Family of Taekwondo Black Belts Saves Woman from Attempted Sexual Assault After Hearing Her Scream, Police Say

The Texas family, who owns a taekwondo dojo, held the alleged assailant down until police arrived

A family of taekwondo instructors in Texas helped stop a man allegedly attempting to assault a woman and subdued him until authorities arrived, police said.

The An family of Cypress, Texas — who own and operate the Yong-In Taekwondo Academy in the nearby Houston suburb of Katy — were going about their day in the dojo on Tuesday, June 18, when they heard a woman scream.

Simon An, 20, told The Washington Post and local CBS affiliate station KHOU that he and his father, Han An, 59, immediately sprung into action. The pair ran next door to a cell phone store to find a man on top of a woman, holding his hand over her mouth and touching her, Simon told the Post.

Han, an 8th-degree black belt, grandmaster and veteran of the South Korean military, attempted to pin down the man to prevent him from leaving, Simon said.

"He just kept him in the corner, he just kept pushing down. Automatic self-defense, automatic taekwondo style," Simon told KHOU, recalling how his father prevented the alleged assailant from escaping.

Simon also alleged that the man bit his father amid the struggle. The college student said he jumped into action to help Han, telling the Post that he kicked and punched the alleged attacker.

"Adrenaline just shot up, through the roof. No limit," Simon told the newspaper. "I was kind of shaking."

His mother Hong, 55 and sister, Hannah, 22, guided the alleged victim to safety in their dojo, and brother Christian, 18, locked the building's entrance.

"[We were] making sure that she's OK, because she needed that after that experience — after that situation that happened out of nowhere," Hannah told KHOU.

According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, when police arrived at the scene, the family was still holding the suspect in place.

"By utilizing their training and discipline, they managed to stop the assault and hold him," Gonzalez wrote on Wednesday, June 19, in a post on X. "Deputies obtained charges for attempted sexual assault and unlawful detention on behalf of the survivor and assault on behalf of the instructors."

The sheriff also praised the family as "group of good samaritans" who rushed to "save the day."

"Thank you to the Yong-In dojo for your quick action in protecting others," Gonzalez finished.

Gonzalez later identified the alleged attacker as 19-year-old Alex Robinson. KHOU reported that Robinson appeared in court that night on a sexual assault charge, and his attorney asked for a low bond, citing mental health concerns. The judge set his bond at $100,000.

The Ans told both outlets that although they've trained for years to hone their fighting skills, they hope anyone — regardless of their black-belt status — would step in to intervene.

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"If a regular person were to see something like that, I would hope for them to go and help,” Simon told the Post. "Just help the person in need."

Han added to the Post that his kids have been learning taekwondo since they were 4 or 5 years old, and are set to take their 5th-degree black belt tests this weekend.

"My life is taekwondo. ... I'm very proud of my family," he told KHOU.

Hannah also chimed in, telling the local station that although she's thankful to those who called the family heroes, she hopes that anyone witnessing an attack of that nature would step in.

"I thank everybody who's calling us that, but still, I think anybody can do it," she said.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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