SPARRING THROUGH SCHOOL M artial arts had been a significant part of sophomore Richard Loveland's life since his introduction to them at age 10. After learning the basics of karate, Loveland said he broadened his knowledge and skill in other forms of martial arts, though he specifically focused his time and attention on Shotokan karate, in which Loveland held a second-degree black belt. Loveland said he had never done martial arts competitively, but it was a critical part of his identity. "My history of martial arts has pretty firmly rooted me in [Shotokan]," Loveland said. "I love it. I just love the art so much, the way it feels. It's become almost a part of me, since for almost half my life I've been a martial artist. There's no way I would be able to drop it and turn around; I'm going to be a martial artist until the day I die." As he became increasingly busy with the day-to-day college life, Loveland adjusted the way he practiced so he could continue to pursue his passion. Between club activities, tests and homework, finding time to practice became increasingly difficult. Loveland also said he believed that in a smaller town like Searcy, it was more difficult to find a good place to practice martial arts. Loveland took matters into his own hands by reserving the rehearsal room in the Reynolds Building to practice and by going to martial arts classes offered at Impact 360, a nonprofit organization that met at Downtown Church of Christ that provided martial arts classes led by Associate Professor of Preaching and Church Missions Dr. Scot Crenshaw. Impact 360 also offered a variety of other services to the 156 I People Second degree black belt holder sophomore Richard Loveland pursues martial arts in Searcy community, including counseling, tutoring and mentoring programs. Crenshaw said that Loveland began coming to the martial arts classes more regularly in the fall semester. "[Loveland] comes from a different type of art than ours, so one big compliment I would pay him would be that he came into our school - and it's kind of hard to learn the procedures and rules of a new school- and he jumped right out there in our sparring," Crenshaw said. "I can tell that he is highly skilled and highly committed. He has been doing it a long time, and it shows. You can tell if someone has or has not, and it seems to me to be a person of high integrity who would put his values into practice." During his freshman year, Loveland also met sophomore Midory Martinez', who practiced his same style of Shotokan karate, because her parents - instructors themselves - started her off when she was three. Loveland and Martinez' decided to work out together, and Martinez' said that it was nice to have someone who was so passionate about martial arts to work out with. "I think he really likes karate," Martinez' said. "I can see that in his eyes. Whenever he starts talking about karate and what it is about, you can tell it means a lot to him." Although Loveland said it could be difficult to stay active in karate during his time in college, getting plugged in with local groups like Impact 360 and finding places like the Reynolds mirror room to work out in made it all possible. Matt Ryan
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