For over a decade, Lionel Lee has been helping to produce champions in the sport of Taekwondo. This year has been no different as the Yi Sport Taekwondo competition team returned from Chicago and the 2013 USA National Taekwondo Championships with a medal count that would make any school envious.

What makes this year even more special is that two of the players who returned home with gold are not only teammates but are also brothers. Sammie and JaeKwon Shannon were able to accomplish a rare feat by defeating every opponent they faced to win their sports highest honor for their respective age and belt level.

While this was JaeKwon’s first trip to an National tournament, Sammie Shannon is now a repeat champion and two time member of the USA Junior Olympic Taekwondo team. He will be participating in the invitation only camp being held at the Olympic Training Center this August.

Coach Lee recognizes many of the challenges facing today’s youth, and it shows as parents are willing to travel from as far as Lacey, WA each day to his modest at the corner of MLK and Rainier each day. While he espouses the classic tenets of Taekwondo, it is his rare ability to effectively communicate life lessons, strategy, and physical training that set his school apart from the others.

In total the medal count for Yi Sport Taekwondo was: 6 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze.

If you would like to know more about Olympic Taekwondo, please feel free to call, 206-850-9449, or visit Yi Sport Tae Kwon Do at 2720 S. Hanford St. Seattle, WA 98144.

About the Author: Graeme Gibson is a chiropractor at Queen Anne Chiropractic Center, and the president of the Yi Sport Family Foundation.