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your HEALTH body / mind / fitness
and AUGUST 31, 2023
with a focus on:
Wellness
Vol. 71 No. 36
HERALD Students dive into marine life
Summer fun at the library
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AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
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Willing shows more to martial arts than just fighting someone By CHARlES SHAW cshaw@liherald.com
Courtesy Matthew Willing
Chief Grand Master Matthew Willing, left, with Danny Talia, right, his highest-ranking student and seventh-degree black belt.
Matthew Willing, a Wantagh native renowned for his martial arts skills, said the sport involves much more than knowing how to throw a punch. Spending most of his life studying the art of fighting, the 67-year-old said that understanding physics, psychology and neurology is crucial when defending oneself. “It’s a science,” Willing said of martial arts, “and I’ve been fortunate enough to keep continuing.” Willing’s journey to hone his craft started at a young age, when he left Wantagh to escape a troubled home life. In 1971, he moved to Florida and found work at a butcher shop and at discotheques. He was just 15 years old, when he learned the martial arts from coworkers who had earned black belts. The lessons fascinated Willing, who would spend the rest of his life meeting skilled fighters and learning from them. His studying continued the following year when he enlisted in the military during the Vietnam War. While stationed as a prison guard in Fort Dix, New Jersey, Willing would drive back ConTinueD on paGe 9
Family still devastated after losing their beloved son By CHARlES SHAW cshaw@liherald.com
William Desroches, who died in a watercraft accident in New Hampshire on Aug. 6, was remembered as a generous, hardworking and tenacious 15-year-old. His parents, Donald Desroches and Kathryn Walsh, also described their son as fiercely determined. When the Wantagh High School student set his m i n d o n a t a s k , Wi l l i a m wouldn’t stop until he achieved it, his parents said. That drive led him to excel at numerous outdoor activities, such as snowboarding, biking, jet skiing,
boating and waterthe high school. “He skiing. was 15, but I feel like On Aug. 6, Wilhe lived more life liam and another than someone who’s teenager were riding 100. He packed so personal watercraft much into his little on Crescent Lake in life.” Wo l f s b o r o , N e w “He was always Hampshire. At some happy,” Donald Despoint, New Hamproches said. “I’ve shire police said, one never seen him in a WilliAM DESRoCHES bad mood once in his of the riders slowed down and the other whole life. He was collided with him from behind. always down to do anything.” Desroches was rushed to a hosWilliam played lacrosse and pital, where he died. The other s o c c e r fo r Wa n t a g h H i g h teen was not hurt. School, which his father remem“He lived life to the fullest,” bers well because his son kicked Walsh said of her son, who was the ball with a powerful left foot. about to begin his junior year at “It was great watching him,”
Desroches said. “He was always playing hard, and he always practiced hard.” This discipline carried over when he trimmed trees while working for Tree Health, in Hicksville. William’s parents said he worked well with his coworkers, and always had the energy for hard, physical work. William and his father would always find activities to bond
over, enjoying the outdoors together through hikes and camping trips. During the pandemic, Donald bought a house in West Virginia, which he turned into a project to teach his son how to fix houses. According to Desroches, it was during their time in West Virginia when William developed a passion for dirt bikes. His ConTinueD on paGe 5