About
Richard (“Rick”) States (age 57 at the time of writing) began his martial arts journey in 1980, starting Tae Kwon Do. Rick has studied various martial arts, obtaining a formal rank of Black Belt or higher in a total of 10 different martial systems:
- Tae Kwon Do (Master-7th Black)
- Tang Soo Do (1st Black)
- Shaolin Do Kung-Fu (2nd Black)
- American Kenpo (3rd Black)
- Goshin-Jutsu Karate (2nd Black)
- Isshin-Ryu Karate (1st Black)
- Hapkido (Master-4th Black)
- Kali (2nd Black)
- KunTao (1st Black)
- Iron Tiger Gung-Fu/KunTao (1st Black)
Under belt training in the following:
- Aikido
- Wado-Ryu
- Shotokan
- Chinese Goju
- Jeet Kune Do
- Poekoelan KunTao
Rick has taught T’ai Chi and self-defense at YMCAs as well as for college credit. For several years, Rick operated a private martial arts school in DuBois, PA. Rick has also taught martial arts and T’ai Chi classes in Erie, PA colleges. Attending various tournaments from 1982 through 2019, Rick has placed 1st or 2nd in all entered events. In 2018, he was inducted into The Philadelphia Historic Martial Arts Society Hall of Fame.
Outside of martial arts, Rick has taught Psychology and other Social-Behavioral Science courses (both full-time and adjunct) since 1999 through Penn State, Allegany College of Maryland, University of Pittsburgh, PennWest-Edinboro and PennWest-Clarion, and Gannon University, etc. He is near completion of his doctoral/PsyD degree in Clinical Psychology, is a long-term Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of PA, currently serves as a behavioral health consultant to PCP/Family practices, and has a private telehealth counseling practice.
