U.S. Martial Arts Center : About Us (2024)

About Us

Grand Master Young-Hak Lee

The founder and owner of the USMAC, Grandmaster Lee is a pioneer in Washington State Taekwondo. He was born in Korea and began his taekwondo trainingat an early age and further developed his skills as a member of the Korean Army Special Force'sTaekwondo Team. He moved to California in 1978 to share his knowledge of taekwondo, and in 1983,he, his wife, and their two children moved to the Olympia, Washington, area to bring martial artsto the South Puget Sound region. Grandmaster Lee has trained thousands of families and has awardedhundreds of black belts to a wide range of members, including fellow masters, instructors, local police officers, state patrol,military personnel and national team members. Grandmaster Lee holds the rank of 9th degree blackbelt in taekwondo; he is a six-time Korean Champion, 1993 Leader of the USA CollegiateTaekwondo Team, founder of the Washington State Taekwondo Day, former United States Taekwondo UnionWashington State Taekwondo President, and the Washington State Taekwondo Association President.

Master Jason Lee

Master Lee is the son of Grandmaster Lee and currently holds the rank of 5th degree black belt; healso has a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Washington. Master Lee started his taekwondotraining at the age of three, competed in various tournaments, participates in the tournament teamprogram as one of the head coaches and is the USMAC Tiger Demo Team leader. He is the head master instructor at our West Olympia location. Master Lee is a certified Level I coach with the USAT. Afun fact about Master Lee is that he was the founder of his high school's taekwondo club.

Master Angie Lee

Master Angie Lee is the daughter of Grandmaster Lee and holds the rank of 5th degree black belt; she has abackground in the information technology industry and studied through Washington State University.Master Angie Lee started her taekwondo training at the age of three, competed in various tournaments whenshe was younger and has coached our students at both national, regional and local levels. She is team leader of the USMAC's tournament team and is the head master instructor out of the South Lacey Dojang.

USMAC Staff and Instructors

U.S. Martial Arts Center staff and instructors are professional, knowledgeable and hand picked by Grand Master Lee to be part of the award winning program at the U.S. Martial Arts Center. Each of our instructors are Kukkiwon Certified Black Belts, CPR and first aid certified, gone through a background check and have many years experience at the U.S. Martial Arts Center both as a student and black belt leader. Safety, student success and providing the best martial arts instruction and experience are key goals for the staff at the U.S. Martial Arts Center. To ensure these goals are met our instructors must continue their martial arts training and develop their skills in traditional and modern teaching methods for bully awareness, family self defense, real world self defense, competition style sparring and go through yearly training programs to keep their skills up-to-date. We welcome you to visit our school so one of our friendly staff members can introduce you to one of the best martial arts programs in Washington State!

About Taekwondo

Taekwondo is the hybrid of Korean martial arts that was developed over 1300 years ago. Its roots are thought to be related to traditional ancient Korean martial arts including taekkyeon and subak.It has improved and evolved throughout time, from its early start as an exercise for Buddhist monksto a self defense system for an elite ancient Korean military corps called the HwarangDo in the 12th and 13th centuries. Modern taekwondo has been enjoyed by many, as both arecreational activity, means of self-defense and a competitive sport. Taekwondo as a competitive sport becamean official Olympic medal event in the 2000 Olympic Games at Sydney, Australia. The U.S. Martial Arts Center is part of the Washington State Taekwondo Foundation and affiliated with USA Taekwondo and the World Taekwondo Federation both sanctioned groups of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Taekwondo is a martial art that deals with physical training and focus of the mind, bothin and out of the dojang (school). Taekwondo students train to achieve the next level ofskills indicated by belt color (black belt being the highest level attained). The meaningof taekwondo can be broken up into three sections:

		Tae		Foot
		Kwon		Fist
		Do		Way of Life

Taekwondo students learn not only how to defend themselves but are also trained howto balance their body and mind to achieve a fulfilling life using the following tenantsof taekwondo:

Courtesy be thoughtful and considerate of others.
Integrity be honest, good hearted, hold a code of moral & ethical values.
Perseverance never give up in the pursuit of challenges or a goal.
Self-control be in control of your body, attitude, and mind.
Indomitable spirit have the courage and strength to face adversity.