Grandmaster Strong

William “Bill” Strong

3rd President of WTSDA

Grandmaster Strong began his martial arts training in Tae Kwon Do through the Jhoon Rhee Institute in Austin, Texas when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Texas. He received his 1st Dan from the Alabama Karate Institute in 1974 and his 2nd Dan from the Kuk Ki Won in 1977, both in Tae Kwon Do. He achieved his 3rd and 4th Dan from the Korean Tang Soo Do Association, Moo Duk Kwan, Hwang Kee, President in 1981 and 1983 respectively. In 1986, he joined the World Tang Soo Do Association and achieved 5th through 7th Dan promotions from Grandmaster Jae C. Shin and 8th Dan from Grandmaster Robert Beaudoin in 2014. On October 10, 2021 Grandmaster Strong was promoted to 9th Dan.

On April 1, 2017 at the 28th Annual Masters’ Clinic, the Board of Directors voted to approve Grandmaster William Strong as the President of the World Tang Soo Do Association. He began the presidency on May 15, 2017. In this position, he is responsible for numerous administrative duties for the Association and the WTSDA Foundation including general headquarters office policy, studio/club approval, coordination of travel for the two Grandmasters, Dan promotions, financial reporting, legal issues, Board meetings, and World Championships. He is also responsible for diplomatic issues, organizing publications, and sanctioning WTSDA events. Grandmaster Strong served as the chair of the Membership committee 1987-1990, Technical Advisory Coordinator 1990-1995, chair of the Technical Advisory committee 1995-2014, and Director of Masters’ Clinics 1991-2014. He is also Secretary General of the WTSDA and member of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Governance Committee, and Publications Committee. He was promoted to 8th Dan Grandmaster at the 2014 World Championships. Grandmaster Strong received his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Texas at Austin. He served as professor and chair of the Department of Geography at the University of North Alabama for 42 years, interim vice-president for Academic Affairs for one year, and worked at the National Geographic Society as Geographer-in-Residence for two years. He retired from the University of North Alabama in 2012. Since then he has worked closely with Grandmaster Robert Beaudoin to give greater support to the promotion and enhancement of the World Tang Soo Do Association and its membership.