Tectonic Taekwondo

Tectonic Taekwondo We make a difference one athlete at a time through the study of Taekwondo. Shawn continues to serve as Chairman of the Deacons at his local church. Come earn it.

Shawn Williams is the owner and Chief Instructor of Tectonic Taekwondo and currently holds the rank of 3rd Dan Black Belt. He has taught Taekwondo in the Festus area for over 9 years.
- 3rd Dan Kukkiwon certification issued from the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Korea
- Completed and passed the 80th 3rd Class International Taekwondo Master Course by the Kukkiwon
- Member of USA Taekwondo
- Cert

ified USA Taekwondo Poomsae (Forms) Referee
- Certified USA Taekwondo Kyorugi (Sparring) Referee
- Certified USA Taekwondo Coach
- Certified AAU Taekwondo Referee (Forms and Sparring)
- Club member of United States National Taekwondo Federation.
- Served as center referee for numerous Taekwondo tournaments. For over 40 years Shawn has been part of this community and locally attended both elementary school and high school. He graduated from the University of Missouri – Rolla with both Bachelor and Master degrees in Geophysics including research published internationally. Our core mission: We make a difference one athlete at a time through the study of Taekwondo. Our instructors will move mountains to help each student know they themselves can also move mountains. No challenge is too great. No limitation is too restrictive. Each individual’s character, their personhood, is unique. We accept individuals for who they are, and then strive to help them become a better version of themselves through their study and practice of martial arts. We do this through positive reinforcement and challenges all while learning functional self-defense skills. We constantly focus on increasing the self-esteem of every participant in class, and provide a no-embarrassment zone as each athlete can go at their own pace. Safety is a priority at all times. Our instructors will lead in proper warm ups before each training session including stretching, balance, and core strength techniques. When we practice sparring each athlete wears full protective gear. Each athlete will be challenged at all times, but not at the expense of their own health, safety, or well-being. Over the years we have formed long term relationships with the student as well as the parents. We have a family atmosphere, and a number of families go through their martial arts training together. We have previous students now in college or the military who stop by while they are in town to train with their Taekwondo family! We do not expect perfection, but we do expect progress. Each student’s goal is to be better this class than they were the previous class. No one will ever say the study of Taekwondo is easy. Taekwondo is challenging, it takes time, and it takes commitment. Come train with us. It will be worth it!

08/28/2026

Reminder no Taekwondo classes Friday. My niece is getting married tonight!

More participation in our unwritten rule of the dojang to send pics of forms while on vacation! In this set we have the ...
07/26/2026

More participation in our unwritten rule of the dojang to send pics of forms while on vacation! In this set we have the following:
Adalyn / Ben / Raylee - 4,000 miles away in Alaska. Castner Glacier, Homer, Kenai-Fjords National Park, and Denali National Park.
Terry / Krysta / Uriah - on a cruise ship
Kennedy - Upper Pennisula of Michigan and Mackinac Island
Mya and sister Nora - on the beach

It is great fun to see the students taking Tectonic along with them to far flung edges of the world! -Master Williams

An unwritten rule of the dojang is for my students to send me pics or video of doing Poomsae forms on vacation. Battalio...
07/12/2026

An unwritten rule of the dojang is for my students to send me pics or video of doing Poomsae forms on vacation. Battalion Chief Amanda (1st Degree Black) and daughter Morgan (2nd Degree Black) went above and beyond demonstrating wesanteul makki (half mountain block) in London, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Colloseum. I look forward to hearing about this trip! -Master Williams

This past Saturday we hosted a Yugupja Promotion Test for a subset of our current color belts who have trained hard thro...
06/30/2026

This past Saturday we hosted a Yugupja Promotion Test for a subset of our current color belts who have trained hard through the end of the school year and through the early summer months and met the requirements to test for their next rank. Three group pictures for three tests. The test showed how hard this group has practiced even though they are also enjoying their summer fun. Those that did not qualify to test - remember - it is not about the belts but rather the training that goes behind the belts, so keep training!

Special congratulations to Brooklynn (Purple Belt) for winning the prestigious "Ms. Teva Ringe Memorial Power Medal"!

New ranks:
Recommended Black Belt - Ben
Red 1st Belt - Kaleb
Red Belt - Quentin, Katelyn, Maizie, Adelyn, Henry, Kane, Fabian
Brown Belt - Garrett, Justin
Purple Belt - Kameron, Brooklynn, Jaxson, Nadia, Arina, Clay
Blue Belt - George, Kennedy (not pictured)
Green Belt - Avery, Eli
Orange Belt - Aurora, Kaleb B (not pictured)
Yellow 1st Belt - Julian, Raylee, Evelyn (not pictured)
Yellow Belt - Gunner

Our judges for this promotion test:
Master Williams (4th Dan Kukkiwon, 3rd Class International Master Instructor, 3rd Class Poom/Dan Examiner)
Dr. Joshua Boldt (3rd Dan, 2nd Dan Kukkiwon)
Special note: our guest judge had a family emergency at the last minute and could not attend.

Thanks to Black Belt Michael Ruch and Recommended Black Belt Kullen for their help throughout the test with paddle holding, board holding, setup, cleanup, etc.

It continues to be an honor to be your Master Instructor!

-Master Williams

Last Saturday we had a fantastic Yudanja Promotion test for our Black Belts across two back-to-back tests. The first tes...
06/12/2026

Last Saturday we had a fantastic Yudanja Promotion test for our Black Belts across two back-to-back tests. The first test was for those Recommended Black Belts pursuing 1st Degree Black Belt, and the second test was for all the existing Black Belts as they work their way up to their next full degree. This test focused heavily on updated requirements including more advanced Poomsae, kicks, sparring techniques, one-step self-defense, and knife defense. Very proud of these black belts and their performance.

The head table:
Guest judge Master Eric Anderson (5th Dan Kukkiwon, 3rd Class International Master Instructor, 3rd Class Poom/Dan Examiner)
Master Shawn Williams (Owner of Tectonic Taekwondo, 4th Dan Kukkiwon, 3rd Class International Master Instructor, 3rd Class Poom/Dan Examiner)
Dr. Joshua Boldt (3rd Dan, Kukkiwon, Tectonic Taekwondo)

Special thanks to Yudanja students Morgan, Michael, Uriah, and Zander (during the first test) and Yugupja students Terry Gohring and Krysta Gohring for their help with paddle holding, board break holds, and photography duties during both tests.

Candidates promoted to the following full ranks and will receive their Kukkiwon certificates in a few months.
From Test #1:
Evelyn - 1st Poom
Kelsie - 1st Poom
Zayne - 1st Poom
Zachary - 1st Poom

From Test #2. Candidates promoted to intermediate steps as they strive towards their next full rank::
Morgan- 2nd Poom Red
Mya - 2nd Poom Green
Nathan - 2nd Poom Green
Adalyn - 2nd Poom Green
Uriah - 1st Poom Red
Michael - 1st Dan Blue
August - 1st Poom Blue
Zachary - 1st Dan Green
Ryan - 1st Poom Green
Zander - 1st Poom Green

Additionally, Kukkiwon certificates arrived from the previous test last year in time for me to hand out at this test to Morgan, Adalyn, and Dr. Boldt.

Well done all of you. I am beyond proud of you, and it is an honor and privilege to be your Master Instructor.

-Master Williams

We had a great turnout Friday night with our adults, teens, and Black Belts in our Advanced Class. I am humbled so many ...
05/30/2026

We had a great turnout Friday night with our adults, teens, and Black Belts in our Advanced Class. I am humbled so many choose to spend their Friday nights training! -Master Williams

To all my Tectonic Taekwondo students, parents, and supporters, THANK YOU!!! For two years in a row you had voted us #1...
05/22/2026

To all my Tectonic Taekwondo students, parents, and supporters, THANK YOU!!! For two years in a row you had voted us #1 as Best Martial Arts Studio in Jefferson County. I will start planning our celebration! I am so proud of our Tectonic Taekwondo family, and it is an honor to be your Master Instructor. -Master Williams

Dojang deep clean this Sunday afternoon after pulling up the entire floor. All back in place, all clean, ready again for...
05/17/2026

Dojang deep clean this Sunday afternoon after pulling up the entire floor. All back in place, all clean, ready again for training! -Master Williams

We have been nominated again this year for Best of Jefferson County for Martial Arts. We won last year in 2025. Let's do...
04/30/2026

We have been nominated again this year for Best of Jefferson County for Martial Arts. We won last year in 2025. Let's do it again for 2026! I appreciate all your support! -Master Williams

Vote in any or all categories once per day April 30th through May 17th CDT! Choose wisely! Votes are locked-in and can not be changed after 10 minutes. For your votes to be counted, make sure to vote in at least 5 categories.

This was a special Yugupja Promotion Test as we were joined by four honored guests. As background, almost two years ago ...
04/21/2026

This was a special Yugupja Promotion Test as we were joined by four honored guests. As background, almost two years ago we lost one of our long term Black Belts, Ms. Teva, to a short fight with stage four cervical cancer. When she was in hospice I sat with her, held her hand, and I told her I would from that point forward periodically hand out a new award called the "Ms. Teva Ringe Memorial Power Medal" to well deserving students who display the Teva-level of power during tests. She was thrilled she would be remembered in this way. Our honored guests at this test were Ms. Teva's mother Gennie and husband Gene, and Ms. Teva's two children Brendon and Ben. We awarded three Teva Power Medals during the test, and Ms. Gennie was the one who had the honor of awarding the medals herself in her daughter's memory! Such an awesome way to remember Ms. Teva. We are so very thankful Gennie, Gene, Brendon, and Ben could join us, and they are included in the pics below with all the previous Ms. Teva power medal winners from the tests we have had since Ms. Teva's passing.

For this Yugupja Promotion Test we had 41 of our color belts who had met the requirements to test for their next rank. We held four one-hour back to back tests (three tests for the Youth 6-12 years old and one test for all the teens and adults). What a great night! The students broke about 80 boards, great Poomsae, fantastic kicks and sparring techniques, all with power to make Ms. Teva's family proud.

The names of these 41 students in the four group photos are captioned separately including their new belt rank.
Special congratulations to Ben Bolding (Red 1st Belt), Ava Austermann (Recommended Black Belt), and Kameron Niswanger (Blue Belt) for winning the prestigious "Ms. Teva Ringe Memorial Power Medal" delivered by Ms. Teva's mother Gennie herself!!!!

Also, special recognition to Maizie Wicker for winning our most prestigious "Master Len Burns Memorial Indomidible Spirit Medal" for her incredible sparring performance at the Show Me Cup!

Our judges for this promotion test:
Master Williams (4th Dan Kukkiwon, 3rd Class International Master Instructor, 3rd Class Poom/Dan Examiner)
Mr. Travis Laponsie (3rd Dan Kukkiwon)
Dr. Joshua Boldt (3rd Dan, 2nd Dan Kukkiwon)

Thanks to Black Belts Kelby Coleman, Morgan Boyer, Kryslyn Poley, Uriah Gohring, and color belts Ava Austermann, and Terry Gohring for their help throughout the test with paddle holding, board holding, setup, cleanup, etc.

It continues to be an honor to be your Master Instructor!

-Master Williams

Address

1506 Parkway W
Festus, MO
63028

Opening Hours

Tuesday 6pm - 9pm
Wednesday 6pm - 9pm
Friday 6pm - 9pm

Telephone

+16362326276

Website

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