Kicking it in the mall
Trending
FAIRMONT - After 13 years in the Eagan area, Kick Start Martial Arts is bringing its talents to Fairmont, opening at the Five Lakes Centre Mall.
The location will be next to CareerForce. It is led by Paul Sisk, who first started doing martial arts in the early 80s.
"I ended up training with American Taekwondo Association," he said. "My instructor was in Burnsville, which is close to Eagan, and I trained under him in the early ’90s. From there, I managed two of his centers, one in Burnsville, and then in Eagan under the ATA at that time. Then in ’97 my wife, at the time this was before we were married, we moved to California, and I opened a club in the YMCA there. We ran that school for 13 years out there."
Starting in 2013, they opened Kick Start Martial Arts in Eagan, striking out on their own and training over 50 black belts in their time there.
The connection to Fairmont started in Sisk's youth, as his grandfather lived in Fairmont and Sisk spent time with him on the lakes.
"We have a small property on Amber Lake," Sisk said. "We’ve had that for six years, and it’s been a talk for the last couple years at least about making the move to Fairmont."
As for why now is the right time for the move, Sisk said it coincided with the end of their lease in Eagan.
"We knew we weren’t going to stay at the current location there," he said. "That's the timing that led up to us talking through the process of relocating, and if we wanted to stay in Eagan permanently or relocate to Fairmont. We talked a couple years about it, and we just made the decision that this would be the time, with the lease being up."
While they found a couple of potential options in the area, Sisk said the mall made the most sense for what they're looking to do right away.
"When I was in California, I was in one other indoor mall situation," he said. "I think this fits; for one, it can bring life to the mall with what we do. I think it gives kids alternatives, and also being indoors when the weather is what it is in Minnesota, that brought a little of allure to us to be there."
Kick Start Martial Arts will offer combat taekwondo and HaganaH self-defense, the latter of which Sisk is the only certified instructor in Minnesota. In addition to adult classes, Sisk said they also offer youth classes.
"We’re looking to start an after-school program, after-school training, where I can transport students from the elementary school over to the facility and then train them from 3-5 p.m.," Sisk said. "That’s something we did in the Eagan area that went well for us."
With this, Sisk said they are looking to cultivate a family atmosphere for this training.
"For maybe the stay-at-home moms or people that need things for their kids to do in the morning, we’ll have a soft play area for little kids to play on the mat, take them through some things," he said. "It will be no-to-little structure training, but just get them introduced to the idea of being in martial arts or just being on a martial arts mat as a little one."
From his family history here to his history in martial arts, Sisk said he is excited to bring this experience to the Fairmont area.
"Over the years of doing martial arts, I see what it’s done for all of the students I’ve taught," he said. "I want to do that type of black belt quality, and give the experience that it's not just the martial arts that’s kicking and punching on its own, but bringing the families together while doing something they love and getting a good workout in, learning some self-defense, and just being part of the community area that has been important to my family."
The open house for Kick Start Martial Arts will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept.19 where schedules and more information will be available. The first day will be Monday, Sept. 21.
For more information, call 805-460-8145 or search for Kick Start Martial Arts of Fairmont on Facebook.