USTC Missouri

Final set of pictures from the Fall of 2007 Ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the Monument Dojang Building. It is fun to see pictures of all of the students when they were children. Time flies!

Monument Dojang -- Continued In under 2 years the Monument Dojang grew to over 350 students and we needed a new bigger space. Grandmaster Lee was able to neg...otiate a release from the lease on the 2,800 sq foot space and purchase vacant land next to Wal-Mart. Construction began on a new 9,000 square foot building several hundred yards from the original location in the fall of 2007. This was our first Dojang where we could design the building from the ground up. The two previous locations, Citadel and Lehman, were pre-existing free-standing buildings that had to be remodeled. The ground breaking ceremony took place in the fall of 2007

The Birth of U.S. Taekwondo Center Lehman --- 6217 Lehman Dr. The 2nd U.S. Taekwondo Center Location in Colorado Springs. Under the leadership and instruction o...f Grandmaster Sang Lee the U.S. Taekwondo Center continued to grow as hundreds of students trained at the Citadel Location. Numerous students were driving over 30 minutes one way to train at the Citadel Dojang. The population of Colorado Springs growth began to shift to the northern side of town. Grandmaster Lee saw a need for a new dojang. He began looking on Academy Blvd about half way between Platte and where Academy intersected the Interstate. He came across a building that was for sale that housed The Wedding Plaza. It was a one stop location for wedding preparation. The areas that are now classrooms A and B were the Tux and Gown areas, while the lower level was the photography, floral, and decoration area. Grandmaster Lee viewed it as a great potential Dojang and began negotiations. Some modifications were required but all the basic plumbing was available. The locker rooms and showers were easily configured and after opening, the school became a great success. The second Colorado Springs location was opened in 1995 at 6217 Lehman Drive. In the 1990s the location was called the "North" Dojang since it was considered the Northern part of Colorado Springs. It is currently referred to as the Lehman Dojang. In the earlier years there was a stairway that connected Classroom A on the top level to Classroom B on the main level. In the 2000s that stairway was demolished to create a large classroom space in Classroom B. Grandmaster Lee started out teaching classes and he gradually brought up instructors and black belts from the Citadel dojang to assist him. Among them were Master Joe Coughlin and Master Sammy Pejo. Master Coughlin was a valuable asset. Not only did he train and teach but he was also instrumental in developing the first U.S. Taekwondo Center Web site in the 1990s. He assisted Grandmaster Lee for many years with the operations of the U.S. Taekwondo Center. Master Joe Coughlin is currently the Treasurer for the Colorado State Taekwondo Association, US Taekwondo Committee, and assistant tournament director of the US Open Taekwondo Hanmadang.

The 1st U.S. Taekwondo Center -- Citadel Grandmaster Lee sold everything he had in Binghamton NY and was able to make a down payment on the building and convin...ced the owners to carry the mortgage. It should be noted that this negotiation was carried out by a man with very little credit history and spoke English only as a second language. His powers of persuasion are formidable and his ability to instill trust was more than apparent. This was only the first step, now he needed money to convert the structure into a world class Taekwondo Dojang. He calculated that he would need about $250,000 (today’s equivalent of almost $1,000,000) to complete the work that he envisioned. The financial backing was provided by a prominent New York surgeon by the name of Dr. Samuel P. Pejo. Dr. Pejo is the father of three more of Grandmaster Lee’s Binghamton students by the names of Michael, Sammy, and May Pejo. Dr. Pejo had such great confidence in Grandmaster Lee that the investment decision was an easy one. He co-signed a loan that allowed construction to begin. Without Dr. Pejo’s support the U.S. Taekwondo Center could not have been born in Colorado Springs, CO. Master Steven Silz was the next of the Binghamton students to take the plunge. He loaded his belongings into a beat up Honda Civic and began the 1,500 mile drive to Colorado Springs. He was responsible for converting an office building into a world class training facility and dealing with the numerous government agencies that would regulate his work. Grandmaster Lee gave Master Silz the $250,000 without any conditions. Grandmaster Lee gave Master Silz his complete trust and confidence to complete this project. That was the kind of relationship that Grandmaster Lee had with Master Silz. A true Taekwondo relationship between Sabumnim and Student. It was a daunting task that Master Silz completed successfully with honor. The tenets of Taekwondo were valuable tools to assist him. With Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, and Indomitable Spirit he accomplished what he set out to do. Anyone that has ever had to work with a government regulatory agency and a construction team at the same time requires all of those traits. By now Grandmaster Lee’s plate was overflowing, and he needed more help. He enlisted the help of Master David Martin to be his executive assistant. He is the third of the tremendous trio to come from Binghamton. Not only was he assistant to Grandmaster Lee but he took classes, taught classes, trained and competed. He later became an Assistant Coach at the Olympic Training Center, a Gold Medalist at the US Olympic Festival and an ESPN analyst. Construction on the first USTC dojang was completed and the grand opening occurred on June 7, 1986. It was a world class facility with approximately 4,000 sq ft of training space, Nautilis machines, a hot tub, and saunas. The location is at 1316 N. Academy Blvd. In 1986, this area of town was the center of Colorado Springs and the school was initially named the Central Dojang. It served as the original world headquarters of the U.S. Taekwondo Center. As the city has grown, its center has shifted so the school is now called the Citadel Dojang and is led by Instructor Trevor McClung