In the fall of 2021, Bradi Leshovsky started a club that came from a passion of his own: the Taekwondo Club of North Dakota State University. The club started by hosting classes at the NDSU Memorial Union once a week. Each week there was an average of around three people coming to these classes.
Bradi has been training in taekwondo for eighteen years and instructing for eight. He is a second-degree Kukkiwon and Chang Moo Kwan certified black belt. He said the goal for the club was to “provide NDSU students with an official and certified opportunity to earn rank and experience in taekwondo for people who have years of experience or are completely new.” The club is run through the Greenquist Academy Association under the direction of fifth dan Master Morgan Olson with oversight from ninth dan Grand Master Eric Greenquist.
Persisting, only a short year later the club moved up to become a Tier Two Competitive Organization at NDSU. This meant being able to reserve a space at the Wellness Center on campus. In 2022, the first class had a recorded thirty-six attendees. Ever since there has been a steady fifteen to twenty per class.
The following spring, the club went to its first tournament in April of 2023. Bradi said, “It proved to be a great learning experience for everyone, as we transitioned from training solely in the martial arts studio to competing in a large-scale setting.” This tournament was a big step in just a short amount of time for the organization.
Most recently, the club traveled and competed in the Twin Cities. They participated in the AAU State Tournament in Minneapolis. They said it was a great stage for them to display their hard work at a large tournament when it comes down to just one day of performance.
From the fall of 2021 to now, this club has shown huge development and success in such a short amount of time. And this is still only the beginning of the Taekwondo Club of NDSU.
They practice on Mondays in the Martial Arts Studio at the Wellness Center. They offer traditional classes which are from 6 to 7 p.m., and a sparring class following that from 7 to 8 p.m. If interested, contact the President and Head Instructor, Bradi Leshovsky at his email at BradiLeshovsky@gmail.com or by phone at (701) 892-4190.