The New England Tae Kwon Do Center was established on September 3, 1974 by Raymond C. Lannon, Jr. Mr. Lannon began practicing Uechi Ryu at the age of 16. One year later he was attracted to the art of Tae Kwon Do by the dynamic style and kicking ability of Master Hee Il Cho. In June of 1971 Mr. Lannon joined Master Cho’s Tae Kwon Do do-jang on Washington Street in Providence, R.I. While he was training, Mr. Lannon fought professionally at the Providence Civic Center against a team from Texas that had some of the best fighters in the country, including Bill “Super Foot” Wallace. Mr. Lannon attained his black belt in 1973. One year later, in 1974, he opened his first school in Coventry. The do-jang was run under Master Cho, but a year later in 1975, Master Cho would move on to Los Angeles, California.

In April of 1975, Mr. Lannon moved his school to 3 Curson Street in West Warwick above the “Donut Kettle”, a now defunct West Warwick landmark. In 1978 Mr. Lannon attained his 3rd degree. In December of that same year, Mr. Leahy began his training in the art of Tae Kwon Do and in 1982, Mr. Leahy attained his first degree. Two years later in 1984, Mr. Leahy attained his second degree.

In November of 1985 Mr. Lannon purchased the building at 89 Washington Street in West Warwick, and with the help of his students, renovated and moved the school to this new location with classes starting in January of 1986.

Between April and June, 1995, senior members of the Eastern Tae Kwon Do Federation began working on their respective ranks. In January of 1996, Mr. Lannon attained his 5th degree, and Mr. Leahy earned his 4th degree black belt.

On December 14, 1995 at approximately 2:00am, the school at 89 Washington Street burned in a fire which started in a neighboring building. Mr. Lannon, who was living on the third floor at that time, was able to get out of the building safely. He watched as the fire raged on with a handful of friends and students. As students arrived that morning for the 6:30am class, they were shocked by what they saw.

As the word spread of the fire, Mr. Lannon was joined by a growing number of his friends and students and all watched as the school burned. Mr. Leahy, a West Warwick firefighter, fought the fire throughout the night. Everything was lost in the fire... Everything except the spirit and perseverance of its students. A do-jang was set up at the Beaulieu Performing Arts Center in Coventry and classes resumed in less than 4 days.

During this time, Mr. Lannon and Mr. Leahy had been discussing the transfer of the day-to-day operation of the school. What began 22 years ago as an avocation, then into a vocation, has returned once again as an avocation for Mr. Lannon. Mr. Leahy pursued the challenge of finding a new home for the school, and on April 24, 1996, purchased the building at 40 Knotty Oak Road in Coventry.

In 22 years, the New England Tae Kwon Do Center has produced over 45 black belts, championship black belt team fighters, champion black belt fighters, and black belts that have competed in and won championships around the world.