Episode 224
Ep. 224 - Finishing Founder's Month w/CM Taekwon Lee
We concluded the seven-week Songam Academic Program in Alaska and returned with 119 medals at the tournament. I recount the journey from the wilderness to the competition and the clear growth we observed in each student. We interviewed Chief Master Taekwon Lee about Eternal Grandmaster’s legacy and his charge to embrace the principle, “today not possible, tomorrow possible.” We highlight the cultural learning, the clan house and totem visits, and the community hospitality that shaped the experience. We urge ATA members to attend forthcoming events such as the H. U. Lee Classic and Spring Nationals to continue training and to honor tradition while responsibly adopting new tools. I thank the students, instructors, chaperones, and parents for their dedication that made this achievement possible.
Transcript
Sam Seven weeks in Alaska what a ride it's been One last adventure before we meet again from the forest to the ocean Every lesson, every mile One more week to give it everything Alaska stop.
Speaker A:Monday morning.
Speaker A:Cause I was calling our name Mother Nature gave us sunshine after all that rain Two days to explore with stories to be told Walking past the totems Learning legends old inside the clan house History came alive Keeping culture and tradition strong Helping it survive Stormy and Stephanie showed us through the museum doors Then the carbon shed had even more to explore.
Speaker A:They welcomed us with kindness Apollo feast to share Moose stew on the table Good people everywhere.
Speaker A:Special thanks to Ben for making it all come true.
Speaker A:And we brought a demonstration to say thanks from our crew Phones and kicks Knowing what we've learned Sharing something back for the welcome we'd earn different traditions coming together that day Making memories in just time that won't fade away.
Speaker A:Seven weeks One incredible ride from the Alaska wilderness to the competition lights Every lesson, every challenge, every mountain we've climbed Leaving something stronger in our hearts and minds Seven weeks and we're still, still going strong Every road we travel brought us right where we belong from well past to the world we're ready to fly Song of Alaska Reaching for the sky.
Speaker A:Reaching for the sky.
Speaker A:Tuesday morning the storms came roaring back Rain on the windows, Wind along the track but inside we were learning languages that day Finding new connections While the rain came down our way Then back to Whale Pass One more chance to shine Wednesday brought the school board and the kids were right on time Showing what they learned Standing proud and tall One last demonstration giving it their all Thursday before sunrise we're loading up again early morning drive with our teammates and friends down to the ferry Three hours on the sea Ketchik counties waiting Then it's time to leave Suitcases and uniforms boarding for the flight Leaving Alaska behind For the Idaho lights.
Speaker A:Seven weeks of training now it's time to show everything we've learned Everywhere we go 7 weeks 1 incredible ride from the Alaska wilderness to the competition lights Every lesson, every challenge, every mountain we've climbed Leaving something stronger in our hearts and minds Seven weeks and we're still going strong Every road we travel brought us right where we belong From Whale Pass to the world we're ready to fly Song of Alaska Reaching for the sky Friday morning, time to get to work.
Speaker A:Rolling out the mats Everybody doing their part Helping build the tournament Getting everything in place.
Speaker A:Tomorrow we compete.
Speaker A:It's almost time to face Saturday morning, the competition's on.
Speaker A:Seven weeks of preparation and the moment has come.
Speaker A:Forms and combat weapons sparring on the floor.
Speaker A:Creative and extreme.
Speaker A:Hear the crowd roar.
Speaker A:Medals on the line.
Speaker A:But there's something more.
Speaker A:It's the courage and the character that we're fighting for.
Speaker A:Win or lose, we've already grown.
Speaker A:Taking everything we learn back to the places we call home.
Speaker A:Sunday morning, it's time to say goodbye.
Speaker A:Seven weeks together.
Speaker A:Now our separate paths will fly.
Speaker A:From strangers to teammates, from teammates to friends.
Speaker A:The Alaska adventure may finish, but the friendship never ends.
Speaker A:The laughter, the challenges, the stories we'll share.
Speaker A:A little piece of whale Pass will always be there.
Speaker A:No matter where we travel, no matter where we.
Speaker A:We'll carry these memories wherever we call home.
Speaker A:Seven weeks.
Speaker A:One incredible ride from the Alaska wilderness to the competition lights.
Speaker A:Every lesson, every challenge, every mountain we've climbed.
Speaker A:Leaving something stronger in our hearts and minds.
Speaker A:But this isn't the end.
Speaker A:We made a team.
Speaker A:We made a family.
Speaker A:We made lifelong friends.
Speaker A:A whale passed to the world.
Speaker A:We're ready to fly.
Speaker A:Song of Alaska.
Speaker A:Reaching for the sky.
Speaker A:Seven weeks of adventure.
Speaker A:Seven weeks of growing strong.
Speaker A:Seven weeks of learning what it means to belong.
Speaker A:From the totems of Kassan to the tournament floor.
Speaker A:We came here to learn.
Speaker A:We leave ready for more.
Speaker A:Seven weeks wanting memories for a lifetime.
Speaker A:Seven weeks wanting memories for a lifetime.
Speaker B:Welcome to the ATA Nation podcast.
Speaker C:ATA students, families, masters, Chief masters, Grand masters.
Speaker C:Welcome Back to the Ata Nation podcast.
Speaker C:This is episode 224.
Speaker C:224, My goodness gracious.
Speaker C:Well, if you saw that video, if you were live with us here on Facebook or YouTube or Instagram, you got to see the wrap up of the Songam academic program in Alaska.
Speaker C:What an amazing adventure.
Speaker C:We've got one more interview from them that we're going to do today as well as they actually were done with their tournament with a tournament medal count, all those kind of things.
Speaker C:But first, we are going to have our athlete of the week this week and man, do we have an amazing athlete of the week.
Speaker C:It's going to be chief master Taekwond Lee and he's going to be talking a little bit about Founders Day.
Speaker C:But make sure you stick around because we want to talk a little bit about things coming up all across at A nation.
Speaker C:But let's get to that interview.
Speaker C:ATA Nation, we are super excited to have with us today our athlete of the week is CEO Chief master Taekwond Lee.
Speaker C:How are you, sir?
Speaker D:Hello, sir.
Speaker D:I'm doing great.
Speaker D:Thank.
Speaker C:You for having.
Speaker D:Me.
Speaker C:Nice to see you.
Speaker C:You know what, as we mentioned, that you're the athlete of the week.
Speaker C:I was down at headquarters not long ago, and I was looking at the gate and garden and you get a world champ on there.
Speaker C:I saw at the one of the pavers.
Speaker C:Is that your world championship?
Speaker D: Oh, yes, from: Speaker D:Thanks for noticing, sir.
Speaker C:Yeah,.
Speaker D:Well, it's been a while.
Speaker C:I didn't know if it was the other Tyquan Lee that was at a paver out there.
Speaker D:My.
Speaker C:Evil.
Speaker D:Twin.
Speaker D:He's out there somewhere.
Speaker C:Yes, sir.
Speaker D:All the trouble that, that people have blamed me for, it's my evil twin for sure.
Speaker C:I understand that.
Speaker C:But mine is the good twin.
Speaker C:I'm the evil one.
Speaker C:So it's the.
Speaker C:It's the safe.
Speaker C:Well, we've got you on as part of Founders Month, and as the son of Eternal Grandmaster, we wanted to ask you a couple of questions and we kind of went a little different direction.
Speaker C:You know, most of us know Eternal Grandmaster as the.
Speaker C:The founder of the ata, but obviously he was your dad.
Speaker C:Is there something about your that the average ATA member probably doesn't know?
Speaker D:So I'm standing in front of his office here in the museum, and it's the exact.
Speaker D:It's a replica of his office.
Speaker D:I think what's really interesting about it is that if you look at the.
Speaker D:The carpet, you'll notice that it's purple.
Speaker D:Not a very traditional color, but purple happened.
Speaker D:Happened to be his favorite.
Speaker D:His favorite color.
Speaker D:And this was literally his carpet from the old headquarters at Baseline Road.
Speaker D:And so purple is.
Speaker D:This was his favorite color also, I think.
Speaker D:You know, when I.
Speaker D:When I think back, he loved to play golf.
Speaker D:And as a child we.
Speaker D:We would go camping and we would go fishing all the time.
Speaker D:We didn't catch a lot of fish.
Speaker D:But thankfully everyone knows Grandmaster Tammy Harvey Stauber.
Speaker D:And her parents were really good friends with my parents and Mr. Kenny.
Speaker D:Harvey was an avid fisher.
Speaker D:So we would go out in this room, Mrs. Harvey, and they actually taught us how to catch fish out at Lake Ouachita.
Speaker D:And after that, we actually caught a lot of fish.
Speaker D:But he like, he liked going fishing, he liked golfing, and he liked the color purple.
Speaker C:Well, that's so cool.
Speaker C:You know what that.
Speaker D:Makes.
Speaker D:Not the movie.
Speaker D:I don't think he watched the movie.
Speaker C:That makes me think, like, I know Grandmaster MK was up in Alaska doing some fishing with the, uh, song I'm Alaska crew.
Speaker C:Uh, and man, I bet Eternal Grandmaster would have loved to go fishing in Alaska.
Speaker D:Who wouldn't?
Speaker D:I mean,.
Speaker C:That's true.
Speaker C:That's true.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:That is he, you know, Grandmaster MK told me, and this is what I was hoping when he told me he was going, was that he would be able to go and just become, just unplug and, and be one with nature.
Speaker D:He was there for about a week.
Speaker D:He came back very relaxed.
Speaker C:So I.
Speaker D:Think that that was good.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, you know, is there a, like a, a favorite childhood memory that you might have of your.
Speaker C:Of that maybe didn't have to do with Taekwondo?
Speaker C:I mean, I'm sure, you know, most of them have to probably do with Taekwondo because it's what I mean.
Speaker C:I don't know how it was when you were little, but somebody who grew up a family business, most of your time was spent in the family business.
Speaker C:So,.
Speaker D:You know, my.
Speaker D:One of my favorite memories was probably when I was about 16 and, you know, I kind of got upset with my dad because, you know, you.
Speaker D:That teenage years, you're going through a lot of different emotions, development, rebelliousness, whatnot.
Speaker D:And I, you know, I got upset with my dad saying, you know, you don't spend enough time with me and you're always traveling and so, you know, who cares, right?
Speaker D:Like that whole attitude.
Speaker D:So he goes, great, let's go, let's go.
Speaker D:Just me and you.
Speaker D:We're going to go camping, or not camping, to a cabin.
Speaker D:And we, we got a boat, we went out, we didn't catch any fish.
Speaker D:We decided we were gonna cook, right.
Speaker D:Like men.
Speaker D:And we got this cabin, we bought all this food, we went to the grocery store, we brought all this.
Speaker D:We had huge plans to cook at home.
Speaker D:They're cook at this cabin.
Speaker D:And five o' clock came around, we finished fishing and I looked at him, I said, dad, I'm hungry.
Speaker D:He goes, I'm hungry too.
Speaker D:And I said, what are we going to cook?
Speaker D:He goes, you really want to cook?
Speaker D:I was like, nope.
Speaker D:We went to a restaurant and it was, it's just one of those memories where it was just me and my dad on the boat.
Speaker D:I still remember the vision.
Speaker D:Again, I don't think we caught anything that day, but it was just the fact that we were out, just me and my dad on a boat and having a good time.
Speaker C:Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker C:What a great story.
Speaker C:And I'm sure that's one you'll probably use as the CEO now, traveling, doing things, and having some, some daughters that might be similar in their arguments when they're teenagers.
Speaker D:Well, yeah.
Speaker D:I mean, you know, even just today, just thinking about the, the balance of that and, you know, makes me want to spend more Time with my child as well.
Speaker D:Because I understand that as parents, when we take those little moments out and carve the timeout specifically for the children, how that felt for me.
Speaker D:And we all have to remember as parents that those are very precious moments and memories.
Speaker C:Yes, sir.
Speaker C:Well, on the kind of the martial arts side of things, if, if your dad walked into an ATA school today, you know, it's 26 years after he passed away, what do you think would surprise him most and, or make him smile about walking into a day school today?
Speaker D:Well, I think the easiest one is, you know, when he passed away.
Speaker D:There's a story about him and Grandmaster Richard Reed.
Speaker D:And it was the last year that he was here that the Grandmaster was here, and he, he was going through the cancer treatment and, and very weak at that time.
Speaker D: t him to the United States in: Speaker D:Do you think ATA will go on without you?
Speaker D:And eternal Grandmaster looked at him and said, yes, yes, of course.
Speaker D:And he goes, how are you so sure?
Speaker D:He goes, because they want it to.
Speaker D:And it was such a simple phrase.
Speaker D:But when I, when I look back now, in the last 26 years, the reason why the ATA has grown and has continued to be strong through thick and thin, through challenging times, through catastrophic times, in, in, in our world is because of the, the strength of our, our leadership, the strength of our instructors, of the strength.
Speaker D:And I think he would be so proud to walk into, you know, today we have grand masters, right?
Speaker D:We didn't have, we only had one back then.
Speaker D:But to go into a Grandmaster or even a 9th degree Chief Master's school and to see that that person is still running and operating a successful business and then go down the street to another school, to a fourth degree instructor school.
Speaker D:And who he liked to spend the most time with were the instructors that were up and coming and needed that extra leg and support.
Speaker D:I think he would be so proud to see the difference between people that he knew and people have been around for 50 years and, and then the youngsters that are just up and coming and, you know, have maybe been around for maybe 10 or 15 years.
Speaker D:I think, I think he would be, I wouldn't say shocked.
Speaker D:I think he would say, I told you so, Richard.
Speaker D:You know, I also think he would probably look at our extreme martial arts program and go, that's Not Songam Taekwondo, the way I remember it.
Speaker D:But then he would also say, but, hey, look at what, what it's doing for the kids today.
Speaker D:Look at, look at how it's teaching them how to communicate, how to be expressive.
Speaker D:That is leadership skills.
Speaker D:Those, those types of things help us communicate on a different level and express ourselves in a creative way.
Speaker D:And that's what leadership is, is leadership is creativity in a lot of ways.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah,.
Speaker D:And when you get, when we're introverted, when we're, when we're not as, when we have stage fright, but you get into your element and you can perform and emote all of these things with confidence.
Speaker D:That teaches children at 8 years old, 9 years old, 10 years old, all the way up to, you know, in our adulthood, how to overcome so many different challenges in our lives through, through martial arts.
Speaker D:And I think he would be proud of that.
Speaker D:I think he would have been proud that we have evolved over the years, because that's one thing that I know for certain is that Eternal Grandmaster always evolved with the times.
Speaker D:He was a very traditional man, but he said, we do traditional Taekwondo.
Speaker D:Traditional does not mean how we kick and punch.
Speaker D:Well, that's kind of what we really hold on to in many ways.
Speaker D:But when he met traditional's, traditional values, discipline, respect, honesty, all of these things create a better, stronger person and, and a stronger leader.
Speaker C:And that's, you know, the, the way the, the scrolls of Songam talk, it talks about this evolution and, and, you know, that was what he's kind of known for in doing that.
Speaker C:So as, you know, the CEO, you know, leading the organization your, your, Your dad built, what part of the vision do you feel like the most responsible or the strongest responsibility to, like, hold on to, to protect as we move forward into, you know, another 50 years?
Speaker D:Okay, to protect the, the, you know, it really is the, the, the evolution, the holding on, you know, that that's one of our core values, is honoring the past while embracing the future.
Speaker D:And embracing the future is.
Speaker D:Or let me.
Speaker D:Let me rephrase that, honoring the past.
Speaker D:If you look at Atas past, the Atas past has been a strong traditional foundation, and that never changed.
Speaker D:But what did change was the evolution of ata, the evolution into Songam Taekwondo, the evolution into weapons, the evolution and, you know, into combat sparring, and the evolution into so many different things that was not what we call Songam Taekwondo or traditional Taekwondo.
Speaker D:And, and personally, for me, as I look forward, is, is the.
Speaker D:How do I protect the tradition of evolving and still protect the, The Essence of who we are.
Speaker D:Because there is, there's.
Speaker D:There can be.
Speaker D:You know,.
Speaker C:You.
Speaker D:Can get really radical and go way out there.
Speaker D:Also, I would wonder what Eternal Grandmaster would think about technology these days.
Speaker D:Because you have to remember, when Eternal Grandmaster passed away, we didn't have Facebook, we didn't have social media youtubers.
Speaker C:We barely had cell phones.
Speaker D:Yeah, we barely had cell phones.
Speaker D:I mean, he had a StarTAC flip phone, and that was the coolest thing ever.
Speaker D:You know, iPhones didn't exist.
Speaker C:Nope.
Speaker D:What does artificial intelligence help us to do?
Speaker D:As instructors, as licensees, as.
Speaker D:As.
Speaker D:As students as.
Speaker D:Well, you know that that's going to be the next, I believe, the next chapter in not just the ATAs industry, but the martial arts industry.
Speaker D:And I'm excited about the opportunities while protecting and preserving who we are as an organization because the relationships are so important and we want to continue that.
Speaker D:But we have to harness technology.
Speaker D:We have to harness AI to help us achieve what we want on a greater level and still be at the top of the industry.
Speaker C:Well, and.
Speaker C:And you can see, you know, that's something ATA has done.
Speaker C:When you look at technology, people think of just phones and things like that, but re.
Speaker C:Breakable boards, you know, safety gear.
Speaker C:Those were all new technologies, just in a different form of technology.
Speaker C:And we embrace those.
Speaker D:Yes, sir.
Speaker C:As we are getting towards the end of Founders Month, what's the one thing that you would challenge every ATA student, the instructors, the school learners out there to do to just continue to carry on Eternal Grandmaster's legacy?
Speaker D:That's a good one.
Speaker D:I'm gonna say today not possible, tomorrow possible.
Speaker D:And I'm gonna flip the meaning of that just a little bit.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:Because today not possible, tomorrow possible means to push yourself to achieve your next level.
Speaker D:But how do you do that?
Speaker D:And just on the other side of this are the pictures of people like Grandmaster soon.
Speaker D:Holy.
Speaker D:Grandmaster Inholi, next to Grandmaster Richard Reed, next to Grandmaster Ro Alamire, next to Grandmaster M.K.
Speaker D:Lee, next to Grandmaster Bill Clark.
Speaker D:These people have been or were with Eternal Grandmaster from, from almost the beginning, if not the beginning of time of ata.
Speaker D:And the reason why I bring that up is because we know that if you want to achieve the next level, then you have to surround yourself with people that will push you, that will challenge you, that will make you feel uncomfortable, because they're going to ask you questions or they're going to tell you no when you want to hear yes.
Speaker D:Right?
Speaker D:It's the idea of being comfortable with being uncomfortable, because if it doesn't Challenge you, it doesn't change you.
Speaker D:These are all things that sound a little cliche at times.
Speaker D:However, it's the truth.
Speaker D:If you want to break the barrier, you've got to get out of your comfort zone.
Speaker D:If you want to get out of your comfort zone, you got to have support people that will help you to push you through that challenge.
Speaker D:You got to have an instructor that potentially will tell you, you know what, maybe this time you're not going to pass your test because you didn't perform at the highest level that I know that you can perform at and be able to accept that, that, that, oh, you know, maybe a no change for me is the right thing for me at this time.
Speaker D:I know, I know a grand master that went through seven or eight, no changes in his career.
Speaker D:I went through many, many no changes.
Speaker D:I needed that as a kid.
Speaker D:I can tell you that right now.
Speaker D:Not because of anything else, but because of my own personal journey.
Speaker D:And it hurt every single time.
Speaker D:Every single time.
Speaker D:It made me stronger and it made me better.
Speaker D:That accountability, surround yourself with people that will help push you to the next level, to help you realize that just because today is not possible, if you keep pushing, tomorrow is possible.
Speaker D:Those are the people that you want to be around, surround yourself the most.
Speaker D:And for the kids, that means your parents, that means your instructor, that means your teachers, that means really good friends that challenge you.
Speaker D:Not just because they're saying yes all the time, but they're challenging you to think a little bit stronger, think a little bit better, especially as you get into college.
Speaker D:And then for all of the adults out there, friendship is great, but so is growth.
Speaker D:So is growth and surround yourself with people.
Speaker D:And I have people that challenge me all the time.
Speaker D:They're my friends as well.
Speaker D:So we have a good time.
Speaker D:But they don't tell me yes just because they want to appease me and make me feel good.
Speaker D:I promise you, they're constantly telling me, you know what, that was probably not the best idea.
Speaker D:Or have you thought about it this way?
Speaker D:And while it doesn't make me happy in the moment, it does make me feel confident that I'm surrounding myself with people that continue to raise the bar for me and my decision making process and my thought process and that's how you're going to continue to grow, to create a possibility that it doesn't exist today, tomorrow.
Speaker C:That's such good advice.
Speaker C:Leaving with eternal grandmasters.
Speaker C:You know, famous saying, today not possible to tomorrow possible.
Speaker C:And putting the work behind that, you know, not just saying it so we really appreciate sharing memories with us, letting us, you know, step into your childhood a little bit when, you know, that's a lot of people want to keep those things private.
Speaker C:And you, you've been gracious in letting us share your dad for all these years.
Speaker C:So thank you so much.
Speaker C:And we'll encourage everybody to go visit the museum at the Hu Lee Classic coming up in December.
Speaker D:This.
Speaker D:This building, I'm just going to flip it around really quick.
Speaker D:This building, we're still under construction over here, but this building was built for all of you to come and visit.
Speaker D:Visit us here at ATA World Headquarters in Little Rock.
Speaker D:I know it's sometimes it's a little bit out of range for you or you might have to take a connecting flight, but I promise you, the.
Speaker D:The landmarks of what we have here represents all of you, the ATA family.
Speaker D:And this was built for you to come, to take pictures, to come train here on our training floor, to go to the Gate and Garden downtown.
Speaker D:If you want to go and pay homage to him at.
Speaker D:At his grave site.
Speaker D:All of these things are in existence to welcome the ATA family here to Little Rock.
Speaker D:So Huli Classic is just around the corner.
Speaker D:For some reason, you can't go to that.
Speaker D:You can always come at some other time and contact us and we'd love to give you a tour.
Speaker C:Awesome.
Speaker C:Well, thank you so much for your time today, sir.
Speaker C:We really appreciate it.
Speaker D:Thank you very much.
Speaker D:We appreciate everyone supporting the Hu Lee Memorial Foundation.
Speaker D:And thanks to.
Speaker D:Thanks to you too, sir.
Speaker C:Well, ATA Nation, I don't know about you, but always cool to hear some stories about Eternal Grandmaster as we continue to live his legacy on.
Speaker C:And I'm going to encourage you.
Speaker C:Huli Classic, first weekend in December.
Speaker C:It's a A plus tournament.
Speaker C:So this is kind of that level between a.
Speaker C:A tournament and a national tournament.
Speaker C:This is the first time the HU Classic is an A plus, so you want to definitely check that out.
Speaker C:It's a great event down there in Little Rock and you can visit headquarters and Little Rock is.
Speaker C:Is.
Speaker C:It's our home.
Speaker C:It's a.
Speaker C:It's a place you should definitely go and visit and experience as a member of ATA Nation.
Speaker C:I love it down there.
Speaker C:So HULA Classic coming right up now.
Speaker C:I don't know, you might have seen it today.
Speaker C:I saw this Muppet version of Chief Master Skiles mentioning that registration early bird stuff is open already for Spring Nationals, so.
Speaker C:So head over to the Spring Nationals page and get registered.
Speaker C:You can also register for the tournament, I believe already if you go to The ATA Easy signup.
Speaker C:Check out the info there and then the training events will be on there.
Speaker C:And I know in a short order probably we'll have Chief Master Skiles come on talk about some of the seminars and things that they have planned for Spring Nationals.
Speaker C:Don't want to miss those things.
Speaker C:Now there was a somebody on Instagram asking some questions about how you might, as a teenager, build a strong foundation to be a school owner in the future and continue the song on Legacy.
Speaker C:This is a great question and I'm excited.
Speaker C:One of the things that we do for licensees is that we have a specific show, a podcast and video show for the ATA licensees called Business beyond the Mat.
Speaker C:And our next episode is going to be actually with Gen Z licensees, Gen Z school owners.
Speaker C:So maybe what I'll do is see if I can get some feedback from them on that question and get it back to you guys here on the ATA Nation podcast as well.
Speaker C:I know one of the things that you could do is make sure you head out to those national events and get some of those trainings in there.
Speaker C:You go to those Legacy trainings, those are amazing.
Speaker C:Being able to use life skills in your classes, stuff like that.
Speaker C:Go out the sparring seminars to teach that those kind of things are going to help you be successful.
Speaker C:And then these playbooks that are out there, Gale Force Playbook that's helping you maybe set up a club.
Speaker C:Really great.
Speaker C:There's some other awesome playbooks at these events that are going to help you.
Speaker C:So definitely take advantage of those trainings and talk to your instructor.
Speaker C:Very important.
Speaker C:Talk to your instructor about your, your goals and that way you can be working forward, moving forward on those things.
Speaker C:Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is our last interview with the Songam Academic Program.
Speaker C:They have all said their goodbyes.
Speaker C:They've gone back to their homes.
Speaker C:I know there was not a dry eye in the house when they were saying their goodbyes.
Speaker C:We got to talk to him right before that.
Speaker C:Let's go to that interview now.
Speaker C:EA Nation, I am so excited to have with us.
Speaker C: this is the last time for the: Speaker C:And like, I wish you guys, like ATA Nation was here to clap for you guys and cheer for you, whatever.
Speaker C:You guys have finished up the tournament in Idaho with Senior Master Dillo.
Speaker C:And who wants to tell me just like, like how you did today?
Speaker C:Somebody tell me how you did?
Speaker C:Oh, yeah, that go.
Speaker E:Lots of us Placed in medals.
Speaker E:If you combined it.
Speaker E:All of our medals Together, we made 122 medals.
Speaker C:122 Medals.
Speaker C:Oh, man.
Speaker C:Okay, who in the group.
Speaker C:Who in the group brought home more than one medal?
Speaker C:Raise your.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Who brought more than two medals?
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:More than three, More than four, More than five.
Speaker C:Holy moly.
Speaker C:More than six.
Speaker C:How many can you get?
Speaker C:You can get eight.
Speaker C:Can you get eight?
Speaker C:Did anybody.
Speaker C:Eight medals?
Speaker C:Dang.
Speaker C:Look at you guys.
Speaker C:Hey.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:Okay, that is amazing.
Speaker C:Fantastic.
Speaker C:I know earlier in the interviews this year, we've been talking about some of you guys extremely creative because you guys, you know, had Mr. Lamp up there, who right now, I believe is in South America doing the Pan Am champs and won some awesome stuff there.
Speaker C:I'm sure he's gonna be proud of you guys.
Speaker C:Who raise your hand if you're placing an extreme or creative.
Speaker C:Nice.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Of you guys, any of you is.
Speaker C:Was it your first time?
Speaker C:For any of you doing creative.
Speaker C:Extreme.
Speaker C:Nice.
Speaker C:Good job.
Speaker C:Excellent.
Speaker C:Oh, I'm so impressed.
Speaker C:Good, good, good.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Hands back down.
Speaker C:All those people listening only and not watching are gonna be like, what's he.
Speaker C:I don't see anybody, buddy.
Speaker C:Now, I heard you guys, there was an Alaska team for team sparring.
Speaker C:Who was somebody on the.
Speaker C:The.
Speaker C:The sparring team?
Speaker C:Let's hear.
Speaker C:Let's hear from one of you guys.
Speaker C:How did team sparring, team combat go?
Speaker F:Good, sir.
Speaker F:Did.
Speaker C:You guys.
Speaker C:I. I heard you might have brought home some bling bling.
Speaker F:Yes, sir.
Speaker F:We got.
Speaker F:We got first in traditional sparring and third.
Speaker F:And.
Speaker C:Congratulations, man.
Speaker C:It seems like the best place to go to get some awesome training before a tournament is Alaska.
Speaker C:I think we should all be going up to Alaska to do some extra training.
Speaker C:Okay, this is.
Speaker C:Yeah, you guys, this is your last, like, hurrah together.
Speaker C:So how we feeling?
Speaker C:Like it's almost over.
Speaker C:Who wants to tell me?
Speaker C:Like, yeah,.
Speaker E:Yeah,.
Speaker C:Here.
Speaker C:One or two of you.
Speaker C:Tell me.
Speaker C:Just tell me what you're thinking as you're getting ready to go.
Speaker C:What.
Speaker C:What's one of you or two of you like?
Speaker C:Oh, give me somebody.
Speaker C:Somebody who is your first year.
Speaker C:What are you thinking now?
Speaker C:It's over.
Speaker C:You got to go home.
Speaker C:What are your thoughts?
Speaker E:Sad, sir.
Speaker E:Sorry.
Speaker C:Sad.
Speaker E:Things up here.
Speaker E:We're gonna try to stay in contact, but a.
Speaker C:Little.
Speaker E:Sad.
Speaker C:A little sad,.
Speaker E:I.
Speaker C:Bet.
Speaker C:Who else.
Speaker C:Who else has got some thoughts about heading home?
Speaker F:Be grateful to be able to have participated in this program.
Speaker F:I think this is going to be a memory that I hold dear for my whole Life.
Speaker F:I don't want to go home.
Speaker D:What am I going to do?
Speaker C:There won't be.
Speaker C:There's.
Speaker C:There's no one else.
Speaker C:What about.
Speaker C:Yeah, this guy in the front.
Speaker G:Closer.
Speaker G:Yeah,.
Speaker E:I'm coming back next.
Speaker G:Year, so I'll be there next year.
Speaker C:You'll be there next year.
Speaker C:Excellent.
Speaker G:I don't believe.
Speaker G:Then I can't come.
Speaker C:That's true.
Speaker C:That's true.
Speaker C:You got to go home to be able to come back.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:What about this other guy on the other side?
Speaker G:She's programmed.
Speaker C:Want to just keep going?
Speaker C:Huh?
Speaker C:Your parents, you guys.
Speaker C:Parents probably are missing.
Speaker C:You guys want to.
Speaker C:Want to see you guys.
Speaker C:You got to get home.
Speaker C:Some of you guys are like, no, my parents want me to stay in Alaska all the time.
Speaker C:Just start a year round school up there.
Speaker C:Okay, so who's coming back next year?
Speaker C:Yeah, very good.
Speaker C:You guys gonna make some spots for you Gotta get some.
Speaker C:You want some new people to come with you guys next year?
Speaker E:Yes, sir.
Speaker C:Join the Alaska family.
Speaker C:I mean, I'm gonna come.
Speaker C:I'm gonna come up and hang out for a little while, so.
Speaker C:Okay, man.
Speaker C:Oh, you guys are great.
Speaker C:Are you gonna.
Speaker H:Pop off the dock, sir?
Speaker C:Hey, I. I'm not sure I can get away with not jumping off the dock if I.
Speaker C:If I.
Speaker E:Press.
Speaker C:You guys to do it the whole time.
Speaker C:So I think I'll.
Speaker C:I think I'll have to.
Speaker C:Man, I can't believe it's been.
Speaker C:It doesn't feel like it's been six weeks.
Speaker C:Is it just me or does it feel like it's flown by?
Speaker E:It felt like only five minutes.
Speaker E:It felt.
Speaker C:Like.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay, Mr. Richardson, give us what do you.
Speaker C:The.
Speaker C:The times wrapped up.
Speaker C:You've got to see all these guys up there.
Speaker C:What kind of growth, what kind of going beyond the belt.
Speaker C:Have you guys seen these guys do?
Speaker H:There has been a ton of growth outside of the.
Speaker H:The mat space.
Speaker H:Right.
Speaker H:I mean, I, I see these kids 247 while we're up there.
Speaker H:And so I do get.
Speaker H:I do get to see a lot, a lot of growth in the classroom, interpersonal growth.
Speaker H:Because I mean, they're also around each other 24 7.
Speaker H:And sometimes they like to butt heads.
Speaker H:And so we do a lot of problem solving.
Speaker C:It's good.
Speaker C:I. I would think you're gonna need a vacation from this.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's what I. I would think that too.
Speaker C:I'd be like, oh, oh, man.
Speaker C:Okay, guys, I am so excited.
Speaker C:Just the ATA nation.
Speaker C:Got to see all of you guys this whole trip before we wrap up let's see.
Speaker C:I want you guys to go rapid fire.
Speaker C:Whoever wants to just tell me like your favorite part of the whole adventure this year.
Speaker G:Sure.
Speaker G:Part was meaning the friends, family, sir.
Speaker G:Everything friends.
Speaker E:Pleasure seeing friends again.
Speaker E:Seeing more than just Joseph, Alice.
Speaker E:The people I met up here, sir.
Speaker E:Mr. Lamp.
Speaker E:Coming up, all the friends.
Speaker F:Getting to teach, training, learning from different instructors, fishing, flipping.
Speaker C:Guys.
Speaker C:I, I, I hope the rest of ATA Nation gets to see how great this adventure is and hopefully some of them can come up and join you guys next year.
Speaker C:Those of you guys going to be there next year, because it looks like such an amazing opportunity.
Speaker C:I believe they said Senior master Dillo invited you guys, the Alaska crew to come down again next year for the tournament.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Very good.
Speaker C:I mean, he's going to have to buy more medals.
Speaker C:122 Going to you guys.
Speaker C:Can't complain about that.
Speaker C:Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker G:Said he would actually pay our first entry fee for.
Speaker E:Two first two events.
Speaker G:First two events.
Speaker C:That's fantastic.
Speaker C:Well, that's leading by example.
Speaker C:What an amazing ATM master.
Speaker C:Well, guys, I know you guys have had a crazy day and then you had to like drive in fast and everybody had to find each other for me to interview you all.
Speaker C:Hopefully I haven't taken too much of your time through this whole thing.
Speaker C:I have really enjoyed each week getting to see the updates, the videos, you know, the flips on the dock into the water, the amazing, you know, glaciers, all these kind of things.
Speaker C:Thank you so much for sharing your time with ATA Nation and good luck getting home, you know, having a acclimate back to being in, you know, your houses and away from each other.
Speaker C:But as you guys are all part of this SONGAM academic program.
Speaker C:Family.
Speaker C:We're all part of the ATA family and you know, we'll see each other at all, you know, tournaments all over the place.
Speaker C:Right, guys, thank you so much.
Speaker C:And you are doing some amazing things beyond the belt.
Speaker C:I just really want to congratulate you guys for stepping up, for taking action to going and doing this and letting us to peek into all of it.
Speaker C:Thanks so much.
Speaker H:Thank you, sir.
Speaker C:You know what, you guys should thank your parents real quick.
Speaker C:Let's have a big yes.
Speaker C:I think we should thank your parents for sure because, you know, they got rid of you for all this time and I think that is, that's a sacrifice for them.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And what about here?
Speaker C:Real quick, who wants to give a shout out to somebody who was up there helping you guys for the training, for the food prep, for just organizing, for getting you everywhere, Give us some shout outs.
Speaker C:Go ahead.
Speaker G:Yeah.
Speaker G:For my ticket, Richards and Ms. Dempsey for providing an awesome trip to Alaska for me.
Speaker G:I want to thank the kitchen staff for making us food.
Speaker G:I want to thank presiding Grandmaster M.K.
Speaker G:Lee for copying.
Speaker G:I.
Speaker E:Think.
Speaker G:Mr. Beckham lamp came, taught us some serious tricks.
Speaker E:I would like to thank everybody that decided to come this year.
Speaker F:I would like to thank Miss Peggy because, hey, that was mine.
Speaker H:Her food really.
Speaker F:Tasty.
Speaker E:Oh, my mom.
Speaker E:All the adults involved, the chaperones, the teachers, the cooks, a lot of the parents behind the scenes.
Speaker E:It wouldn't have been possible without them.
Speaker F:I want to thank Miss Peggy and Miss Trish for making all the food.
Speaker F:And I also want to thank Ms. Dempsey for, you know, setting this whole program up and running it.
Speaker G:I just want to thank all the adults involved.
Speaker C:I love that.
Speaker C:I think we're going to wrap with that.
Speaker C:It's so nice to thank those people who helped us.
Speaker C:Congratulations on 122 medals.
Speaker C:Some amazing work done in Alaska, and I can't wait to see you guys up there in Alaska and maybe at a future tournament.
Speaker H:Yes, sir.
Speaker C:Well, how cool is that?
Speaker C:They did want to let you guys all know that it was tough counting all the medals, getting all the things.
Speaker C:I think there ended up being 119 medals.
Speaker C:They didn't want me to let you have the mistaken number, but 119 medals, which, if you watched last week's episode, their goal was like, I don't know, like 40 or something.
Speaker C:So they destroyed that.
Speaker C:Lots of great things all around.
Speaker C:80 Nations, obviously.
Speaker C:The Songam academic program is super exciting.
Speaker C:The Songam University that you can get a college degree in Songam Taekwondo is an amazing opportunity.
Speaker C:Check that out as well.
Speaker C:Got the hula classic coming up.
Speaker C:We've got Camp Jong sue coming up.
Speaker C:We've got spring nationals gonna be around the corner.
Speaker C:All kinds of awesome things.
Speaker C:But that's gonna wrap up today's episode.
Speaker C:I hope you are having a wonderful time training, working hard, and hopefully getting out there and going beyond the Belt.
Speaker B:ATA Nation podcast.
Speaker B:Be sure to subscribe and share with your ATA family.
