Hall of Fame Members

Grandmaster Lee's grandfather was a well-known wrestler named Cyclone in the 1920's and 30's and his father was a boxer. He began his study of martial arts in 1953 and got involved in it as his life's work in the 1960's, incorporating and founding R. Lee Inc. and East-West Schools in 1967. Grandmaster Lee has probably done more traveling in his research of the various martial arts styles than anybody in the history of martial arts in America. In 1972, while studying in the Republic of China, Grandmaster Lee was asked to coach the United States National Team for the First World Kung-Fu (Kuoshu) Championships, held in the Republic of China, in 1975 and is now credited in the Global Who's Who as the first American to introduce the sport aspect of Kung-Fu to the United States. The team placed first in the Foreign Teams Division. He also was the coach for the team in 1992 and 1996. In 1991, he was elected to the office of Executive Vice President of the United States Chinese Kuoshu Federation.

In 1994, in one of the most impressive Black Belt Presentations in the history of martial arts in America, Grandmaster Al Tracy presented Grandmaster Lee with a 10th Degree Black Belt in Chinese Kenpo. Those present included General Chen, General Wu, Grandmaster Huang, and Masters from all over the world along with Grandmaster Lee's top students.

The following names are a complete list of outstanding world class Black Belt men and women,
dating back to the 1960's, developed, recognized, and certified by Grandmaster Richard Lee.

* - An asterisk next to the name indicates a United States Team Member (National Champion) that represented the United States at the World Kung-Fu (Kuoshu) Championships. w - A "w" next to the star indicates a World Champion.

Richard Lee Black Belts :

1960's

Pat Douglas
Glen Hasstedt
Al Moore
Ralph Moore

1970's

Bill Kelly
Ron Lee
John Simmons * *
Rich Brown *
Rich Buford
Terry Kane *
Gerry Kawaguchi *
Mark Miller *
Herb Cody *
Mike Adair * w
Mark Vanderpool *
John Coen *
Steve Gaudenzi *
Tony Ito *
Robert Ito
Jim Kane
Tyler Hanamura
Johnny Hein
Al Moore Jr.
Tom Amaral

1980's

Brad Mederios
Mike Mendoza
John Heitman
Jurgen Renke
Jim Harbison
Tim Coen
John Liu
Dave Thomas
John Ozuna *
Dave Kirby
Ray Slater
Todd Arend
Rich Campbell * *
Bob Byers
John Buckley * *
Adam Sanchez * *
Mark Jacoby
Norma Futini * *
Chris Long
Joan Murakami * *
Joe DeMeo
Jim Vincent
Kelly McGovern
Brandi Piacente * w
Marc Wheeler
Morgan Malone * * w

1990's

Mia Munayer * w * w
Justin Lau
Jim Ng
Sarah Carson *
Morgan Newman * w * w
Michelle Sosa
Lauren Canas
John Worden
Collin Lee
Lars Wolfe *
Robert Bogolub
Art Panella
Aimee Jurewicz *
Mitch McKay
Adam Lathram
Kevin Schutzman
Ryan Hodge
David Curran

2000's

Gary Toppins
Tony Zitko
Anna Liu
Michelle Brown * w
Pierce Timberlake *
Daryl Gerloff *
Joe Mangione *
Sydney Slater