Lee’s taekwondo exploits grow

Rockville teen wins third straight junior national title

Lee, who won his third straight U.S. Open in February, also competed at the senior level — males 18-over — in Michigan. He won four rounds in the senior lightweight division before withdrawing from the championship match with a broken wrist. His second-place finish earned him an invitation to the Olympic Training Camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. in September. The top-three finishers in each weight class at senior nationals were invited to the selection camp where they’ll train with Olympic coaches, who will select a team to represent the U.S. at the 2008 Pan American Championships Oct. 1-6 in Puerto Rico.

Lee’s display at the biggest taekwondo tournament in this country earned him the prestigious Outstanding Junior Male Athlete Award, given to just one male fighter in the 2,600-athlete field.

‘‘I don’t expect to make the senior team at such a young age but just being at that caliber and being invited to attend that camp with a bunch of different athletes is going to be an experience I’ll probably never forget,” Lee said. ‘‘I hope to come out as a better fighter. I want to learn and take what I’ve learned to keep moving forward to whatever’s next.”

In taekwondo, which primarily focuses on kicking to overcome opponents, there are six belt colors: white, yellow, green, blue, red and black. There are several levels within each color, and once the black belt has been achieved, there are nine degrees within it, each host to several levels.

In order to advance to higher levels, athletes must endure lengthy and strenuous tests of their skills. For parity and fairness, athletes compete in weight-class divisions: lightweight, featherweight, middleweight, heavyweight, fin, fly bantam and welter.

Though taekwondo is an old martial arts form, it was first contested as an official Olympic sport at the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia. This year’s Olympic team is already set, but Lee is on track to compete for a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic squad in London.

‘‘Between now and the next Olympics I definitely have to work on the more physical aspect,” Lee said. ‘‘The seniors are stronger and more built. I have to get used to fighting people older than me, bigger and stronger than me. I just need to get more experience fighting at the senior level. Some of the people I’m fighting against have been at that level for 10 years and this is just my first.”

Taekwondo requires an extreme amount of physical fitness — Lee spends 20 hours a week honing his skills and cross training. But it’s not only about physical tenacity. The top taekwondo athletes are cerebral as well, reading opponents, and strategizing in split seconds. And that’s the part Lee likes the most.

Though Lee will go off to college this fall, his training won’t let up. He intends to compete for the Stanford club team, which travels to competitions across the country. Lee will vie for a spot at the World University Games contested each year among the top college athletes worldwide.

‘‘I’ve definitely exceeded the expectations I had for myself when I was younger,” Lee said. ‘‘But now I always push myself to go further. I’m never satisfied with what I have. I just keep trying to push myself ahead and see how far I can go.”