Master Tony Morris
Master Instructor
Master Morris teaches the majority of the classes at Asheville Sun Soo’s. He maintains a commanding presence in the dojang with a teaching style that is a mixture of patience, power and a great sense of humor. Master Morris places extra emphasis on proper technique with sound body mechanics, increased awareness and intentional ways of being. He inspires his students to the pursuit of actualizing their full potential through the development of a thirst for excellence and constant incremental improvement in all areas of their lives.
Master Morris has practiced and taught Tae Kwon Do for more than 28 years. He began training in 1972 in Charlotte, NC under the expert tutelage of Grand Master Ju Hun Kim, one of the first Korean masters to come to America and the first in the state of North Carolina. Master Morris has had the honor and benefit of training under four different traditional tae kwon do grand master instructors. In addition to his first instructor, Grand Master Kim, Master Morris has studied for two years under Grand Master Young Yu (Greensboro N.C.), over twenty years under Grand Master Chae Sun Yi (of Topeka, KS), and most recently under the tutelage of Grand Master Robert Dunn (Winston-Salem, NC).
Master Morris complements his traditional tae kwon do training with proficiency in Ho Sin Sool and Hap Kido (cousin Korean martial arts) along with fundamental principles from a variety of throwing, sweeping and ground arts.
Master Morris is an Internationally Certified Instructor. Though he has placed first in forms and sparring in over fifty tournaments at the regional, state, and national levels, he is much more proud of the achievements of his students- who earned the great distinction of placing first as a collective group among all schools in the state in the 2007 North Carolina State Games.
In addition, Master Morris is a nationally recognized portrait artist, has a B.A. in Chemistry, an M.A. in Architecture and is a certified Life Coach and Trainer. He draws on his unique combination of mechanical aptitude, artistic talents, and coaching experience when teaching Tae Kwon Do. In so doing, Master Morris has developed an extraordinary expertise in helping others develop holistically: mind, body, and spirit.
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment to date, is his exercise in perseverance. His resolve was tested, first in 2003, and then again in 2005. Due to a genetic condition that progressed to arthritis, Master Morris had to undergo surgeries to replace both hips. The surgeons indicated that he would most likely be unable to ever walk normally again, much less teach and practice tae kwon do. His love for teaching tae kwon do made him unable to accept that possibility. Instead, he exercised the core tenets of tae kwon do that he has spent his life teaching - perseverance, integrity, and indomitable spirit to make his vision of a full recovery a reality. Master Morris resumed teaching and practicing tae kwon do at full capacity, leading by example, and living the principles that he teaches.
After over twenty years of service to the Sun Yi's system and growing the Raleigh Sun Yi's Academy to new heights, Master Morris and his family longed to be near family and make a contribution through martial arts on an even larger scale. So in the summer of 2006, Master Morris, his wife - Ronya, his then 18 year-old daughter - Ashley and then 9 yr. old son - Ethan moved from Raleigh to the Asheville mountains to prepare to open their Traditional Tae Kwon Do Academy, continuing a lineage for future generations.
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