Our Instructor,
David W. Higgs
Born January 9, 1957, in Memphis,
Tennessee, Mr. Higgs' family moved to Mendenhall, Mississippi, in 1967. Being
small for his age Mr. Higgs was always interested in the Martial Arts. He participated
in all of the sport programs provided through the public school system and by
the city's summer programs yet nothing held his interest for long.
During the 1972 fall television season
ABC aired the series "Kung Fu." The entire country seemed to come alive with
a new interest in the mysterious Asian martial arts. Mr. Higgs began his martial
art training in Shotokan karate under Mr. Ted Bailey of D'Lo, Mississippi, who
was a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company and called upon the
local drug store where Mr. Higgs worked after school.
From January until mid-June Mr. Higgs
trained under Mr. Bailey.
As summer approached the local 4-H club formed a Karate
club under the instruction of Mr. David Mabry of Jackson. Mr. Mabry and Mr.
Bailey had been classmates at the Shotokan Karate Center in J
ackson. By this
time Mr. Bailey's work had become very hectic and he asked Mr. Higgs and the
other students if they would consider attending Mr. Mabry's classes. The cost
of instruction was the same and Mr. Mabry maintained a more convenient schedule.
The decision was made that Mr. Bailey's class would be merged into Mr. Mabry's
class.
Mr. Higgs continued to train within
the Mabry organization off and on for six years. During the course of this time
Mr. Higgs competed in tournaments throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee,
Alabama, and west Florida. Usually placing high in forms competition, Mr. Higgs
won the
Mississippi Karate Association State Championship, 1977, winning first
in forms and second in sparring. At the same time Mr. Higgs was training with
the Jackson Youth Boxing Club, sponsored by the City Parks and Recreation department.
This club was under the direction of
the late John Champion. In the spring of
1978 Mr. Higgs won the Light-weight division at the Smokers Boxing Tournament
held at Hinds Junior College and was voted Most Outstanding competitor of the
tournament.
In November of 1978 Mr. Higgs made
the acquaintance of Mr. J.R. West at a
local music store in Jackson. Mr. West,
then a third degree black belt in TaeKwonDo and Hapkido, and Mr. Higgs realized
that they held a lot of the same interest. When Mr. West chose to start a martial
arts class he asked Mr. Higgs if he would be interested in helping. Mr. Higgs
jumped at the chance to help teach and train with Mr. West and earned his 1st
degree black belt, October 30, 1980. It was during this association with
Mr.
West that Mr. Higgs became more acquainted with Master He-Young Kimm of Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. Mr. Higgs knew of Master Kimm's reputation through his involvement
in tournament competition. As a matter of fact, it was Master Kimm who had presented
Mr. Higgs with his first trophy at the Red Carpet Open Tournament, Vicksburg,
Mississippi, in 1974. Mr. Higgs continued to teach and train with Mr. West,
first at Millsap's College and the later at West's Tae Kwon Do Academy (later
Hapkido Academy) in Ridgeland, Mississippi. In 1981 Mr. Higgs and three other
students from Master West's school were invited by now Dr. He-Young Kimm to
attend the World Kuk Sool Won Championship and Seminar in Pusan, South Korea.
Mr. Higgs claims this to be the highlight of his martial art career. For two
weeks Mr. Higgs was able to train in Korea with other serious students of Korean
martial arts.
In 1982 Mr. Higgs was married to Cynthia Jones, also of Mendenhall, Mississippi,
on May 29, and also received his second degree black belt on October 31. For
the next eight years Mr. Higgs concentrated on his work in the field of retail
sporting goods and upon providing for his family. His martial art training took
a back seat to what he felt were more crucial demands. He did, however, continue
to be active with the Magee Shotokan Karate Club
under the direction of Mr.
Steve Parham. In 1987, after the birth of his son Michael, Mr. Higgs returned
to school at Millsap's College to finish his formal education. At the same time
Mr. Higgs began to re-start martial art training with Master West. After completing
a bachelor degree in history and sociology Mr. Higgs went on to complete a Master's
degree in history at Mississippi College. Upon receipt of this degree Mr. Higgs
acquired the position of history instructor at Copiah-Lincoln Community College
where he is presently employed. In December of 1995 Mr. Higgs was promoted to
third degree black belt by Master West in TaeKwonDo and Hapkido.
In 1997 Mr. Higgs' sought permission to train directly under
Dr. Kimm and concentrate
strictly upon the study of Han Mu Do. In April began to recertify his rank
under the Han Mu Do guidelines. In May of 2000 Mr. Higgs was awarded the rank
of 4th Dan Black Belt by the World Han Mu Do Association: certification #4-141.
4th degree Black Belt, Han Mu Do
3rd degree Black Belt, Hapkido
3rd degree Black Belt, Tae Kwon Do
with six years training in Shotokan Karate
Competed in the 1981 World Kuk Sool HapKido Championships, Pusan, South Korea
Affiliations:
World Han Mu Do Association, Han Do Wan
Grandmaster Dr. He-Young Kimm, 9th degree black belt
World Kido Federation, Ki Do Hae
Chief Master In Sun Seo, 9th degree black belt
World Tae Kwon Do Federation, Kuk Ki Won
Un-Yong Kim, president