GM Chong Lee presents a concept at a coaching seminar

Grandmaster Chong Lee (9th Dan) Introduced Taekwondo to Canada in 1964. Since that time he has trained over 300,000 students and has produced nearly two hundred gold medals in Canadian National Taekwondo Championships, has coached the national team for over forty years, and has been the Coaching Chairman for Taekwondo Canada. During an interview in 2008, G.M. Chong Lee discussed several aspects of athlete development and combat strategy.
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In the past few years, Canadian athletes have produced many international medals and Olympic medals, however many coaches can still further improve in the areas of yearly planning and physical conditioning such as how to apply strength building during preparation phase, and how to convert gained strength into power during specific preparation phase.

So many talented Canadian athletes try hard but are not able to win because they only focus on repetition of techniques day after day. If all the coaches apply strength training and how to convert strength into power, they will have more chance to reach their objectives. I recommend light weight training for beginners with moderate speed of execution and proper techniques of how to squeeze muscle fibres. However for athletes who are familiar with heavy weight training, I recommend that 1RM (one-rep max) power training could benefit them greatly, and enhance their nerve system to employ more muscle fibres (fast-twitch muscles) throughout execution.

Hypertrophy belongs to some particular sports such as weight lifting, but sports which require explosive power do not need large bulky muscles; rather they need lean muscles which are able to contract fast-twitch muscles effectively. Isotonic exercise and plyometric power training are most efficient ways to convert gained strength into power, and ballistic power training can develop accelerated power and speed. However, while doing weight training you have to build the whole body. When building quad, you have to build ham. If you build only one side of muscles, you will fail to achieve the full potential of the techniques.

Also the three energy systems are frequently not given enough consideration. These three systems (anaerobic alactic, anaerobic lactic, and aerobic) reconstitute the ATP/CP which is the primary energy for acceleration/speed. Before building a house, you must put down a foundation. Don’t forget that aerobic endurance exercises are your foundation; if you are not prepared for aerobic endurance training, you cannot apply the max-anaerobic system. If other words, if your foundation is weak, your house will fall. However, during anaerobic training when your athletes are near anaerobic threshold, to avoid going beyond threshold, athletes must learn to adjust work-effort during the training session.

GM Chong Lee coaches Evangelos Ligeros at the 2004 Pan American Championships (Dominican Republic)

It is common that athletes are in well-prepared condition physiologically, but fail to prepare mentally and psychologically. They have not learned to put themselves in their comfort zone, in which they control their activation level to the right degree during competition. This is often more important than physiological preparation. Optimum psychological performance has become key for success in combat. I strongly recommend that athletes participate in many competitions as each experience will bring more tactical strategy, such as read and react (reflection skill), eye sharpness to analyze opponents and detect opponents’ weaknesses, development of mental domination, and how to break the opponents’ spirit. Mental strategy does not fall from trees; you have to prepare through yearly preparation and through combat experiences.

Athlete and coach are like horse and jockey; the horse knows how to run and the jockey knows how to manoeuvre. Those two combined have more chance to win. They are a team; they have to learn to trust each other when the fight is on. The coach and athlete should be connected and “present” in the very moment. It is a time for them to taste the fruit they have cultivated previously. If a horse decides to go his or her own way and the jockey forces going to the other side, it is a lost race. Both have to bring their spirit in tandem.