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I started karate when I was 5 years old....My real life hero is the Apostle Paul. Completely and utterly unashamed of Christ, Paul became one of the most effective, influential, and inspiring Christians to ever walk the Earth. Despite nearly dying on multiple occasions and living a life of brutal persecution for what he believed, Paul never ceased to spread the message of Jesus and inspires me to follow suit....I love the payoff. Preparation for a tournament is no joke. I put everything in when training my body inside and outside the dojo. In addition to "physical" training, there are also sacrifices made to ensure I am at peak performance such as what foods I eat, how much sleep I get, how much water I drink, etc. In the end, performing well at a competition make all these decisions worthwhile and motivate me to become even better for the next one....I get my inspiration from the students at our dojo. Of course, I receive inspiration from my brother and partner, Jared Smith. I enjoy working with someone as fast and strategic as him because it forces me to lift my level and improve as a karate athlete. I also receive a ton of inspiration from all the younger athletes at our dojo. We have a large number of kids at our dojo, all training their hearts out in preparation for nationals and other important competitions. Watching them work and seeing how they look up to us older athletes never fails to inspire me. Whether I am walking on the mat for the finals of the National Championships or walking over to my water bottle, sweating and tired, near the end of an exhausting training, the students at our dojo view me as simply their friend, Senpai Riley. I have and will continue to push myself and prove to all the "minions", as we call them, that with hard work, anything is possible...."The hard moments are not just for your growth in grace, but for your call to be a tool of that same grace in the life of another sufferer" - Paul David Tripp

Career Highlights

Nationals Champion
4x Junior US Team Member

Rickyjon Balgenorth

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