The martial arts are thriving in Beaufort County as another facility, King Tiger Taekwondo, in Washington. Self defense, mental and physical well-being are always an objective, but this dojo is to focus on families.

Grandmaster Byung Lee has been running a branch of King Tiger in Greenville for three decades. In his years there, he noticed the number of students that would commute from Washington for classes. He officially opened in Washington on July 15.

“I realized we needed something in this area, in Beaufort County, so we researched it. I think this will be a good place because there are a lot of young children and I’m hoping to see this reach out to family members,” Lee said.

Taekwondo, Lee believes, is something that can help bring families together. People of any age can begin in the martial arts. Lee said he has a husband and wife that began when they were in their 80s.

“Nowadays, children do a lot of things with parents, but they still have a distance,” Lee explained. “Children do their own things. Mom and dad do their own things. … Taekwondo, mom and dad coming and taking classes, sweating in class together, doing it with the children. I have some grandparents doing it with their grandchildren in Greenville and in the Kinston area.”

It’s more than parents and children simply spending time together. Discipline is taught through the martial arts, which is beneficial to both in one way or another. Moreover, learning from one another can also help strengthen the relationship between parents and children.

“(Children) can learn from their parents while they are practicing together,” Lee said. “… Also, parents can learn from their children. Because they’re exercising together, they realize they can learn from their children a lot, too.”

Lee began in taekwondo in 1972. His mastery of the martial art led to him being an international taekwondo referee. He also teaches other referees.

“Because of my knowledge and skills recognized by the World Taekwondo Federation, they contacted me because of my credibility and what I’ve done the previous years,” he said.

Lee’s teaching experience spans beyond taekwondo, too. He earned a doctorate in Christian Social Works and is a former adjunct professor at East Carolina University, Chowan University and Midwest University.

His hope is to take all of his experience and use it to achieve his goal of bringing taekwondo to families in Washington. He loves the tight-knit community and wants to help foster it.

“Washington is known as a small town,” he said. “Because it’s a small town, it’s a family town. There’s a family-kind of relationship with everyone here. … We like to build those kinds of family relationships, family bonds, so we can support each other like a family.”