Master Reid Clark and the founding of the Incorporated Martial Arts style
Our club originates from the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) founded in 1966 by Founder General Choi Hong Hi (9th dan) in South Korea.
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Incorporated Martial Arts (IMA) founder, Master Reid Clark, trained under Grandmaster Willie Lim who was one of the pioneers of Taekwon-Do (TKD) In New Zealand.
Grandmaster Lim began teaching in the early 1970s, Master Reid began training in 1977. Master Reid was promoted to 1st Dan by Choi Chang-Keun (known as C.K.Choi) who was one of Master Lim’s earlier teachers, he was visiting New Zealand at the time. Master Reid received his 2nd Dan under Founder General Choi Hong Hi in 1990. The rest of his Dan promotions were from Grandmaster Lim.
Master Reid first started teaching in his own gym in 1989 and began to include useful aspects from other fighting styles which he had learnt over the past few years. He was fortunate to attend many seminars from well known martial artists who travelled to New Zealand - Professor Wally Jay, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, Benny “The Jet’’ Urquidez, Sifu Larry Hartsell, Terry Gibson, Grandmaster Bobby Toboada, George Dillman, Remie Presas, James Demile, and Arjan Chai Sirisute.
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​Grandmaster Lim, who was now living in the USA, advised he had attended a seminar taught by Taika Seiyu Oyata and recommended Master Reid should come over and train with him as he was the best he had seen up until that point. In 1991, Master Reid travelled to the USA to attend Taika Oyata’s summer camp, Grandmaster Lim and two other New Zealanders were also in attendance. That same year Master Reid came up with the name Incorporated Martial Arts.
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​While the gym retained its Taekwon-Do base, a lot more was added as a natural evolution of Master Reid’s training. The name helped prevent prospective students from having a preconceived idea of what was being taught. Our branch of Taekwon-Do follows the Hyungs as originally taught by Founder General Choi Hong Hi. The addition of the “Sine Wave” was rejected as after learning kata breakdown and application from Taika Oyata, Master Reid did not fit with this philosophy.
Master Reid trained in Balintawak and was awarded Completion of the Art by Grandmaster Bobby Toboada. He has also trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for 18 years.
Incorporated Martial Arts is a blend of Taekwon-Do as a foundation along with aspects from other martial arts styles.
Grandmaster Willie Lim
"9th degree Black Belt, Willie Lim was born into a Malayan family of Kung Fu practitioners, his uncle was Head of the Eagle Claw division of Ching Wu and his grandmother a practitioner of Lotus style Kung Fu, yet Mr. Lim began his formal training in Kyokushinkai Karate.
Willy enjoyed the usual dose of injuries and through his physician, began his training in Tai Chi with Master Yo Ching-hai, a disciple of Master Cheng Man-ching. In 1963 Mr. Lim began his training in Taekwondo under the legendary Choi Chang-Keun in Penang. By the early 70’s Mr. Lim was attending a university in New Zealand and teaching Taekwondo there.
Because of his already diverse training and an encounter with Professor Wally Jay, Willie sought out Master Taika Oyata, the top Tuite practitioner in the USA. Mr. Lim has gained a tremendous following of top instructors seeking his knowledge and enjoys the full support of legends such as Professor Wally Jay and Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. Mr. Lim represents the USA and UK for the Sing Ong Tai Chi International and Taekwondo International."