It’s at this age that, as he was walking by the military stadium with his father, he saw a n exhibitio of what will become Tae Kwon Do… because the word Tae Kwon Do didn’t exist yet, the name will be given a few years later. He doesn’t know what kind of martial art it is but he is strongly impressed!… More over, he never dreamt that this discipline would become his life… It’s also in the very same stadium that, in 1988, Tae Kwon Do competitions are held for the first time as part of the Olympic Games, as a demonstration sport.

A few months after the exhibition, as Master Lee Moon-Ho registers for middle school, he discovers that the martial art he saw is called Tang Soo Do and he immediately selects this class. Teaching within school is different than in a Dojang, being more flexible on discipline.
Moreover, practicing in middle school, high school, and college allowed viewing different ways of teaching because there was a new teacher every year.

But when it came to rising to a higher-level belt, it was done the traditional way in front of masters at the Tae Kwon Do school of Chung Do Kwan.

In 1959, the headmaster of the school forbids the practice of this martial art because he thinks it is too dangerous. Master Lee Moon-Ho has to practice Judo and Hapkido in a dojang out of the school instead, but continued working by himself on his Tae Kwon Do. Actually, he works by himself up to 1961 when the interdiction is broken and thanks to a sport teacher, Tae Kwon Do is, once more, taught at school.

C’est en 1961 que seront unifiées les différentes écoles (KWAN) et les différents styles, par la création de la K.T.A. ( Korean Tae Soo Do Association). Cette unification permettra d’établir des règles communes pour les combats et donnera naissance aux premières compétitions.

At this time in Korea, there are National Games organized between cities. In Tae Kwon Do competitions there are five fighters per team but the system is hard because there is no weight categories and their opponents are drawing lots.

It’s during those championships that Master Lee Moon-Ho takes part to his first competitions and wins his first of many victories.
His instinct makes him fight differently. Spontaneously, he integrates dodges, steps, and series of moves in his matches.

In the beginning he is looked at with astonishment. Then his style becomes a standard. His way of fighting is the origin of Tae Kwon Do as we practice it today, which is combining speed, precision, and mobility.

He enters Sung Kyun Kwan University in Seoul in 1964. The team captain Chung Suk-Jong, who noticed him at various championships, recruits him. He takes English class and continues to practice Tae Kwon Do in the university team…