McHenry taekwondo school next to destroyed roller rink thanks firefighters, first responders

The chief instructor at McHenry Taekwondo Academy said she is convinced her school wouldn’t have survived the fire that destroyed the neighboring Just for Fun Roller Rink.

The school is located at 908 Front St., next door to the vacant roller rink that was completely destroyed by a fire that authorities think a 14-year-old McHenry boy started while trespassing with another 14-year-old boy. Both boys were charged a few days after the May 27 fire.

“Our roof suffered damage due to flying debris, and it is clear from data and witnesses at the site that our little school would no longer exist had it not been for the efforts of each and every firefighter on the scene,” chief instructor Mary M. Brunner said in a news release.

In a show of gratitude, 150 gift certificates sponsored by the World Police Taekwondo Federation USA were presented to McHenry Township Fire Protection District Chief Rudy Horist. Gift certificates were issued to each of the other 16 fire departments that also responded to the fire.

“Our community and businesses like ours are important because we are instrumental in helping our kids to grow into positive and productive adults,” Brunner wrote in the release. “Most times, these heroic first responders do their jobs with very little recognition or appreciation. We want to say ‘thank you,’ and we want to do what we can to give back to our community.”

McHenry Taekwondo Academy has been open for 27 years and has traveled to Beijing, China, and Seoul, South Korea, twice to attend special training courses to train in elite-level techniques. In 2004, its students trained with the Chinese Olympic taekwondo team, and in 2008, the school trained with the Shaolin Olympic team in Beijing.

McHenry Taekwondo Academy is the only officially licensed taekwondo school with certified instructors in Lake or McHenry counties, teaching full-contact sparring and Olympic-style competition in both forms and sparring.