Obituary of Larry Reed Wick

Larry Reed Wick, 62, passed away quietly on April 3, 2016 at St. Luke's Hospice in Duluth, Minn. with his family by his side. He was raised in Two Harbors, Minn. and started studying the martial arts in 1967. He tested for his black belt under Grandmaster Hwang Kee in 1973 and began teaching Tang Soo Do in Two Harbors in 1977. In 1985, he transferred to the World Tang Soo Do Association (WTSDA) under Grandmaster Jae Chul Shin. The same year, he moved to Fairbanks, Alaska and began teaching Tang Soo Do in the Community Schools Program and at the Fairbanks Athletic Club. In 1988, Master Wick opened the Fairbanks Tang Soo Do Academy in Chena Pump Plaza, where it still operates. He served on the WTSDA Board of Directors, served as the Alaska and Canada Regional Director, and assisted with the creation of the WTSDA instructional books that help preserve the art of Tang Soo Do. He was named "Instructor of the Year" in 1992, "Master of the Year" in 2008 and 2016, and at four Master's Clinics, received the Spirit Award, which was renamed "The Mater Larry Wick Spirit Award." In 2014, he was presented the Champion For Children Award, which recognizes individuals for extraordinary and exemplary service to children in the Fairbanks area. His years of practice and training culminated in the creation of the Split Second Survival self-defense program, which addresses multiple attackers and various weapons used in "street" situations. Master Wick loved to fish and spend time in nature when he was teaching classes. He always came back to class rejuvenated and full of stories of "the one that got away" and of his adventures in general. His fishing buddies will be telling "lies" for a long time. Master Wick was preceded in death by [relationship?] Christine Wick, parents Janet and Harold, and his nephew Derek. He leaves his family members William and Nancy, Steven and Connie, Dale and Karen, Terry and Deb, Judith, James and Hazel, and the thousands whose lives he touched between Minnesota, Fairbanks, and the World Tang Soo Do Association. Family, friends, and kindness were of the utmost importance to Master Wick. He requested that there be no services, but wants everyone to remember him by taking the time to put a smile on a stranger's face.