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!

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

I often refer to us as "my Tectonic Taekwondo family", and this is a fantastic example. As of 9am Friday morning Terry a...
04/18/2026

I often refer to us as "my Tectonic Taekwondo family", and this is a fantastic example. As of 9am Friday morning Terry and Krysta Gohring (Red belts who will test for Black later this year), and their son Uriah (1st Degree Black) stood in front of a judge and officially increased their family by one when they adopted their new daughter Justice!!! This journey began about a year ago when Justice needed a quick foster home, and Krysta and Terry stepped up to the plate. Once Justice settled into their home they told her "Taekwondo at Tectonic is important to us, so you are coming with us regardless of whether you train or not." The first night Justice planned to sit just off the mat and watch. After a few minutes I walked up to her and asked her "do you think you can kick as hard as that boy over there?" and she shook her head no. I approached her second time in the class and she shrugged her shoulders and said "maybe". The third time I asked she said "yes" so I told her to kick her shoes off and prove it. And that began Justice's Taekwondo journey. She is now an Orange belt, so the whole family is training together.

I not only want to celebrate Justice's official adoption into the Gohring household, but also want to call out all those parents who adopt and give a lost child a forever home. What a remarkable commitment to make a difference one person at a time. And to Krysta and Terry - thank you for opening your home and your lives to Justice as permanent parents. You inspire me.

Please, all of you join me in celebrating the newest member of the Gohring household: Justice Gohring!

-Master Williams

04/15/2026

We had a great time at the 2026 Show Me Cup. We were able to bring home 15 Gold, 12 Silver, and 9 Bronze with the 26 athletes we had compete. And, I was equally proud of those athletes who competed but did not medal as they were willing to put themselves against superior opponents and learn, or overcome nerves, or handle anxiety, or any of a number of factors that can impact performance each and every person, regardless of age, deals with in our day to day lives. All the masters from all the schools attending the tournament got along, were supportive of all the athletes and each other, and showed great sportsmanship. That is the way tournaments should be.

A big thank you to the GM Woosop for hosting, the officials and judges and score keepers, the parents for getting the athletes there, and my assistant coaches for staying through the end. Pictures forthcoming!

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It is always an honor to present Kukkiwon certificates to well deserved black belts. Congratulations to Dan certificate ...
03/22/2026

It is always an honor to present Kukkiwon certificates to well deserved black belts. Congratulations to Dan certificate holders Kelby and Zach, and Poom certificate holders Lillian, Jace, Hunter, Zander, Isaiah, and Nathan. I am proud of how hard you trained to reach this milestone. -Master Williams

This week I will have the honor to present Kukkiwon certificates to our newest black belts from our December test. So pr...
03/07/2026

This week I will have the honor to present Kukkiwon certificates to our newest black belts from our December test. So proud of all of them and their hard work! -Master Williams

Even through the cold winter and the harsh weather we had consistent attendance from these great martial artists in our ...
02/16/2026

Even through the cold winter and the harsh weather we had consistent attendance from these great martial artists in our Yugupja ranks. Last week we had a Yugupja Promotion Test for 46 of our color belts who had met the requirements to test for their next rank. We had a few of them not attend on the night of testing due to illness, so they tested separately later in the week. 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! Tons of boards broken (about 80 or so), great Poomsae, serious training interspersed with laughter, and we even did pushups for Arina's birthday.

The names of these 46 students in the four group photos are captioned separately including their new belt rank.
Special congratulations to Adalyn McKenzie (Purple Belt) and Bill Wicker (Green Belt) for winning the prestigious "Ms. Teva Ringe Memorial Power Medal" which is given in memory of Ms. Teva and the power she had at each belt test prior to her passing.

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)
Ms. Morgan Boyer (2nd Dan Kukkiwon)

Thanks to color belts Ava Austermann, Katelyn Marlatt, and Terry Gohring for their help throughout the test with paddle holding, board holding, setup, cleanup, etc. even though all three of them had to test later the same night.

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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