adminfor self-defence against his enemies.
This is the story of former taekwondo world champion Lee Khan.
Now risen to become the Zimbabwe International Taekwondo Federation secretary-general, Khan crossed the floor from karate to taekwondo in 1997 and began to compete in international events, mainly the World Championships.
Before he joined taekwondo, Khan trained in different karate styles among them kyokushin-kai, bujuryu, shukokai and jiu-jitsu.
In 2000, he won a silver medal at the World Championships held in the United Kingdom.
The following year he scooped a gold medal at the same tournament held in the United States before quitting competitive events, as he became more involved in administration.
“I started training when I was about 16 years because I was being bullied at school so my uncle decided to put me into martial arts and eventually it taught me discipline, integrity and maybe became more calm and it bestowed self-confidence.
“My first style was kyokushin-kai. I attained a first-degree blackbelt in jiu-jitsu. I then joined shukokai in Bulawayo and trained under sensei Robinson and from there I joined taekwondo in 1997.
“In 2000, I went to the World Championships in the United Kingdom and I won a silver medal. In 2004, I took part at the World Championships again in the United States and I won a gold medal,” said Khan.
The former world champion said he developed a passion for martial arts after joining the sport, and that saw him moving from one style to another, as he wanted to learn the best aspects of different styles.
“The passion for martial arts came after I realised what it has to offer. I changed from one style to another because I was getting the best of each art and discipline and incorporated it for my benefit. The more you learn the better it is for you and more benefits.
“In Shukokai, I participated at the World Championships held in Portugal but I was disqualified in the quarter-finals because of excess force on my opponent. I knocked him unconscious and that was in 1993,” said Khan.
Khan is the current secretary-general of the Zimbabwe ITF as well as the national team manager.
“My last competition was in 2004 but the beauty of martial arts is that it’s part and parcel of life. Without martial arts you are empty. The good about it is that you are able to impart the knowledge to children out
there and prevent them from engaging into criminal activities.
“Martial arts teaches discipline, obeying your parents and avoiding drugs so that we have less crime and better citizens.
“We also teach the kids to do a lot of social work and sometimes we do clean-ups,” said Khan.
The 49-year-old said they are working towards the development of taekwondo nation-wide as the discipline continues to grow.
“Taekwondo is actually growing. The International and World Taekwondo Federation are doing the same art.
“Both of us are working together, we always work in unity because our objective is to spread taekwondo so that everybody benefits.
“The whole martial arts fraternity has one objective – to spread the sports throughout the country so that everybody benefits depending on their preferences.
“In 2000, we held a Martial Arts Expo that involved all martial arts and people had the opportunity to witness the different disciplines. We are hoping that next year we might hold another Expo, it will be more like a trade fair,” said Khan.
Before becoming the Zimbabwe ITF secretary-general, Khan held the position of president for the federation from 2004 to 2008. He was then elected the secretary-general last year. Khan also operates Lee’s Taekwon-do Academy in the Westgate area of Harare.
He holds a third degree black belt in taekwondo and he is an international umpire.
Online Reporter