CM Thomas Gordon is the owner and primary instructor at Gordon Martial Arts. He is also the host of the international Korean Martial Art Festival and Gulf Coast Martial Art Championships, both held in Crestview, FL. He got his first taste of martial arts in a small school at the corner of Highway 85 & 90, next door to Teal & Waters. Note he was in elementary school at the time, and martial arts weren’t geared as much towards children as they are today. It wasn’t long before the school closed, but he got another shot at martial arts as a young adult when a new school opened near his home. That school was part of a closed martial arts organization that eventually led to him partnering with Mr. Gregory Bledsoe in opening a school, albeit in a neighboring community. After five years of running that martial arts school and ten years of traveling throughout the United States to compete, he wanted to get more in line with the original Taekwondo system and opened a school in his hometown.

In 2003, he was able to open Gordon Martial Arts and align himself with two highly respected grandmasters: GM Hwang, Kwang‍-‍Sung (K‍-‍9‍-‍1), and GM Rudy Timmerman (KSB‍-‍106). Since then, he has taught and trained in Canada, Korea, Australia, Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Mexico, France, Argentina, and all over the United States. While teaching almost every walk of life and profession, being in an area heavy with the military, CM Gordon ended up training various levels of military personnel, including Special Operations, Special Forces, and most levels of law enforcement. He has been published, featured, and covered in hundreds of magazines and newspapers.

There are four distinctive highlights of Thomas Gordon’s martial art career:
1. Watching both his daughters test for black belt with grandmasters on the panel.
2. Being featured 6 times on the cover of TaeKwonDo Times (  ): in July 2010 as one of the ten “Movers & Shakers” in the Korean Martial Arts; featured solo on the November 2011 TKDTimes cover “Football, The Martial Artist Way” due to him playing Semi‍-‍Pro Football into his 40’s; in January 2013 with Grandmaster Hwang and in March 2013 with the Korean Martial Art Festival being listed as “Must Do Event of the Year”; January 2014 cover with MMA/UFC legend, Dan “The Beast” Severn, and in a special edition for March 2014.
3. Being able to test for sixth degree in Taekwon‍-‍Do in front of GM Hwang and GM Timmerman.
4. And being able to train & teach martial arts while traveling to see other countries.

Outside of the “martial art world,” Thomas Gordon played Offensive Tackle and Center for the Crestview Thunderbirds, an adult semi‍-‍pro football team where he played his last season in 2012. He also owns & operates an air‍-‍conditioning (HVAC) business that his parents started in 1979. In an effort to be an active part of the community, he has participated in many community events and fundraisers and he was appointed to the Okaloosa County Mechanical Competency Board where he served as Vice‍-‍Chair in 2025. In the past, he has served on the Board of Adjustments for the City of Crestview, the Board of Directors for the local YMCA, Building & Grounds Committee at his church, Green Committee for Building Industry Association, Crestview City Councilman, board member of Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency, Okaloosa RESTORE Advisory Committee (BP Oil Spill), Crestview Chamber of Commerce board of directors and Executive Board as a Vice‍-‍Chair.

Quick facts:
• 8^th Degree Black Belt in Taekwon‍-‍Do (A‍-‍8‍-‍3 in 2019)
• 6^th Degree Black Belt in Hapkido (2017)
• 3^rd Degree Black Belt in Combat JuJitsu (2024)
• 2^nd Degree Black Belt in KravMaga (2024)
• Full Instructor in KravMaga (2023)
• Listed as Worlds Greatest Martial Artists – Vol 10 (2020)
• Bodyguard & Stuntman in “The Operative” (2017)
• Martial Arts University Icon Award (2017)
• Level‍-‍2 Stick·Master (2016)
• Korean Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame Inductee (2015)
• Korean Martial Arts Brotherhood Gold Seal Member (2010)
• NKMAA Master of the Year (2008)
• Level‍-‍2 Mike Swain Judo Instructor (2006)
• Certified ITF Instructor (2004)
• ITF Umpire Certification (2004)
• Certified ATA Instructor (1997)
• PPCT Spontaneous Knife Defense Instructor (1997)

On August 9th, 2025 at the Warrior Weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, GM Timmerman appointed CM Gordon as one of the newly designated NKMAA Regional Directors, specifically, Director of Florida – responsible for teaching the art of Hap·Ki·Do.

You can connect with CM Gordon on facebook by clicking on the following hyperlink: