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Taekwondo champion detective prepares for World Games
What began as a way to connect with his son 17 years ago has evolved into a remarkable journey for Ottawa County Sheriff's Detective Roger Willard, who is now a five-time national taekwondo champion.
Detective Roger Willard, right. His son, Noah, is pictured at left.
OTTAWA COUNTY — What began as a way to connect with his son 17 years ago has evolved into a remarkable journey for Ottawa County Sheriff's Detective Roger Willard, who is now a five-time national taekwondo champion.
His dedication to the sport will take him to Birmingham, Alabama, later this month to compete in the 2025 World Police and Fire Games, representing the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, Aspire Performance Center of Norton Shores, and Western Michigan.
Willard, 50, initially took up taekwondo alongside his son, Noah, who is now 21. "It was a fun thing to do it together," Willard said. His son is now a third-degree black belt himself.
Willard’s journey has evolved into a remarkable personal and athletic challenge, leading him to become a five-time national champion and a fifth-degree black belt, with his sights set on his sixth.
Later this month, he will represent the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, Aspire Performance Center of Norton Shores and Western Michigan at the 2025 World Police and Fire Games in Birmingham, Alabama. The games kick off with an opening ceremony on June 27.
Ottawa County Sheriff's Detective Roger Willard, right, who is now a five-time national taekwondo champion, will compete later this month in the 2025 World Police and Fire Games.
Discipline and dedication
Willard trains at least three nights a week and has been competing at the national level for years. He will compete in both sparring and poomsae, which are forms in taekwondo.
"I do it to stay competitive and to stay in shape," he said. "But it’s also incredibly rewarding to help others grow and succeed at so many levels."
His dedication to the sport extends beyond personal competition.
Right before achieving his own black belt, Willard began teaching classes, eventually transitioning more into a coaching role. He now owns and instructs at Aspire Performance Center, founded in 2014, which has grown in membership and earned community recognition.
"Taekwondo has always been a source of focus and discipline in my life," Willard said. "This is a world-level event coming up, and I’m really looking forward to it."
Roger Willard and his son, Noah, now 21, have bonded over a love of taekwondo.
Beyond athletics and competition
Willard finds that taekwondo directly enhances his work in law enforcement.
"It gives me the confidence that I know I can protect myself if I need to," he explained. "That confidence exudes, and the person who might want to try something won’t challenge that. Just being confident just helps."
In addition to the personal achievement, he also formed a lasting friendship with one of his training partners.
His master instructor, Len Lawrence, is a math professor at Baker College, and Willard appreciates the diverse perspectives he brings.
"We kind of latched on to each other in that way," he said. "We are now best of friends. I can count on him for anything. And him the same."
Willard's competitive drive ignited when he was seeking an outlet after high school athletics.
"When you graduate high school as a three-sport athlete, there is no competition there to do something as an adult and really test your ability against someone else doing the same thing," he said.
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He went undefeated for four years before losing his first match when electronic scoring was introduced.
"I just learned from that and now I’m a two-time sparring national champion," Willard said.
The 2025 World Police and Fire Games include 11 days of competition featuring more than 8,500 first responders — police, fire and EMS — from over 70 countries. The event celebrates athleticism while also paying tribute to the dedication and camaraderie of public servants worldwide.
Ottawa County Detective Master Willard prepares for taekwondo's World Police and Fire Games
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 Performance Center. 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 two years until I retire," Williard said.
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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.
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Aspire Performance Center has been recognized by various media outlets for our outstanding programs and community impact. From WZZM 13 to Fox 17, our dedication to martial arts excellence, sensory-friendly initiatives, and empowering students has been featured in multiple stories, showcasing our commitment to both fitness and personal development.
Muskegon County martial arts school offering free women’s self-defense class
Aspire Performance Center of West Michigan is holding a free women's self-defense seminar on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. (Photo provided by Roger Willard)
NORTON SHORES, MI - Aspire Performance Center of West Michigan is providing a free self-defense seminar for women.
The annual event takes place at the Norton Shores martial arts school, 635 Seminole Road, on Saturday, Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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Aspire Performance Center provides the free seminar for women to “take a proactive stance on their safety.”
Instructor Roger Willard says it prepares women who might face violent situations. “It’s just something that we feel people should be aware,” he said.
The seminar is broken into two parts, a presentation with discussion and learning physical self-defense techniques. Aspire Performance Center says it will teach the four stages of escalation, including awareness, avoidance, getting away and fighting.
Willard says the seminar is limited to women-only to make them feel more comfortable learning self-defense.
Every Women’s Place, a Muskegon County nonprofit that provides support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, will also share resources the seminar.
“What we’re good at dealing with is the preparation and the getting ready for dealing with an attack or preventing an attack. But what if an attack happens? We’re not equipped to deal with that,” said Willard.
Aspire Performance Center is hosting the event to give back to the community. Willard said the “community-orientated” martial arts school also recently fixed up a mobile home for a local family in need.
Anyone interested in signing up for the self-defense seminar can register here.
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