My martial arts career, like many, began when I saw Bruce Lee on TV.  I began to look for local Karate.  My training actually began with Rick Krause around 1975.  We got close to the folks in the St. Louis Taiji crew.  Locally we connected with Terry Mitzi, Will Wilkerson, and the whole Shorin Ryu gang (Francis Fujiwara, Will and Beverly Reed Aikido and John, Bob, and Jim, the Tang Sudo practitioners).  From the late ‘70’s until this day, Mel Brown and Tuey Staples have been the deepest influences on my life, person, and martial arts journey.  Looking back, the martial artists who have been the most influential on (my style?) are Tuey, Mel, Dr. Fred Weaver, Arthur, Dan, and Rick.