H.K Lee Academy of Tae Kwon Do

My daughter attended the after school program at H.K. Lee for over a year and she loved it. Our positive experience started the moment we inquired about the academy. We were given a tour of the facilities and were impressed. My daughter developed her TKD skills at an impressive rate and I attribute it to the quality of the teachings and the excellence of the masters. The masters, staff, and administration are wonderful and we miss them greatly. I always appreciated their involvement in every area of my daughter’s development. I had all around support from wonderful people like Mrs. Janelle, Mr. Alex, Master Lee, Mrs. Lee, Master Cho, the front desk staff, and the wonderful students who set a good example to my daughter and were excellent role models. My daughter continued her TKD training at a different academy in our new town and her new masters were greatly impressed by her technique. All I could think was, «Of course she’s great, she comes from H.K. Lee.» H.K. Lee is without a doubt the best school in the Northern Virginia area.

My older son practices tae kwon do at Grand Master H.K.Lee for three years and my middle son started six months ago. Grandmaster HK Lee offers more than just martial arts, he is educator and leader that cares about his students. The leadership program teaches responsibility and respect. The classes are offered six days a week which allows more flexibility. The after school program program is great.

Had a kid in their after school program. My kid didn’t like it and neither did I. I’ve decided to go somewhere else this school year and my kid was happy to hear that they didn’t have to go back to this place. The staff didn’t impress me at all. Place seemed dirty.

Gail who left a comment on my review had no involvement in my problem with the staff considering she wasn’t on the phone or there when I showed up so she has no idea what happened and shouldn’t comment on something that she heard second or third hand. I’ve never seen her, met her or talked to her and have no idea who she is but I guess this is just manipulation by an employee of the place considering how defensive she is. I didn’t mention instructors because I had no interaction with them besides saying hi or bye. My review is solely based on problems with the front desk staff. If the front desk staff has changed then I hope the current people were trained much better than the previous people and are more knowledgeable about what goes on around there and not as lazy. And if my kid finished the camp then why wasn’t he given the belt that Mister Lee said he was going to give him? Tell them they will get a belt but then not give it to them. Who does that to a 5yo? I didn’t have a problem with Mister Lee himself until that happened. She is speculating why I wrote this review 6 months later? Really? So silly. Sad desperate attempt to discredit my review while promoting their business. Funny. BTW, please stop littering the Herndon landscape with your summer camp signs that you have stuck everywhere. If you are so well known and so good, you don’t need them do you? Hopefully you go clean them all up. WOW! She wrote an addendum. Can you see the drama Gail is creating with her replies? Is this the type of person you want to do business with or have around your kids? Crazy. She’s a co-​owner? No wonder she’s trying so hard to discredit me. Never saw her there so she must not spend much time there. I met Mister Lee and his daughter who worked in the office, so, why did I never see Gail. And if I never saw her, how does she claim to know me so well when the only person who talked to me about it was Mister Lee? If she was co-​owner and witnessed everything than maybe she should have talked to me, but, she wasn’t there. Maybe one day she’ll stop stalking me or making excuses. Business sometimes hire bad people and make mistakes. But, I’ll respect a business for admitting it before I send a kid to a place who’s owner wants to cause so much drama.

Last summer I was looking for a summer camp for my five year old, and decided to try H K Lee for two weeks. My son ended up going there the whole summer. When I compared the prices for different summer camps H K Lee was a real bargain; not only my son got to practice TKD every day but they also had field trips every day as well as went to the pool every Friday.
I have seen so many beneficial changes in my son at the end of the summer, he learned a great deal about discipline, respect and positive attitude. From «I can’t do that…» he moved on to «I will not give up!»
I decided to enroll him in the after-​school program which made my son very happy. He does his homework under supervision there, has his TKD practice, as well as music classes once a week. The staff is very caring and my son has established very warm relationships with the kids and with the Masters there, in fact he wanted to have his birthday party as H K Lee which turned out to be a lot of fun for the kids we invited and for the adults. Even my husband was impressed, which says a lot! We have decided that our youngest son will go there too next year.
It is hard to trust somebody with your children, but I definitively recommend H K Lee because they have proven to me their integrity and the values they stand by.
Updated 9÷4÷2015
So, my son went again to H K Lee summer camp and will continue to go to the after school program. This is because I feel I found the best place for my son and I only want what is best for him. I have recommended this program to another family which ended up signing their son for the summer camp and for the after school program. At Open House when I met them they were so grateful that I recommended this place to them and although their son did not earn his belt yet they have definitely seen improvement in his behavior. The reason I mention earning the belt is because one of the previous reviewers blamed the staff at H K Lee for promising a belt to his son but then not giving it to him. Well, the way it works, you actually have to EARN your belt and in order to earn it you have to work hard regardless of how young you are. This is called building character and responsibility. If children were to be «given belts» it would completely defeat the whole purpose of Tae Kwon Do. One is never too young to be taught to be hard working and respectful. Those are life skills that have to be consistently taught and reinforced by both parents, teachers and mentors. So, hypothetically speaking, if for any reason my child does not deserve his belt, kudos to the staff for being just and for sending the right message. I would rather have my child not having a belt than receiving it without deserving it.

HK Lee is a family oriented school aimed at self-​improvement. Like any activity, you will get out of it what you put into it. If you are looking for a school to become a street fighter, this is not for you.
Unlike other schools, HK Lee does not hold classes by age or rank; classes are held for all ages and ranks (with the exception of certain classes for black belts only). There is a tremendous amount of individual interaction and the masters are always willing to help you for as much time as you want to spend.
If you are looking for a place to get in shape (in 50 min color belt classes or 80 min black belt classes), become a better person, or help you child learn respect and focus, then this is the place for you. I have made many friends here and found it to be a welcoming place. There are many opportunities in addition to the regular classes: a competition team, demo team, annual trip to Korea, and wonderful after school and summer programs. The school hosts many potlucks, picnics, dinners, and other events.
My son learned life long values here and built his confidence. This is NOT a place that intimidates kids or makes them cry because they didn’t do a form the right way! I have benefitted in many ways, including being in better shape; my orthopaedist said that I have avoided serious knee problems because my legs are strong from taekwondo.

They are great with children and their after school care is a real bargain. Every time I have heard Grandmaster Lee talk with the children it was with kindness and wisdom.

H.K. Lee offers something that very few other tae kwon do schools do – a very open schedule which allows students at all levels the flexibility to take classes when their own busy schedules allow. H.K. Lee can do this because they have a large, highly qualified instructional staff. A typical class for colored belt students has at least two fifth degree blackbelts teaching, plus another 4 or more instructors assisting at the 4^th through 1^st degree blackbelt level.
After warmups and possibly a skills drill, groups are broken out by belt level and often within that by age level, with groups of more than 6 students per instructor being the exception, not the norm.
The school has family events throughout the year and there are many families with both parents and children enrolled. While it is certainly challenging to start tae kwon do as an adult, this is one school where you will have lots of company if you choose to do so.
One of the things that continues to impress me year after year is what incredibly nice kids attend the school. The high-​school aged black belts are the sort of role models you would want your kids to have. They’re polite, studious, enthusiastic, and not competitive with each other. Part of that has to be due to the character development which is at the core of the program. Traditional attitudes about respect and hard work are part of the culture at H.K. Lee.