teacher, your success lies with what people take from you and carry with them into the future.
How did I get started and what is my Taekwondo story?
When I first decided to learn a Martial Art, I didn’t really know anything about Taekwondo. It was pretty new to Australia then and there wasn’t a lot of freely available information out there.
I started looking at a few different styles etc, but found that a lot lacked intelligence, were quite thuggish in their approach or ridiculously self perpetuated by instructors who had no wisdom, were dollar devotees, or wanted to be the next Hollywood star.
After a very extensive search, not governed by location but by the quality, I had hit a dead end. A friend told me to take a look at the Korean style “Taekwondo”. This was based solely on someone he knew that was attacked and how well he defended himself.
So, Taekwondo, I had the style, but now it had to be the right Instructor. I looked at 19 different Taekwondo schools, mostly from big Ads in local papers etc and was again frustrated by what I saw. I thought, I should try an ad that is big enough to say established but small enough to be personally taught.
So, finally, after the search that seemed to go on forever I eventually found, in Sydney’s old Chinatown, LEE Taekwondo.
I was invited to watch a class and did so. This looked very different as far as structure and techniques than I had seen anywhere before.
When the class took a short break Master LEE came to introduce himself, he smiled, it hit my heart, and the rest is history. I had found my teacher.
I often joke that if Mr LEE had been teaching basket weaving I’d now be a very good basket weaver.
I studied as a private student with Mr LEE right through to my Black Belt.
A world record he would joke. Nobody survives that intensity and commitment, and although the training was incredibly hard, and I made a conscious decision every week not to quit, at the same time I loved it.
Mr LEE would say “if you are a private student – you must be better”.
Note to self: Never tell a Korean Taekwondo National Champion and Master ” you set the pace, I’ll keep up”. Ha Ha
I used to combine my private schedule with existing classes as well, travelling all over Sydney and doing 8 classes a week. There was something that was kind of dragging and at the same time leading me forward.
When I first said to Mr Lee at the end of 1992 that I was thinking about opening a school, his answer was “of course! I always knew that one day you would teach. Every Master chooses one student to pass on the knowledge and you were mine”
I remember when he said that, my eyes seemed to act strangely and needed a small rub…
So, we started with zero students. We ran information nights for 3 weeks and handed out a zillion flyers at bus stops and train stations and launched the first class on March 21, 1993.
