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Dennis Thompson, instructor and owner of Thompson Taekwondo, wants to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
And he's come up with an idea all his own, but it's an idea that may cost him an arm if he fails even once.
The people at Guinness Book of World Records are interested. So was television station Fox 28, which was on hand Wednesday to film his daring feat.
DO NOT attempt this at home.
First, two men lie down and open an Oneida No. 15 antique bear trap, a powerful device with sharp edges. Then, after two practice thrusts to be on target, Thompson slams his fist against the trigger plate, pulling his arm out before the teeth can snap his arm like a twig. It takes only microseconds, so quick that if you blink, you'll miss it.
The trick took Fox 28 personality Phil Kelly by surprise. The crowd of more than 40 people, including Thompson's students, parents, the press and family members, gave him a round of applause when he succeeded in performing the trick for only the fifth time in his life.
"This is the biggest group I've ever done this bear trap trick in front of," he told the crowd Wednesday before beginning the actual trick.
Why did Thompson risk a limb?
"It's kind of like, why do you want to climb a mountain? It's there," he said.
Thompson and a friend were just sitting around talking a few years ago when the idea first came about.
Then, at a martial arts camp over a year later, a few of the black belts at the camp opened the trap. That's when Thompson first tried it and succeeded, out of the blue. He performed it two more times. The second time was faster than the first time because Thompson's friend, who owns the trap, fixed a spring on the bear trap. The fourth time, he videotaped it and sent it to Guinness.
"I always knew in the back of my mind that I could do it. I knew I could do it," he said. "So many people were amazed at it. They were, like, 'You should be in the Guinness Book of Records.'"
When he called Guinness and sent them the videotape, he wasn't sure what kind of record he would be setting. They told him that it would be a new category and a new category qualifies for a new record.
He last heard from them two weeks ago.
His wife, Sheila, didn't watch him perform the trick Wednesday, though she was there and has seen him do it before.
"It's really exciting, until you see it in slow motion," she said.
Thompson is not just any person trying to become famous or impress others. He received his black belt in 1975. From 1977 to 1984, "I won a taekwondo national championship in each of those years," he said. Those seven titles were received in sparring competition. He also won national championships in form competition in nine different years, from 1976 to 1985.
Thompson began teaching taekwondo in 1978 in South Bend right after graduation from high school. In 1982, he moved to Jackson, Miss., and then to Tucson, Ariz., in 1987. He taught taekwondo in both cities.
In 1989, he returned to Bourbon to teach.
"The building I got my first lesson in became available and I started teaching there," he said.
He moved to Warsaw in 1990. After a brief stint in another location, he moved to his current location in the shopping plaza on Winona Avenue.
Thompson's Taekwondo offers Tiny Tigers Taekwondo for children 4, 5 and 6 as well as taekwondo classes for children ages 7 to adult.
He said they also, "... Teach cardio-karate. It's martial arts put to music without belts or sparring." He said it is similar to Tae-Bo. The class is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Complimentary classes are offered to anyone who walks in the door.
