In 1996 at a week long International Referee Seminar a Korean Grandmaster walked up and asked me “Who is your instructor?”
I answered LEE Chong-won from PARK Hae-man, and he said “Very good. Your Taekwondo family tree is very important. You come with us” , and took myself, Maria De Rota, and Wendy Smyth to be with the Korean contingent for the rest of the week.
And so here it is…
DUK Sung-son is our Great Grandmaster and was GM PARK’s instructor and one of the first Korean Masters to leave Korea as part of the Government exportation of Taekwondo. He went to America and we had the pleasure of meeting him in New York in 1994.
PARK Hae-man is our direct Grandmaster. Mr PARK was instructor to the President of Korea Bodyguards for many years and was renowned for having the best technique in all Korea. Mr PARK was LEE Chong-won’s instructor and has visited our school many times, hosting seminars and training sessions.
LEE Chong-won is our direct instructor. Mr LEE was National Champion of Korea in two divisions. He was also an Instructor to the Korean Army, South Vietnam and US Special Forces and a member of the Demonstration Team. He introduced Taekwondo in several countries before coming to Australia.
