About
Rising Star Martial Arts offers Taekwondo, Cardio Combat, and a Competition Team. The program takes place at Rising Star Martial Arts and is led by experienced and certified instructors who teach Taekwondo and are committed to helping students achieve their goals. The program includes a Taekwondo option for ages 5 and up and offers a free trial class.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Class options on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Friday evenings, and Saturday mornings
At Rising Star Martial Arts, the stated mission is to provide a training experience tailored to each participant’s needs, including areas such as confidence, focus, fitness, and weight loss. The program blends traditional martial arts values with dynamic, age-appropriate training and includes a Competition Team for interested students. The school describes its sense of community as a second family and notes that once a participant joins any Rising Star program, they become part of this community. Rising Star Martial Arts is described on its homepage as a top martial arts school.
The leadership and history of Rising Star Martial Arts include several key figures. Mu-Gil Lee started Taekwondo in the early 1950s, served as “First Instructor” with the Korean Navy and Marines from 1958 through 1966, taught NATO forces in Europe starting in 1970, and opened the first Korean martial arts school in Bloomington, Indiana, in the very early 1970s. He helped Dexter and Patty Grove open a school in Dyer, Indiana, in 1983 named Rising Star, later started the Master Martial Arts Academy in Austin, Texas, in 1990, and returned to Korea to retire in 1993. Grandmaster Dexter Grove began his training in Bloomington in 1977, opened the Rising Star Taekwondo Academy in Dyer, Indiana, in 1983, relocated Rising Star in 1996 to the Midlothian, Illinois park district, and established Rising Star II in Portage, Indiana, in 2008. The listed leadership team includes Grandmaster Dexter Grove, Master Brent Messmer, Master Dylan Gluszek, Mu-Gil Lee, Master Chung Chil Kim, Il-Sik Kim, Ki-Duk Lee, Masters Kwak, Ko and Sa, Master Michael Willoughby, Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, and Sifu Vito. Grandmaster Dexter Grove holds a seventh degree blackbelt. Master Brent Messmer received his first degree blackbelt in 1989 and his sixth degree blackbelt certification in 2022. Master Dylan Gluszek began training with Master Grove in 2009 and in July of 2025 began teaching out of another martial arts school in Highland, Indiana.
The program highlights that its instructors are experienced and certified and that they are passionate about teaching Taekwondo. Rising Star Martial Arts states that it builds confidence, discipline, and leadership through its training. The school describes its community as one of the things that makes Rising Star special and includes the statement, “A true martial arts school is more than a place to train—it’s a second family, where respect, support, and growth are shared by all,” attributed to Master Dylan Gluszek.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Class options on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Friday evenings, and Saturday mornings
At Rising Star Martial Arts, the stated mission is to provide a training experience tailored to each participant’s needs, including areas such as confidence, focus, fitness, and weight loss. The program blends traditional martial arts values with dynamic, age-appropriate training and includes a Competition Team for interested students. The school describes its sense of community as a second family and notes that once a participant joins any Rising Star program, they become part of this community. Rising Star Martial Arts is described on its homepage as a top martial arts school.
The leadership and history of Rising Star Martial Arts include several key figures. Mu-Gil Lee started Taekwondo in the early 1950s, served as “First Instructor” with the Korean Navy and Marines from 1958 through 1966, taught NATO forces in Europe starting in 1970, and opened the first Korean martial arts school in Bloomington, Indiana, in the very early 1970s. He helped Dexter and Patty Grove open a school in Dyer, Indiana, in 1983 named Rising Star, later started the Master Martial Arts Academy in Austin, Texas, in 1990, and returned to Korea to retire in 1993. Grandmaster Dexter Grove began his training in Bloomington in 1977, opened the Rising Star Taekwondo Academy in Dyer, Indiana, in 1983, relocated Rising Star in 1996 to the Midlothian, Illinois park district, and established Rising Star II in Portage, Indiana, in 2008. The listed leadership team includes Grandmaster Dexter Grove, Master Brent Messmer, Master Dylan Gluszek, Mu-Gil Lee, Master Chung Chil Kim, Il-Sik Kim, Ki-Duk Lee, Masters Kwak, Ko and Sa, Master Michael Willoughby, Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, and Sifu Vito. Grandmaster Dexter Grove holds a seventh degree blackbelt. Master Brent Messmer received his first degree blackbelt in 1989 and his sixth degree blackbelt certification in 2022. Master Dylan Gluszek began training with Master Grove in 2009 and in July of 2025 began teaching out of another martial arts school in Highland, Indiana.
The program highlights that its instructors are experienced and certified and that they are passionate about teaching Taekwondo. Rising Star Martial Arts states that it builds confidence, discipline, and leadership through its training. The school describes its community as one of the things that makes Rising Star special and includes the statement, “A true martial arts school is more than a place to train—it’s a second family, where respect, support, and growth are shared by all,” attributed to Master Dylan Gluszek.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
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