Former students greeted Master Dave Burns with bows and applause Saturday during a kickathon to benefit his fight against cancer after defeating it 14 years ago.

“No hugs, handshakes and kissing,” said Burns who recently completed a second round of chemotherapy.

“Thanks for all you are doing. I am in an illusion of good health now. It will get ugly before it gets better,” said Burns, who owned Burns School of Tae Kwon Do where the event was held. With the kickathon starting at 11:30 a.m., $3,000 had already been raised by 12:15 p.m. with more participants expected in the afternoon.

By late Saturday afternoon, an estimated $5,300 had been raised, not including sales of baked goods, food, T-shirts and chair massages. Additional pledges were also still being tabulated.

Burns, 54, of Selinsgrove, urged the students to get back to kicking at what are known as “pork chop pads.”

“I don’t want you to cool down,” he said of the students ranging from age 4 to their 50s who collected money from sponsors to do kicks in 10 minutes.

“We’re overwhelmed,” his wife Pamela Brennan Burns said of the response.

John Moyer, 10, of Liverpool, did 550 kicks in 10 minutes. His mother, Terri, organized the bake and food sales. John has been taking classes at the Burns school the past six years. People could sponsor a certain amount of money per kick or for the total time.

Terri Moyer first suggested the school try to help Burns and his wife with expenses not covered by insurance related to a third bone marrow transplant he is facing.

“I told Terri we have held kickathons in the past and it all came together,” said Nathan Morgan, of Selinsgrove, now owner-operator of the Burns school. “I announced it and they took it and ran with it,” said Morgan, a master instructor with a fourth degree black belt.

Students from Morgan’s school as well as Eaton Tae Kwon Do in Riverside participated.

“Everyone you see here wouldn’t be here had it not been for Master Burns,” said Eaton who was a student of Burns when he opened his school in Selinsgrove in 1980. “Previous to that, there wasn’t a school in the area. There isn’t a student here who doesn’t owe or has been influenced in some way by Master Burns. All the students here are a direct lineage from his effort.”

Burns and Eaton hold sixth-degree ranking.

Eaton recalled when Burns was first diagnosed with leukemia. “It was a shock. He wasn’t the type of person you thought would have cancer. He was in his early 30s, very active, didn’t smoke and ate a good diet,” Eaton said. After Burns’ second bone marrow transplant, Eaton took for granted “that part of his life was over.” Two months after Burns served as master of ceremonies for a national tournament in Danville, he called Eaton to tell him his cancer had returned.

“I thought how could this be,” Eaton said.