Grandmaster William McDonald
With over 45 years of martial art experience, Senior-Founder & Grandmaster of the modern martial art discipline known as Tong Il Lo, has been accredited by many well known organizations and individuals throughout his life. Acquiring multiple black belt degrees & certifications in Kenpo Karate, Moo Duk Kwan, ITF Tae Kwon-Do, Muay Thai, Kubudo (weapons), and developed mastership skills in Qigong (energy training); as well as, having hands on experience as being security manager for several entertainment-clubs, and performing executive protection services (professional bodyguard) for a several prestigious clients, William McDonald is known for being a devoted student to the teachings of the Art of War and the Art of Peace throughout his life.
Owing his lifelong journey in the martial arts to being bullied at the age of 7, by three 6th graders, and then shortly after being inspired by Bruce Lee movies, he began his martial education in 1972. Throughout the years that have past in his career, Grandmaster McDonald has competed in national and international tournaments, hosted dozens of successful seminars and tournaments, been inducted many times by many martial art hall of fames, and has educated and promoted thousands of students throughout the United States. However, he notes that one of his greater accomplishments was in 2003 when he was honored to present Tong Il Lo publicly, and in front of a testing board of distinguished judges. It was there that martial artist from different parts of the world witnessed Grandmaster McDonald’s creation. After being reviewed by the International Martial Arts Headfounders-Grandmaster’s Council, they promoted Grandmaster McDonald to 10th Degree Black Belt, and recognized Tong Il Lo to be a credible martial art discipline. In fact, the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame inducted him as “Grandmaster of the Year” in 2003 and in 2004 announced Tong Il Lo Martial Science as “Outstanding Martial Art System”.
Continuing his endeavors, Grandmaster McDonald heads a martial art organization known as the International Combative Martial Arts Association (ICMAA) as Executive Director, and created the Civilian Defense Program (CDP) to instruct individuals who are wanting to learn “Practical, Tactical, & Legal” defense techniques without black belt setting commitments.
In addition, some of his action skills have been caught on film. With over 20 years in the movie industry, as a professional fight/stunt coordinator, actor, and director, Grandmaster McDonald’s creative side moves toward stardom. His work is credited on IMDb under his stage name, Billy Leo. Also making him a named celebrity, Grandmaster William McDonald took on the title as “The King of Martial Art Media” with a podcast internet radio program called KKN – the Karate Kast Network, which was listened to in over 50 countries world-wide for a number of years.
Ultimately motivated to expand the teachings of Tong Il Lo throughout the world, and to help dissolve any prejudice and conflicting ideals between individuals, Grandmaster McDonald is focused on establishing unity through the expression of his teachings, and will continue this venture throughout his lifetime.
