In its fifth year of existence, Lee’s Taekwondo in Jackson County has grown to become one of the larger taekwondo gyms in the area, according to instructor and third-degree black belt Tim Bicknase of Worthington.
“This year is pretty exciting,” he said. “I was the only black belt there when we opened the doors. There were 34 youth and the only one who could hold targets was myself. Now if we have 15 color belts and 10 black belts (in one of several sections), everybody is just getting much more quality time in there. It’s a much more valuable experience.”
The Jackson County Central Community Education-promoted gym, which now boasts approximately 70 students, was born in the fall of 2005 when Bicknase took on the unorthodox challenge of opening two gyms simultaneously — the other in Worthington, where he lives and works at a bank during the day.
Its name, Lee’s Taekwondo, comes from Bicknase’s grand master, seventh-degree black belt Michael Lee of Marshall.
“When I was a kid, I always wanted to do martial arts,” Bicknase said.
Then a friend of his visited Korea and taught English for six weeks — and experienced authentic taekwondo first-hand.
“Evidently he was showed up by a 60-year-old,” Bicknase said.
The two’s curiosity led them to Southwest Minnesota State University’s college taekwondo club and their interest grew from there. Bicknase earned his black belt in 2003 and made his first visit to Korea a year later.
“My grand master must have saw something in me and asked me if I had ever though about instructing,” he said. “… Once you reach black belt, it’s not so much about you but about helping others. Being a black belt is about putting all those things you learned into practice.”
That he did from scratch in Jackson, and now four adult black belts and 20 junior black belts (under 16 years old) are helping continue to invest in their fellow students.
“To the best of my knowledge, none of them had any prior experience,” he noted.
Those students have learned the basics of punching and kicking, plus the character tenets of taekwondo — courtesy, integrity, self-control, perseverance and an indomitable spirit.
“We’re hoping to build confidence, No. 1, and it’s also great for physical fitness and a great discipline,” he said, “… basically leaders in the community. We want people to be happy we’re around.”
The gym attracts people of all ages — Bicknase has students as young as 6 and as old as 51 — but taekwondo is particularly attractive to youth.
“Parents are attracted because of the discipline,” he said. “Kids like it and are drawn to it because of the stuff they get to do. … The yelling, kicking and punching — we give an appropriate channel to actually let that out.”
Bicknase’s taekwondo students meet every Tuesday and Thursday at Riverside Elementary during the school year for a one-hour time slot between 4 and 8 p.m., depending on age and skill level. His Worthington gym, about 30 students strong, meets Mondays and Wednesdays.
“With the amount of black belt help, it opens up doors where we can take new students,” he said. “Right now the doors are wide open for any student who wants to try it out.”
