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Martial Arts
Rick started martial arts training at the age fifteen. This hobby turned into more of a way
of life and was one of the greatest influences on his life. The martial arts is more than
fighting. Martial Artist in china were also physicians, phylosophers, religious icons, and
teachers. Many of the non combative skills have helped Rick deal with stressful and difficult
periods in his life. The discipline learned from the study of martial artswas instrumental
in providing the drive to succeed in other areas of his professional life. Rick has been
studying the martial arts since 1971 and feels that he has just
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Guitar
Rick started learning to play the guitar at the age of ten. His first music lessons were
taken at Lee's music in old town Florissant, Missouri. His first guitar was a second hand
accoustical guitar. Later after proving to his parents that he would continue music lessons,
his parents purchase an electric guitar and amplifier for Rick. At age fourteen Rick and a
group of friends formed a band. They played together for two years performing at dances and
parties. About the same time, Rick started playing guitar mass at ST. Sabina church. At the
age of sixteen, Rick started writing his first
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RacketballRick started playing racketball as a teenager. Every day during the summer, Rick and some friends would go to the park and play racketball. Rick entereda couple of racketball tournaments. Although he won a couple of rounds in the tournaments, he never placed. The level of skill of the competitors was much higher than Rick's racketball ability at the time. The tournaments were entered for the fun of competing and playing a variety of different opponents. Rick still plays racketball with his father now and again. Rick's father well into his sixties can still win against Rick without |
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Scuba Diving
Rick started scuba diving while in college in the mid 1970s. He currently holds an open
water P.A.D.I. certification. Rick and friends went on dive trips from early spring to
late fall every year. He took dive trips at least once per month. Rick was never able to
scuba dive in the ocean but has seen the bottom of most of the lakes and quarries within
Missouri. After the birth of his first child, Rick sold his scuba equipment and hasn't been
diving since. Now his fifteen year old daughter has developed an interest in scuba diving so
this hobby may get some renewed interest.
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PaintballRick started playing paintball in 1987, when paint guns were crude pump action non gravity feed pistols using a twelve ounce CO2 cartridge. At first this was a casual event where a group of friends would meet at a paintball course and play capture the flag. This quickly became more than a casual activity when Rick and Ned Loetz formed a paintball league. The league consisted of five teams. Rick quickly learned the importance of proper equipment and good small squad tactics. Some |
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After the league was over, groups formed into competitive teams to play other teams through scheduled team challenges. Again the level of play and quality of equipment needed to be upgraded. Prior to competitive teams, a person would probably shoot 100 rounds the entire day. During competitive play each team member would shoot between 200 to 400 rounds in a single game. Players would enter the field carrying 300 rounds of amunition and an extra CO2 tank to insure survival during crucial engagements with the othe team. Guns went from pump action to semi-automatic weapons.
Other paintball games were introduced to speed up the game and make the action quicker. One
innovation was arena ball. The flag is in the center of a hockey size arena with hand made
obsticles. the object of the game is to either eliminate all opposing players or capture the
flag and move across the field to opposing teams base. Indoor paintball, urban paintball, and
the big games are other types of games played.
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Holistic HealingRick has studied several different disciplines of holistic healing. He has studied acupressure, kinesiology, qi gong, and the healing and pain relief from foods and vitamins. It's important to know how to heal as well as injure. Healing is the yin art and injuring through self defense is the yang art. To maintain a balance in mind and spirit, it's important to learn both disciplines. Acupressure and kinesiology are arts that heal by holding, pressing, or massaging pressure points. These pressure |
Language Studies
Currently, Rick is studying the Japanese language and culture. As a by-product of his martial
arts training, Rick developed an interest in this subject. The biggest problem in his studies is
the lack of people to talk to in Japanese. Later, Rick plans to study Mandarin Chinese, Spanish,
and Korean. While learning the language, you find many interesting facts about the culture and
thought processes of the citizens of these countries. One day Rick would like to visit one or all
of these countries.
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