My Martial Arts Background
Hello, my name is Hans Wikkeling. I was born January 7th, 1983. Martial arts appealed to me at a young age as I mimicked the moves I saw watching Martial Arts TV shows and movies. Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles and Jean Claude Van Damme were my inspiration. Also at that time my father was a white belt. I wanted to join the Tae Kwon Do school he attended because my father is my hero and I wanted to be just like him, if not better. When I was 7 years old, I began training at Kim’s Tae Kwon Do with Mr. Richard Jones.
I left Kim’s Tae Kwon Do and joined an Ernie Reyes West Coast School when I was 9 years old, studying under Mr. Jim Buhisan & his brother Mr. Bo Buhisan. The Buhisan Brothers left the West Coast system to create USA Martial Arts, which became my home for training. I went through the ranks of the color belt system until I earned my 3rd Degree Black Belt at USA Martial arts.
I began Martial Arts tricking when I was 10 years old. I was highly influenced by my martial arts mentor and personal coach Ramir Masqueda as well as my friend Jimmy Pham. From then I picked up the flashy acrobatic kicking style known today as tricking. Tricking became my passion. I would be the first one to practice and the last to leave. I loved every moment of training. The first trick I learned was the Arial. Some of my favorite tricks are twist, double leg, and cheat 720 kick.
In 1997, I earned my first degree black belt. That same year I joined the USA Martial Arts Demonstration Team. I also competed on the national circuit for the first time in sparring, traditional, and open forms. I loved to travel, perform, and compete. I excelled more in open forms, so I practiced and honed my skills in forms more often than I practiced my sparring. I also saw an innovative competitor named David Douglas. David Douglas was jumping extremely high, throwing the most difficult combos that flowed with ease, and he had style and grace when he performed. He was, and still, is my favorite forms competitor.
I competed at the Las Vegas Legacy Tournament, in 2000 and I was amazed at how talented my peers were. I set a goal for myself that day to become World Champion. I have been training to achieve this goal since then. In 2001, I joined a performance team from the Bay Area known as Loopkicks. In 2004, I was asked to represent team Acura to compete on the national tournament circuit. Near the end of 2004, I decided I wanted to create my own Martial Arts program. Chris Devera and I formed our own business under the name Loopkicks. Loopkicks has expanded and in addition to performing demonstrations, Loopkicks has competed as a team at national tournaments, held martial arts tricking camps in the summers of 2004 and 2005, and 2006 and once taught a martial arts tricking class 3 days a week in Milpitas, California. In the near future, Loopkicks will be hosting more events. I will be representing team Pro Rank starting 2006 for national competition.
I will no longer be representing team Loopkicks. I wish Chris Devera and the other members of the team the best in the future. I have decided to take my path of life as a martial artist on a separate road to pursue personal goals. Thank you team Loopkicks for your understanding and support as my friends.
