To the 8th degree
William Huggins ’80

Spring 2007

Parks, recreation and tourism management graduate Bill Huggins recently went to Korea to earn his 8th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. One of only a few non-Asian-born students to have reached this level, Huggins is continuing a Clemson legacy.

Huggins began studying Tae Kwon Do in 1969 under legendary martial arts master Billy Hong, who started the Clemson Tae Kwon Do Club in 1967. When Hong was killed on a commercial flight shot down by the Soviet Union in 1983, Hong’s widow asked Huggins to continue Hong’s work.

Huggins became chief instructor of Hong’s Tae Kwon Do Institute in Greenville. He later founded the Huggins Tae Kwon Do Academy in Mauldin. He has also been master instructor for the Clemson Tae Kwon Do Club since 1983.

His wife, Ann ’81, an early childhood education graduate, is co-owner of Huggins Tae Kwon Do Academy and one of the highest-ranking women master instructors. She’s also a fourth-grade teacher in Greenville County.