How taekwondo became a youth sensation in the tiny Southeast Alaska town of Whale Pass

Jesse Dempsey started practicing taekwondo as a kindergartner with a very simple goal: to help control his temper.

In the past five years, Dempsey has made strides toward that objective and progressed his skills to the point where he could compete at the international level. And recently the 10-year-old has found plenty of training partners in his small Southeast town on Prince of Wales Island.

Despite a population that rarely crests 100 even during the busy summer season, Dempsey is one of 10 kids practicing the martial art in Whale Pass.

“We needed him to learn control and discipline,” said his mother, Michelle Dempsey. “We started him in martial arts and it made a huge difference.”

When Jesse Dempsey started taekwondo, his family lived in Texas. When they moved to Alaska a year ago, he wanted to continue his training.

Senior Master Dometrius Hill, who had trained Dempsey in Texas, offered to continue instruction over Zoom. The ATA version of taekwondo he teaches has a centralized curriculum helpful for remote learning. Still, Hill said, it isn’t quite the same as being in person.

“Nothing replaces that face-to-face connection of being in the same space,” Hill said.

With Jesse Dempsey acting as a hands-on helper, the group has grown to include more than three-quarters of the kids who attend the Whale Pass School, according to Michelle Dempsey. Their ages range from 7 to 16.

While making progress on his temper, Jesse Dempsey now enjoys another aspect. “Mostly because of the self-defense,” he said.

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art that revolves around kicking and punching. It’s been an Olympic sport since 2000 and included a number of forms. This month at the World ATA Championships in Phoenix, Dempsey competed in eight events and won three medals. As a brown belt in the 11- to 12-year-old category, he earned medals in creative forms, extreme forms and extreme weapons.

Hill said kids who struggle with impulse issues can gain another form of reinforcement in a group.

“Not necessarily negative, but calling out behavior that’s positive and reinforcing the positive,” he said. “That’s where we’re at now, instead of a sport or a competition where I have to beat you to win, it’s an activity where I need you to win so we can all win.”

That was the case for Joseph Hillis, who trained with Dempsey leading up to the recent Worlds in Phoenix.

Joseph’s father, Cody Hillis, said he’s noticed the two boys making strides in both personal and athletic ventures.

“At their practices they’re pushing each other,” Cody Hillis said. “That’s a big thing. When you just have one person there it doesn’t help you to exceed your current levels. ... I think the attitudes have got a lot better too, and I’d like to see it keep going.”

Michelle Dempsey said she’s looking into fundraising to continue the training for the larger group, including for buying mats. Now they do some outdoor training, and since the school doesn’t have a gym, they end up training in other rooms. She and Hill both said they’d like to see a larger group head to the Lower 48 for major tournaments in the future.

“We’d like to do some fundraising so the rest of the world can see how awesome these kids are in Alaska,” Hill said. “They’re humble, they’re respectful and they’re hard workers. And that’s what we want all our kids to be like.”