When one thinks of Morris they have to have a smile on their face. He was loving man, a great husband, a great martial arts instructor, a wonderful friend, and a true student and warrior!

When I first met Morris many years ago, I saw him standing at the side of our training hall with a video camera in his hand. He seemed quiet and reserved and yet nothing could be further from the truth.

To know Morris was to Love Morris. I can still see that big smile, his talkative nature, his passion for growing and his love of his dear wife, Senior Master Carole Coker, and their school, students and our Federation.

Morris truly understood the meaning of BE, DO, and HAVE. He was a true Black Belt Leader and Master. He knew that we were all human beings and that we were always becoming something. He understood that you have to BE more, before you can Do more and ultimately Have more.

He was happy go lucky and yet he was also focused on the future. He was also one of the kindest men I have ever met.

There is a wise saying that goes, "people don't care how much you know as much as they care about how much you care." Based on this standard alone, Morris was a prince of a man and a true leader.

Morris was also unique in many ways as we all are. Morris was not only a Master of the martial arts (Tang Soo Do and Yoshakai) but he was also a Master Mechanic. He was not only a true student of the martial arts, he was a great instructor.

Morris served on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic-Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation and was an absolute expert at teaching advanced pressure points. Anyone who ever took his class knows how good he was at taking something that was seemingly difficult and making it easy to understand. This is one of the true hallmarks of an excellent instructor. Morris was certainly that.

Master William "Morris" Coker will be sorely missed by all of us who knew him, trained with him, and loved him. He was a true Tang Soo Do brother and warrior. I will never forget him and will always cherish the time we spent together.

Tang Soo!!!


J John St. James
President & Founding Master
Atlantic-Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation
http://www.atlantic-pacifictangsoodo.com