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Sikeston resident becomes martial art master
SIKESTON - Tim Wall of Sikeston knew the path to becoming Sikeston's first martial art master would be long and difficult. He didn't know it would include a stop by the emergency room the night before his final physical exam.
Wall started training in taekwondo, a Korean karate style, at the Moo Sul Kwan karate school in Sikeston in 1980 at the age of 15 under the school's head instructor at the time, David LeGrand. "It's almost 23 years to the day," he said.
After two years, Wall had achieved the rank of blue belt and stopped attending classes. "I never really stopped training," Wall said.
It wasn't until March 1991, however, that he continued his study of taekwondo at the Moo Sul Kwan, this time under the instruction of Steve Dunn.
Not long after earning the rank of second degree black belt, Wall and the Moo Sul Kwan parted ways and Wall established his own school, the Pil Sung Martial Art Academy in New Madrid.
Wall and his school soon became a part of the United States Chung Do Kwan Association under Grandmaster Edward B. Sell of Florida.
"He's a world record holder - he is the first non-Asian authentically certified ninth degree grandmaster," Wall said. "I knew it was important to join with an organization that had authentic certification to better serve my students and myself."
By 1998, Wall and been promoted to third degree black belt. In 2000 he opened the Black Belt Academy in Sikeston, eventually closing the New Madrid school to concentrate on the Sikeston school "and better serve this area as a whole," he said.
Having fulfilled the requirements over the last two years and with five years as a third degree black belt, Wall was invited to test for his fourth degree at the U.S. Chung Do Kwan's 2003 Winter Convention.
"I was also honored with the privilege to be a featured instructor during the convention," Wall said.
After arriving in Lakeland, Fla., last week for the test, Wall and the students who had joined him for the trip decided to do some sightseeing.
On the way to visit Tampa, Fla., however, Wall found himself wracked with pain he recognized as kidney stones.
"They had to take me back to Lakeland Regional Hospital," he said. "I had multiple kidney stones in both kidneys. They wanted me to stay and advised me not to do what I had come to do."
Wall decided to go ahead and take the test, and despite having been in the hospital only hours before, received the second highest score in a room full of testing master candidates from around the country. "Grandmaster Brenda Sell, Grandmaster Edward Sell's wife, scored the highest," Wall said. "She was testing to eighth degree black belt."
Wall is now certified internationally as a master by the World Chung Do Kwan Federation of Korea and nationally by the U.S. Chung Do Kwan, as well as having black belt rank certification from the World Taekwondo Federation. "It's not just national certification - it's international," Wall said.
Yet, Wall said he remains a student of taekwondo.
"God willing, I'm scheduled to test for my fifth degree and master instructor rank in 2008," he said. "I'm just a master now."