| Athlete Profile: Rick Parlante |
Rick Parlante has been involved in martial arts for over 25 years. Along with his family, his real estate business, and his MonaVie distributorship, martial arts is one of his true passions. Rick has achieved the rank of Shodan in Wado Ryu Karate and, at the age of 50, earned the rank of 1st Dan in Niseido Ju Jitsu and has since been promoted to Nidan (second degree black belt).
Of that most recent achievement, Rick says “Many hurdles came at me during the process, including several injuries. By flipping the energy of each of these barriers, they could not hinder me; they could only propel me forward. This may be the most valuable technique we learn as students of Niseido Ju Jitsu.”
Indeed Rick carries this philosophy into all areas of his life. To share his passion and his experience of personal and physical achievement, Rick started the Gulf Coast Niseido Ju Jitsu Academy. Here he is Sensei, or teacher, to children and adults, showing them how to discipline and defend themselves, to know what it means to face their individual hurdles head on, and to overcome these barriers. Unlike many other styles of martial arts, Niseido Ju Jitsu continually strives to live up to the seven principles of the Code of Bushido, “the way of the warrior”. The Code of Bushido teaches Humility, Truthfulness, Bravery, Benevolence, Compassion, Sincerity, Loyalty and Devotion to God, our country, our families, and friends, as well as every aspect of our lives.
Being an athlete all of his life and studying how the human body is affected by strenuous physical activity, Rick knows that, “With all that we do in sports and in athletics’ our common element is that we sweat. And with that sweat we lose vital nutrients.”
He also knows that those nutrients have to be replaced or we compromise our health. “Athletes in particular have to pay more attention to their nutrition. They lose more, therefore have to replenish more. New medical articles are now saying that the average person has to eat at least 9 servings of assorted, wide color spectrum fruits each day - just as a starting point. So I guess athletes have to be at 15 or 20? Who’s going to do that?
MonaVie is a convenient way to get your required amount of fruits in every day. I find that my recovery time after these intense workouts is greatly improved and it gets me back on the mats sooner, less sore and with way more energy. This product is part of a healthy lifestyle, everyone should be on it.”
Click here for more information about the Naples Niseido Ju Jitsu Academy, or contact Sensei Rick Parlante, at (239) 595-5950. For more information about Niseido Ju Jitsu, visit: www.Niseido.org
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