Rick Jacobs - Wushu & Kung Fu Instruction

South Coast Martial Arts Rick Jacobs

Wushu & Kenpo

Coach Jacobs with Kenpo Master Eric Nepsky at the annual Meditation Summit in Telluride Colorado.

Coach Jacobs Judging

Coach Jacobs has a diverse knowledge of the martial arts and has served on the judging panel of a large number of martial arts competitions earning the respect of National and International organizations.

Rick Jacobs flying high

Coach Jacobs was one of the pioneer athletes for the sport of Wushu in America. Here he can be seen performing a Lotus Kick at the North America Sport Karate Association Championships.

Great Wall of China

Coach Jacobs travelled overseas on numerous occasions to receive specialized training in Wushu, Tai Chi and other Chinese Martial Arts systems. Here Coach Jacobs is performing "Jian" or straight sword on the Great Wall of China.

Training and Teaching in LA

After moving from Michigan Coach Jacobs expanded his knowledge in the art of Wushu through diligent training and coaching of a new generation of athletes.

Shanghai Wushu Festival

Coach Jacobs has successfully led his award winning students to participate in numerous Wushu Competitions in China.

Building Bonds

Here a young Coach Jacobs sits down to a special meal with USA Wushu pioneer coach Eric Chen and none other than Wu Bin, head coach of the prestigious Beijing Wushu team and teacher of martial arts icon Jet Li.

Rick Jacobs is a Martial Artist and Teacher of Wushu

Coach Rick Jacobs has over 30 years martial arts experience beginning in Arnis (Filipino Martial Arts) with Sensei Mark Parker (Student of Remy Presas). Since 1983, he has been an active competitor earning multiple gold medals and championships up until his retirement in 2004 after taking gold in Advanced Men's Swordplay at CMAT.

In the early 80s, Rick was a Region 8 NASKA (North American Sport Karate Association) Champion in forms, weapons and sparring. In 1991 while living in Washington DC he was a member of the first US Wushu Team and represented America at the first World WuShu championships in Beijing, China.

Following his first World Championship title, Jacobs earned numerous medals and high accolades in Beijing, QingDao and Shanghai for modern Long Fist, traditional forms and swordplay for consistently outperforming China's athletes.

Jacobs began coaching 1995 in Colombus, Ohio where he taught at Midwest Martial Arts Center and Ohio State University. It also where Jacobs would see victory as the two-time Grand Champion of the Arnold Schwarzanegger Classic Martial Arts Championships.

The following year, Jacobs, together with his coach Eric Chen, sponsored the Beijing Wushu team to join their first competition outside of China at the Arnold Classic. This move was a defining moment in exposing America to the art of Wushu and helped earn the Beijing Wushu team further accolades when they became two-time champions of the Demo Team Competition.

Now based out of Los Angeles, Coach Rick Jacobs continues to study more intensely, working in various film projects and refining his craft as a coach renowned for technical expertise in motivating his athletes through fierce conditioning.

Personal Martial Arts Achievements

2014 Appointed Head Coach of Wushu at South Coast Martial Arts

2011 Head Coach LA WuShu Academy
2010 Head Coach UCLA Wu Shu Team

2004 Gold medalist at Berkely Chinese martial arts Championship (Swordplay)
2000 5x Gold medalist - Shanghai Wushu Championships - Shanghai China
1999 2x Gold 2x Silver medalist - Beijing International Wushu Championship - Beijing China
1998 3x Gold medalist - Qingdao Internationals - Qingdao China
1998 All round Grand Champion - Arnold Schwarzenegger Martial Arts Expo

1998 Hosted the Beijing wushu team

1997 Head Coach of Midwest Martial Arts Center
1997 All round Grand Champion - Arnold Schwarzenegger Martial Arts Expo
1997 North American Sport Karate Forms Champion
1991 Competed at the 1st World Wushu Championships - Beijing China

1991 Member of USA Wushu Team
1986 Region 7 Forms Fighting and weapons Champion

1. What first sparked your interest in Martial Arts?

I grew up in Rural Michigan watching Shaw Brothers Kung Fu movies every saturday night, I was seven years old and I had never seen people move with such confidence and grace. I was instantly drawn to it, not to mention the Chinese landscape and arcitucture.

2. How long have you been doing Martial Arts?

Over thirty years in the Martial arts.

3. What makes Martial Arts/Wushu special to you? How?

Wushu for me represents power and beauty. In order to defend themselves, all living things in nature have a certain defense system, they hunt prey and in some case reproduce traits within other living things. Practicing Wushu activates people's connection with nature, it is very much like a dance of life.

4. What goes through your mind before you compete?

My Stomach haha. I always work very well under pressure. I love the nervous feeling before competition and I love making it work in my advantage . Many Wushu competitors warm up and show off well, but fall apart in actual competition.

I've always been the opposite.

5. Do you have a ritual/certain preparations you use to improve your mindset?

I was told by my First Sensei "your body must obey your mind"

I use my mind to command my body to adapt to stressful situations.

6. What are the biggest moments in your Martial Arts career?

Winning the Arnold Schwartznegger Martial Arts Classic the first time, then bringing the Beijing WuShu team the second year to compete in Ohio.

7. Have you expanded your knowledge outside of your style?

I've had such a wonderfully diverse martial arts life so far, including: Arnis, Tae Kwon Do, Traditional Kung Fu, WuShu and more recently TaiJi and Ba Qua.