August 29, 2025 • 11 mins
This podcast episode prominently features an engaging discussion centered on the remarkable training opportunities available in Whale Pass, Alaska, which can significantly enhance the martial arts journey of ATA students. We delve into the unique aspects of this isolated locale, where participants can immerse themselves in Taekwondo training while also exploring cinematography and videography, thus enriching their overall educational experience. Notably, our athlete of the week, Mr. Dempsey, shares insights from his recent interview conducted at the World Championships, highlighting his aspirations and achievements in the realm of martial arts. Furthermore, we elaborate on various upcoming regional camps and seminars, encouraging listeners to expand their horizons beyond their local schools and partake in these invaluable experiences. Join us as we explore these multifaceted opportunities that await within the ATA community, fostering personal growth and excellence in martial arts.
Takeaways:
- This episode explores exciting upcoming events, including regional training camps across the country.
- Listeners are encouraged to participate in various training opportunities outside their regular schools.
- The featured athlete of the week hails from Whale Pass, Alaska, showcasing unique training environments.
- Athletes can earn personal development points by attending qualified regional camps and seminars.
- The podcast emphasizes the importance of setting goals in martial arts for personal development.
- Listeners are informed about the opportunity to engage in a comprehensive training program in Alaska.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Got another awesome athlete ofthe week and some amazing upcoming
events.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Ata Nation podcast.
Welcome back to the Ata Nation podcast.
This is episode 165 of the AtaNation podcast.
(00:25):
We are thrilled to be backwith you.
I am your host, Senior masterZach Hayden, and thank you for tuning
in.
Always a pleasure to have youjoining us, letting us be part of
your ATA journey.
Now, we've got lots of stuffgoing on across ATA Nation, and so
I wanted to hit some of thosehere real quick and then get to our
(00:45):
athlete of the week, who Iactually interviewed at World Championships.
And not only did we hit like,him and his.
His training and stuff, but areally exciting thing that we've
talked about here on thepodcast before, and that's this opportunity
to go train in Whale Pass, Alaska.
So we'll get to Mr. Dempseyhere in just a minute, but I wanted
(01:06):
to hit a couple of theseevents that are going across the
country.
I know last week we talkedwith the training department and
if you didn't check out thatepisode, you need to make sure you
do that.
Lots of great things comingfrom there.
But in addition to that,there's other events going on across
the country.
And I want to really encourageyou, if you've never stepped outside
of your school, to do someother trainings.
(01:26):
One great chance that youmight want to take is doing one of
these regional seminars oreven better, these regional camps.
Regional camps are so much fun.
I know I am part of runningthe one for my region and we just
have such a great time.
The stories that we tellaround the campfire, the.
(01:46):
The bonds that we make, theseare the kind of things that we want
to just continue to foster.
So we want to highlight thosewe've got.
Just like next weekend,September 5th through the 7th, region
102A is going to be havingtheir training camp.
And then of course, we've gotsome of these max gathering or, excuse
me, these max regionaltrainings coming up.
(02:07):
Then near the end OfSeptember, Region 105 is going to
be having their regional campat the beginning of October, the
first weekend in October, 118in Arizona.
And then also my region,region 102B will be having our camp.
Don't want to miss these guys.
They're so much fun.
Region 106 is having theircamp at the.
(02:30):
In the middle of October.
Again, these camps are forthose of you who are higher rank.
You're going to be wanting toget these personal development points.
You get those by going toqualified camps.
Most of these are qualifiedcamps to get those points.
These points are little likeif you haven't talked to your instructor
yet, if you are a fourthdegree or higher, you need to be
talking to them about how youget these points and making sure
(02:51):
you understand the processbecause you could get way behind
in setting your goals.
This is one of the things thatthey, they map out with you at Camp
Jongsu to look at your path oflong life in martial arts.
So you might want to, youmight want to check that out.
And I would highly encourageif you are a black belt, checking
out your local regions camp.
(03:12):
They are so much fun.
Then of course Camp Jongsu inLittle Rock, December 3rd through
5th all the way.
You can plan ahead.
Get, get these on your calendar.
Now.
Region 109 has got their campscheduled for March 2026.
And then we're.
Or excuse me, then in May2026, 110B has their camp scheduled
(03:37):
as well.
So those are some greatopportunities to check out.
Make sure you're clicking on those.
You can go to theatamarcialarts.com website, click
on the event and then at thetop of the events, you know, you
have these different classesof tournaments and then training
and then camps and seminars.
So make sure you don't miss that.
Okay, guys, that's going toget us started with some events.
(04:00):
But let's talk to our athleteof the week.
Hey, so Jesse, you are inWhale Pass, Alaska, which some people
might have seen that this isnot the typical location.
Tell us a little bit aboutWhale Pass and you know how many
(04:20):
people live there, howdifficult it might be to get there.
Tell us a little bit aboutwhere you train.
Well, Whale Pass, Alaska is asmall isolated town on Prince of
Wales island which is rightnext to Ketchikan.
Okay, how many people do youlive in there?
In the summertime there's 100people, but year round it is 40.
(04:42):
Okay, so this is not yourtypical location you think of for
training.
If somebody wants to hear alittle bit about how you guys got
there, there's a past episodethey can watch about that.
But I want to hear a littlebit about your.
This new thing they havecoming in Whale Pass that like ATA
students can come and visit.
They can come check it out.
What's the, what's the deal there?
(05:03):
So the deal for our program isthe song.
On my academic program theywill come up and they will train
taekwondo, but they will alsodo cinematography, videography.
I think that's, I'm saying.
Yep, yep, you got it.
That's it and AI technologiesand also work with fancy cameras.
(05:26):
What?
So I can.
I can apply to come up and doTaekwondo and, like, my regular school
at Whale Pass is this, like,am I going to be there for a whole
year?
Am I going to be there for a week?
What's kind of the timerequirement that I'm looking at to
go the time.
Range will be actually inAlaska, will be around five weeks,
(05:49):
and then we'll go down toPittsburgh, Pennsylvania for Fall
Nationals.
And then for a week, we'll doit on zoom.
We'll do it.
Okay.
Okay.
So.
So I'm gonna come to Whale Pass.
I get to do all this training,Taekwondo training, as well as some
of these neat things.
And you guys live in, like, arainforest, which, like, if I were
(06:12):
going to tell people thatthere's a rainforest in Alaska, most
people would be like, what areyou talking about?
So there's things that you'regoing to be checking out outside,
things like that as well, right?
Yes, sir.
We will be traveling acrossthe island to other towns and we
will look at stuff like totem poles.
Oh, the car systems.
We'll learn about that.
And we'll go to karst caves.
(06:32):
You guys got caves in Alaska?
Yes, sir.
What?
I've never heard of this.
You have a rainforest and caves.
Okay, what?
And then.
So you're going to train there.
You'll be there for, you saidfive weeks, and then the end of that
five weeks lines up with FallNationals and they'll.
You guys will come toPittsburgh, compete, do stuff there.
So with this, what.
What age do I have to be?
(06:52):
Who can do this?
So the main people we'reaiming to get for the program are
middle school.
To high school, middle schooland high school students, okay?
Yes, sir.
Excellent.
And how, if somebody isinterested, how do they jump on board?
This is it.
Are they.
Can they still.
I know we're probably gettingclose to time.
I don't know.
Yes, sir.
We currently have 10 morespots available to join the program,
(07:16):
and we do have a website to join.
Excellent.
We'll stick that in the linkso people can check it out as well.
And I know you guys are onsocial media.
They can find informationthere as well.
So let's pivot back just asecond, though.
That is super cool.
I like, I can't imagine, like,as a, you know, a middle school or
a high school or getting to gofor five weeks to Alaska to do Taekwondo
(07:37):
and learn all this other stuffand then go to full national.
I mean, I don't wantnecessarily I would like feel bad.
I'd miss some of my students,but students, if you want to go this,
I will let you.
This sounds like an awesome opportunity.
And you got to take picturesand maybe bring your instructor.
Anyways, so competition, we'rehere at World Championships.
(07:58):
You've been to Worlds before.
What are you thinking aboutthis world?
How are you liking it?
This world has been great sofar and it still has more time to
be even better.
Yes.
Yeah.
You've got.
What do we still have going on today?
Kickoff.
Tonight we've got the.
Oh, the Super 20 is starting.
So you're competing in theSuper 20?
(08:19):
Yes, sir.
What events are you doing?
All of them.
All of them.
You're doing everything.
Very good.
Did I see that, you guys?
You were at districts not thatlong ago.
How did districts go for youthis last season?
So I got three titles indistricts and I got three second
place as well and one third place.
That's not a bad district at all.
(08:40):
That sounds fantastic.
Excellent.
Okay, so we will.
You're getting ready for theSuper 20.
All the exciting events goingon there.
What are the kind of goals doyou have just maybe for you short
term or even long term in Taekwondo.
So my goals for Taekwondo, forshort term, I want to make a school
(09:01):
excellent.
Become a full time instructor,that is.
And for long term, Ieventually want to become a Grandmaster.
Oh, I love that.
Very cool.
Were you able to be here forthe Master ceremony or you guys weren't
able to get in yet for that, right?
No, sir.
Yeah, that's a bummer.
Have you seen the Masterceremony before?
No, sir.
Okay, one of these years.
I know it's so early in theweek, it makes it hard.
One of these years you got tocheck it out.
(09:21):
It's one of my favorite thingsat World Championship.
So inspiring.
And then you can just pictureyourself up there getting dubbed
in the head with that cool brong bong.
Okay, last but not least, whatdoes it mean to you to be an athlete
that goes beyond the belt?
To me to go beyond the belt,it means to push your limits, to
do what other people said was impossible.
(09:42):
I love that.
Do what other people said is possible.
A little like today notpossible, tomorrow possible.
Yes, sir.
Well, thank you so much foryour time today, sir.
Good luck in your competitions.
And if anybody's interested,going up to Alaska, hanging out with
this guy, make sure you checkhim out.
Thanks, sir.
Thank you, sir.
How neat is it to have anathlete with us like Mr. Dempsey
(10:05):
who is doing some really cool things.
His instructor just whatthey're doing in Whalepas, Alaska
and how you can participate inthat is super cool.
So make sure you check that out.
Lots of still thingsdeveloping there and so make sure
you find him online and followwhat they're doing or sign up.
You know they're still, youmight be able to still get in, I
(10:27):
don't know.
Um, but this week we had alittle bit of short episode for you,
a little quick one because Iknow last week went real long and
it might be still in your feed somewhere.
Don't worry.
We've got a lot of greatinterviews to come.
Some amazing athletes of theweek we've got.
If you want to be an athleteof the week, reach out to one of
the new ambassadors and theycan get you hooked up in that possibility.
(10:50):
So until next time, get outthere and go beyond the Bell ATA
Nation podcast.
Be sure to subscribe and sharewith your ATA family.
Got another awesome athlete ofthe week and some amazing upcoming
events.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Ata Nation podcast.
Welcome back to the Ata Nation podcast.
This is episode 165 of the AtaNation podcast.
(00:25):
We are thrilled to be backwith you.
I am your host, Senior masterZach Hayden, and thank you for tuning
in.
Always a pleasure to have youjoining us, letting us be part of
your ATA journey.
Now, we've got lots of stuffgoing on across ATA Nation, and so
I wanted to hit some of thosehere real quick and then get to our
(00:45):
athlete of the week, who Iactually interviewed at World Championships.
And not only did we hit like,him and his.
His training and stuff, but areally exciting thing that we've
talked about here on thepodcast before, and that's this opportunity
to go train in Whale Pass, Alaska.
So we'll get to Mr. Dempseyhere in just a minute, but I wanted
(01:06):
to hit a couple of theseevents that are going across the
country.
I know last week we talkedwith the training department and
if you didn't check out thatepisode, you need to make sure you
do that.
Lots of great things comingfrom there.
But in addition to that,there's other events going on across
the country.
And I want to really encourageyou, if you've never stepped outside
of your school, to do someother trainings.
(01:26):
One great chance that youmight want to take is doing one of
these regional seminars oreven better, these regional camps.
Regional camps are so much fun.
I know I am part of runningthe one for my region and we just
have such a great time.
The stories that we tellaround the campfire, the.
(01:46):
The bonds that we make, theseare the kind of things that we want
to just continue to foster.
So we want to highlight thosewe've got.
Just like next weekend,September 5th through the 7th, region
102A is going to be havingtheir training camp.
And then of course, we've gotsome of these max gathering or, excuse
me, these max regionaltrainings coming up.
(02:07):
Then near the end OfSeptember, Region 105 is going to
be having their regional campat the beginning of October, the
first weekend in October, 118in Arizona.
And then also my region,region 102B will be having our camp.
Don't want to miss these guys.
They're so much fun.
Region 106 is having theircamp at the.
(02:30):
In the middle of October.
Again, these camps are forthose of you who are higher rank.
You're going to be wanting toget these personal development points.
You get those by going toqualified camps.
Most of these are qualifiedcamps to get those points.
These points are little likeif you haven't talked to your instructor
yet, if you are a fourthdegree or higher, you need to be
talking to them about how youget these points and making sure
(02:51):
you understand the processbecause you could get way behind
in setting your goals.
This is one of the things thatthey, they map out with you at Camp
Jongsu to look at your path oflong life in martial arts.
So you might want to, youmight want to check that out.
And I would highly encourageif you are a black belt, checking
out your local regions camp.
(03:12):
They are so much fun.
Then of course Camp Jongsu inLittle Rock, December 3rd through
5th all the way.
You can plan ahead.
Get, get these on your calendar.
Now.
Region 109 has got their campscheduled for March 2026.
And then we're.
Or excuse me, then in May2026, 110B has their camp scheduled
(03:37):
as well.
So those are some greatopportunities to check out.
Make sure you're clicking on those.
You can go to theatamarcialarts.com website, click
on the event and then at thetop of the events, you know, you
have these different classesof tournaments and then training
and then camps and seminars.
So make sure you don't miss that.
Okay, guys, that's going toget us started with some events.
(04:00):
But let's talk to our athleteof the week.
Hey, so Jesse, you are inWhale Pass, Alaska, which some people
might have seen that this isnot the typical location.
Tell us a little bit aboutWhale Pass and you know how many
(04:20):
people live there, howdifficult it might be to get there.
Tell us a little bit aboutwhere you train.
Well, Whale Pass, Alaska is asmall isolated town on Prince of
Wales island which is rightnext to Ketchikan.
Okay, how many people do youlive in there?
In the summertime there's 100people, but year round it is 40.
(04:42):
Okay, so this is not yourtypical location you think of for
training.
If somebody wants to hear alittle bit about how you guys got
there, there's a past episodethey can watch about that.
But I want to hear a littlebit about your.
This new thing they havecoming in Whale Pass that like ATA
students can come and visit.
They can come check it out.
What's the, what's the deal there?
(05:03):
So the deal for our program isthe song.
On my academic program theywill come up and they will train
taekwondo, but they will alsodo cinematography, videography.
I think that's, I'm saying.
Yep, yep, you got it.
That's it and AI technologiesand also work with fancy cameras.
(05:26):
What?
So I can.
I can apply to come up and doTaekwondo and, like, my regular school
at Whale Pass is this, like,am I going to be there for a whole
year?
Am I going to be there for a week?
What's kind of the timerequirement that I'm looking at to
go the time.
Range will be actually inAlaska, will be around five weeks,
(05:49):
and then we'll go down toPittsburgh, Pennsylvania for Fall
Nationals.
And then for a week, we'll doit on zoom.
We'll do it.
Okay.
Okay.
So.
So I'm gonna come to Whale Pass.
I get to do all this training,Taekwondo training, as well as some
of these neat things.
And you guys live in, like, arainforest, which, like, if I were
(06:12):
going to tell people thatthere's a rainforest in Alaska, most
people would be like, what areyou talking about?
So there's things that you'regoing to be checking out outside,
things like that as well, right?
Yes, sir.
We will be traveling acrossthe island to other towns and we
will look at stuff like totem poles.
Oh, the car systems.
We'll learn about that.
And we'll go to karst caves.
(06:32):
You guys got caves in Alaska?
Yes, sir.
What?
I've never heard of this.
You have a rainforest and caves.
Okay, what?
And then.
So you're going to train there.
You'll be there for, you saidfive weeks, and then the end of that
five weeks lines up with FallNationals and they'll.
You guys will come toPittsburgh, compete, do stuff there.
So with this, what.
What age do I have to be?
(06:52):
Who can do this?
So the main people we'reaiming to get for the program are
middle school.
To high school, middle schooland high school students, okay?
Yes, sir.
Excellent.
And how, if somebody isinterested, how do they jump on board?
This is it.
Are they.
Can they still.
I know we're probably gettingclose to time.
I don't know.
Yes, sir.
We currently have 10 morespots available to join the program,
(07:16):
and we do have a website to join.
Excellent.
We'll stick that in the linkso people can check it out as well.
And I know you guys are onsocial media.
They can find informationthere as well.
So let's pivot back just asecond, though.
That is super cool.
I like, I can't imagine, like,as a, you know, a middle school or
a high school or getting to gofor five weeks to Alaska to do Taekwondo
(07:37):
and learn all this other stuffand then go to full national.
I mean, I don't wantnecessarily I would like feel bad.
I'd miss some of my students,but students, if you want to go this,
I will let you.
This sounds like an awesome opportunity.
And you got to take picturesand maybe bring your instructor.
Anyways, so competition, we'rehere at World Championships.
(07:58):
You've been to Worlds before.
What are you thinking aboutthis world?
How are you liking it?
This world has been great sofar and it still has more time to
be even better.
Yes.
Yeah.
You've got.
What do we still have going on today?
Kickoff.
Tonight we've got the.
Oh, the Super 20 is starting.
So you're competing in theSuper 20?
(08:19):
Yes, sir.
What events are you doing?
All of them.
All of them.
You're doing everything.
Very good.
Did I see that, you guys?
You were at districts not thatlong ago.
How did districts go for youthis last season?
So I got three titles indistricts and I got three second
place as well and one third place.
That's not a bad district at all.
(08:40):
That sounds fantastic.
Excellent.
Okay, so we will.
You're getting ready for theSuper 20.
All the exciting events goingon there.
What are the kind of goals doyou have just maybe for you short
term or even long term in Taekwondo.
So my goals for Taekwondo, forshort term, I want to make a school
(09:01):
excellent.
Become a full time instructor,that is.
And for long term, Ieventually want to become a Grandmaster.
Oh, I love that.
Very cool.
Were you able to be here forthe Master ceremony or you guys weren't
able to get in yet for that, right?
No, sir.
Yeah, that's a bummer.
Have you seen the Masterceremony before?
No, sir.
Okay, one of these years.
I know it's so early in theweek, it makes it hard.
One of these years you got tocheck it out.
(09:21):
It's one of my favorite thingsat World Championship.
So inspiring.
And then you can just pictureyourself up there getting dubbed
in the head with that cool brong bong.
Okay, last but not least, whatdoes it mean to you to be an athlete
that goes beyond the belt?
To me to go beyond the belt,it means to push your limits, to
do what other people said was impossible.
(09:42):
I love that.
Do what other people said is possible.
A little like today notpossible, tomorrow possible.
Yes, sir.
Well, thank you so much foryour time today, sir.
Good luck in your competitions.
And if anybody's interested,going up to Alaska, hanging out with
this guy, make sure you checkhim out.
Thanks, sir.
Thank you, sir.
How neat is it to have anathlete with us like Mr. Dempsey
(10:05):
who is doing some really cool things.
His instructor just whatthey're doing in Whalepas, Alaska
and how you can participate inthat is super cool.
So make sure you check that out.
Lots of still thingsdeveloping there and so make sure
you find him online and followwhat they're doing or sign up.
You know they're still, youmight be able to still get in, I
(10:27):
don't know.
Um, but this week we had alittle bit of short episode for you,
a little quick one because Iknow last week went real long and
it might be still in your feed somewhere.
Don't worry.
We've got a lot of greatinterviews to come.
Some amazing athletes of theweek we've got.
If you want to be an athleteof the week, reach out to one of
the new ambassadors and theycan get you hooked up in that possibility.
(10:50):
So until next time, get outthere and go beyond the Bell ATA
Nation podcast.
Be sure to subscribe and sharewith your ATA family.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.