(WXMI) — Roger Williard has been practicing taekwondo for nearly 20 years while serving as an Ottawa County Sheriff's Detective since the 1990s. Now, he's preparing to represent his department at the 2025 World Police and Fire Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
"Some of the kicks were similar to what we learned in the police academy, like the roundhouse kick and stuff like that. So I excelled quickly and got to black belt in like four years, which is pretty fast," Williard said.
As a master instructor and fifth-degree black belt, Williard has claimed five national championships. He says his greatest achievement is opening and running Aspire Taekwondo. He bought a new facility and moved the school to the new location last year. He credits his wife's support for the move.
"She understands that by having this facility like this, we're able to help more people and help more kids. For her to come up with that idea, that meant so much," Williard said.
Williard has managed to keep his work and passion mostly separate until now.
"The law enforcement and taekwondo are massive parts of my life that I've kept separate and have them merge," Williard said.
The upcoming competition holds special significance as Williard approaches retirement.
"When is it going to be in the United States next time? It might be a decade from now and I'll be long retired at that point. I've got like a little under twp years until I retire," Williard said.
Beyond competition, Williard's mission extends to building community through his taekwondo school.
"We had a vision of making a place that's open to the community and being a place where kids can come, where adults can come, and learn martial arts, but also develop relationships. There's so much that you get out of taekwondo," Williard said.
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube