Family shares experiences, bonds through taekwondo

ALBUQUERQUE

For Jessie Bates, taekwondo is a family affair.

At 21, Jessie has traveled around the globe competing in events that pitted her against the world’s best athletes. In recent years, she has brought home medals from the Youth Olympic Games, the U.S. Open and the Canada Open; and she has competed in Singapore, Switzerland and Korea.

Now Jessie, who is originally from Shiprock, is adding a new title to her repertoire. She’s teaching taekwondo at her family’s new school in Albuquerque. Bates Premier Taekwondo opened on Menaul Boulevard in September.

“Some families play board games,” Jessie said during a phone interview. “Our family gets together and does taekwondo.”

It all started when Jessie’s mother, Lynette Bates, was serving in the Air Force and was stationed in England. Then 5, Jessie was outside a taekwondo studio when she caught her first glimpse of the sport. She was hooked within minutes, she said.

“My parents thought it would be a sport I would burn out of,” Jessie said. “Instead, I wanted more classes, so they signed me up at two different schools so I could go five times a week. It just went from there.”

As a military family, the Bates moved often. Jessie’s father, Chee Bates, signed up for classes of his own and ended up working as Jessie’s trainer, seeing her through competitions around the world.

“When Jessie was a yellow belt, I was watching, thinking this was something I could do,” Chee said. “I joined and started moving up belt ranks with her. When she got to black belt, I became her official trainer.”

Jessie’s brother, Page Bates, also began training, leaving Lynette the odd one out. Then she found an offer too good to refuse.
“At one school, my daughter, son and husband were all taking classes,” Lynette said. “The school had a special: buy three, get one free. So that’s when I started training.”

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