MOSES LAKE – According to Jessie Young, martial arts was not something she thought she would take an interest in. However, after giving Freewind Martial Arts a few tries, she was all in.  

“After the first lesson, I was totally hooked. I was not ready for it; I could not do push-ups or sit-ups or run around the mat like everybody else, but I absolutely fell in love with it. 

Young said her first introduction to Freewind came when she began taking her son for lessons. She would help him practice outside of the lessons and work through the movements with him. After a conversation with instructor Brandi Guertin, she was invited to join the adult group at the studio.  

“I was joking with Brandi, and I said, ‘I should get an honorary white belt for all the work that I've been putting in.’ And she goes, ‘You should join the adult class.’ And I laughed it off.” Young said.  

She eventually circled back with Guertin and began coming to the classes as a student. One element of Freewind that encouraged Young to start learning was the philosophy that is taught at the studio.  

Initially, her perception of martial arts came from what she saw on TV: a more intense and serious environment for martial artists to train in. However, at Freewind, their philosophy leans on creating yourself and taking lessons from their five tenets into their daily lives.  

The five tenets are courtesy, integrity, perseverance, indomitable spirit and self-control. 

“I think it shows me more than anything because of the create yourself motto, I get to do me, and I get to be me and work on what I need to work on and really develop my skills in a way that fits who I am,” Young said.  

According to Young, the further along she got in the learning process, the more confidence she gained. She described herself as passive and working through that to engage in a sport thatshe  could identify as a combat sport was fun for her.  

“We all have great self-control and everything, but I was so worried about hurting others, I didn't have the confidence in myself to perform at my peak,” she said.  

Young is a science teacher at Ephrata High School. In that environment, she usually takes the lead in teaching the materials and helping instill qualities in her students similar to the five tenets at Freewind.  

However, in the studio, the roles were reversed. This time, it’s Jacob Guertin, a 16-year-old instructor, who is teaching Young about these tenets. It was a dynamic that Young embraced, she said.  

“To have a 14-year-old teaching me about integrity and perseverance and doing that in such a mature way. It really helped me realize that I learn a lot from my students every day, but to learn from a teenager and to see his perspective has been really cool," she said.  

Young said they have had several conversations about being teachers and what is important to teach. The effort to teach students at Freewind to be better people is an element of learning that Young said shows up in her own classroom.  

One tenet that stands out to Young is the indomitable spirit. According to Young, she defines it as not letting your spirit be dominated by somebody else. She said it’s about maintaining your individual goals and elements that make you who you are, and not letting others jeopardize them.  

“I might have a student that laughs that I do martial arts, but that's not going to affect me, because I know who I am and I love what I'm doing, so I'm not going to let other people kind of take that away from me, though most my students think it's really cool,” she said.  

Young said she sees the impact a place like Freewind can have on a community. Many students at the studio are young kids, and they are learning more than just how to kick and throw a punch. She said it’s a great place for community building, especially in a time where differences in viewpoints can be a dividing factor.  

“When they learn to connect with each other, and even though we may not see eye to eye, politically or socially in a lot of things, but to see each other working together and learning together, I think it just helps to build that community,” she said.  

Brandi Guertin has high praise for Young and her dedication to martial arts. She said Young has done a great job of embodying the five tenets and has fully embraced the group at the studio as a family. All while maintaining a balance of a busy life with a family and being a teacher.  

“She has a family and having that kind of dedication to Freewind and practicing and training, as well as having a family and a career and a life at home, takes just as much balance as it does to be a high school student,” Guertin said.  

    Jessie Young with Jacob and Brandi Guertin after she earned her blue belt at Freewind Martial Arts. Young said the family atmosphere is what drew her to join the studio as a student.
  

    Jessie Young with Brandi Guertin and Jamie Casteel after she earned her green belt. Young said working with the bo staff is one of her favorite elements of the martial arts.
  

    Jessie Young earned third place at the Quest of Champions tournament in Lewiston, Idaho. Young is a teacher at Ephrata High School where she said the five tenets at Freewind translate to her classroom.
  

    Jessie Young and her son Colin together after receiving their gold belts. Young had her first introduction to Freewind Martial Arts when she began taking her son for lessons.