Big Sky Martial Arts of Kalispell will be well represented at the 2016 Team Trials for taekwondo in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sept. 7-9.

Adam Bartlett, Cheyenne Arndt and Thomas Reed are competing for a chance to earn a spot on the U.S. National Team. All three students are black belts.

Bartlett, who competes in the junior division (ages 15-17) won Team Trials and AAU U.S. Taekwondo Nationals in 2015. He won two bouts at Nationals in Fort Lauderdale this year on July 4-8, but bowed out with a foot injury. He tore a tendon in the big toe on his left foot.

Arndt, who is in the cadet division (ages 12-14) at the 112.4-pound light middleweight class, was second at Nationals. She lost in the finals to a two-time U.S. Open gold medalist.

Reed, entered in the junior division heavyweight class, finished second at the Team Trials a year ago. He went 2-1 at Nationals.

Defending Team Trials champions and individuals placing in the top four at Nationals qualify for the September event.

Since 2002, Big Sky has had 12 participants in the Team Trials.

“Out of Montana, in the last 20 years, only two kids have been to Team Trials (from the other schools),” Big Sky Martial Arts owner/coach Master John Paul Noyes said.

“We are setting records here for sure.”

Big Sky was founded in 1995 by Noyes. It is operated by him and his wife Master Mrs. Debbie Noyes, who also coaches.

“We started off with people who never saw or experienced it before,” Noyes said of taekwondo.

“It took us awhile to develop a (talent) pool.”

Since then, Big Sky has won countless state championships, captured Pacific Northwest Regional titles and has excelled on the national level.

“My wife and I work well together (as coaches),” he said. “So that’s an added benefit. Both of us have a different approach and the students get a double perspective. My wife is a high-level competitor and I have been a coach for 25 years (at the University of Montana and the University of California at Berkeley).”

Noyes and his wife stress humility and a good work ethic with the students. They ultimate hope is for their students to develop a passion for taekwondo.

“It’s year-round,” he said. “It’s not a seasonal sport at this level (Team Trials).”

To help offset athlete burnout, “we have a good approach,” he said of training and practices.

“We’re good at hiding repetition. Hopefully we encourage them to have self motivation. They are not doing this for their parents or for us. They want this for themselves. It also requires 100 percent support from coaches and parents. You can’t do that by yourself.”

Bartlett, 15, has been involved in taekwondo at BSMA since he was 4 1/2 years old. He represented the U.S. at the German Open last April, winning a bronze medal.

“I always try to be smarter than the other person (competitor),” Bartlett said. “I’m not as fast or strong, but I feel like I can out-think them, out-smart them.”

Last year he competed in the cadet division at Team Trials.

“It’s a fun process for these events and then getting to compete shows what you have trained for,” he said. “This should be a big step up for me. It would be good to make it my first year. The kids are a lot bigger, stronger and faster.”

Arndt, like all the others, started a young age. She was five when she took her first lessons.

And her dedication in unmatched.

“I love taekwondo,” she said. “I come here every day of the week (Monday through Friday).

“I’m so lucky to have Master Noyes as my coach. He focuses on each person and gives them what they need. Plus all the people are supportive.”

Arndt is approaching this next event with a lot of confidence.

“I’ve improved a lot,” she said. “Now I’m focusing on training.”

This will be the last time Reed competes at this event as a junior. He’s also one of the favorites in his division.

“To do the very best I can,” he said of his approach. “I just look at it as there are a few other guys in my way.”

NOTE: Taylor Reed, 19, of Kalispell took the gold medal at Nationals in the black belt 176-pound welterweight class in the senior division. Senior division black belt winners (ages 18-32) earn an automatic spot on the U.S. National Team.