American Taekwondo Association

The American Taekwondo Association makes its presence known locally by annually hosting central Arkansas’ largest convention, bringing in more than 10,000 visitors for its ATA World Championships each summer.

Even with that kind of draw, many Arkansans forget that the world’s largest martial arts program is headquartered in Little Rock.

With more than 350,000 students trained by thousands of certified instructors worldwide, the ATA has built an empire by being the only player in the industry to offer the package of instruction, supplies and billing in what it calls the “all under one roof” system. Its dedication to teaching the martial arts discipline of songahm taekwondo has spread so quickly the ATA says its biggest challenge is producing enough certified instructors to meet the demand.

A key to that growth, according to the ATA, is being able to appeal to students ranging in age from 2 to 92.

“Nearly 75 percent of ATA’s 350,000-person membership is children age 12 and under,” said Jenny Wolff, public relations director at ATA. “However, by adding advanced self-defense courses for adults and ATA-Xtreme for teens, the ATA continues promoting taekwondo as an activity for the entire family.”

Founder Grand Master H.U. Lee, who died in 2000, moved to the United States from Korea to help better society “one black belt at a time.” He integrated life skills such as self-confidence and respect along with physical training.

The ATA began in 1969 in Omaha, Neb., and moved to Little Rock in 1977. By 1983, the ATA had gone international and quickly spread throughout the 1980s with its Karate for Kids and Tiny Tigers programs.

To honor its founder and his dedication to central Arkansas, the finishing touches are being put on the $1 million H.U. Lee Gate & Garden outside the Statehouse Convention Center.