Coach Rich Galicia earned the rank of 4th Level Black Belt (Master Level) in Pai Lum Tao and 4 Star Coach in San Shou, under his teacher, Grandmaster Glenn C. Wilson. He began his formal training in 1988, and competed in his first tournament on February 3, 1990. He immediately proved to be well rounded in the Martial Arts competition arena, by taking 1st place in forms and 1st place in fighting at his very first event. He’d go on to become the F.A.M.E (Florida Affiliation of Marital Arts Events) State Champion in Forms and Fighting from 1990-1993, and winning 1st place at the biggest open tournament in the country, The U.S. Open, in the process. In addition to his flourishing Martial Arts tournament record, Rich also had a successful wrestling career for his high school, Dr. Phillips High School, in Orlando, FL. On October 25, 1992 during his junior year, Coach Rich tested for, and obtained his 1st level Black Belt. An honor and an accomplishment in itself, this day took special significance due to those who presented his rank elevation to Black Belt (his teacher Grandmaster Glenn C. Wilson, his mother Simo Hilda Wilson, his Pai Lum Tao brother, and arguably the greatest kickboxer of all time, Don “The Dragon” Wilson and the Great Grandmaster of Pai Lum Tao himself, the legendary Daniel Kalimaahaae Kane Pai).
Unbeknownst at the time, Rich would become the last person ever to be approved for elevation to 1st level Black Belt by Great Grandmaster Daniel K. Pai, before his passing on May 28, 1993. Great Grandmaster Pai had taken a liking to young Rich, often times insisting that he sit with the Black Belts during discussions and train with them during seminars, even though he had not yet obtained the rank of Black Belt. He would often demonstrate a rare side of himself, joking around with him; quite the contrast from his typically stern demeanor. June 4, 1993 would become the happiest day, and the saddest day in Coach Rich’s young life. He’d start the day in Orlando, FL walking in his high school’s graduation ceremony, and end the day in Daytona, FL paying respect to his teacher’s teacher, at Great Grandmaster Pai’s funeral.
Through the course of the next few years, Rich continued training diligently, and furthered his competition resume. Competing at the W.D.W.S Internationals from 1995-2004, he not only won the Light-Weight Fighting division, but also defeated the Heavy-Weight Fighting division winner each year, to become the Fighting Grand Champion for 10 consecutive years, amassing a flawless record of 40 wins and 0 defeats over that time span.
Throughout his fighting career, Coach Rich continued his pursuit to test his fighting skills and quench his thirst for knowledge. Competing and winning, in every Sport Combat arena possible… Wrestling, Point Fighting, Continuous Fighting, Kickboxing, San Shou and MMA; he explored it all. From the West Coast at Cung Le’s ‘Born to Fight’ in San Jose, CA, to the East Coast at Manny Reyes Sr.’s ‘Pan American Nationals’ in Miami, FL and everywhere in between. His dedication to Martial Arts and Sport Combat allowed him to see the world; everywhere from Russia to Jamaica, and even being selected to represent the U.S. Team as the Middle-Weight fighter for the United States Kou Shu Federation (U.S.K.S.F.) at the 1st ‘World Tournament’ in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In recent years Rich has shifted his focus from fighting to coaching, opening a fighting training facility in Tampa, FL – producing numerous State, National, and International Champion Fighters. Coach Rich was recently recognized for his accomplishments, and was inducted into his first ‘Hall of Fame’ on June 2, 2012 by the World Head of Family Sokeship Council (W.H.F.S.C.). Later that year, due to the outstanding efforts of his San Shou fighters, he was selected to represent the U.S. Team as the Full-Contact Fighting Coach for the United States Kuo Shu Federation (U.S.K.S.F.), October 15-18, 2012 at the 4th ‘World Tournament’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. True to form, the U.S. Team placed #1 in the World, bringing the San Shou World Cup home with them, to the United States of America.
He followed this up the following year by Coaching his Fight Team LLC fighters to a 2013 National Championship in Baltimore, MD, as well as being awarded the ‘2013 MMA Trainer of the Year’ designation by Donnie Hair of the I.S.C.F.
In 2015, Fight Team LLC was crowned the #1 Men’s Team in the Country, having fighters in the Gold Medal matches of 4 out of 8 Men’s weight divisions, and being the only Men’s Team at Nationals to have more than 1 Fighter win Gold – winning 3 Golds and producing 3 National Champions! Rich was once again selected to represent the U.S. Team as the Full-Contact Fighting Coach for the United States Kuo Shu Federation (U.S.K.S.F.), September 25-27, 2015 at the 5th ‘World Tournament’ in Mendoza, Argentina. Consistency at its finest, he led the U.S. Team to yet another 1st Place World finish, bringing the San Shou World Cup home again, to the United States of America, and producing his 1st San Shou World Champion!
Insisting yesterday’s success never lull him into tomorrow’s complacency, Rich accomplished a back-to-back-to-back “3-peat”, leading Fight Team LLC to 3 consecutive San Shou National Championships in 2016, 2017 & 2018, as the #1 San Shou Team in the Country; producing 9 San Shou National Champions (8 x U.S.K.S.F. & 1 x I.C.M.A.C.) and qualifying an unprecedented 5 Fighters for 2018 San Shou World’s in Baltimore, MD.
He was once again selected to represent the U.S. Team as the Full-Contact Fighting Coach for the United States Kuo Shu Federation (U.S.K.S.F.), July 27-29, 2018 at the 6th ‘World Tournament’ where not only did Fight Team LLC go undefeated, but also resulted in the U.S. Team winning the Gold Medal in 9 out of a total of 11 weight divisions – winning the San Shou ‘World Cup’ for the 3rd consecutive World’s in a row, and producing his 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th World Champions!
This accomplishment was quickly followed up, in the 2 subsequent weeks, by producing his 1st Muay Thai World Champion at the 2018 International Kickboxing Federation (I.K.F.) ‘World Classic’ in Orlando, FL and then leading one of his Pro MMA Fighters to their 4th consecutive win in Aguada, Puerto Rico.
Coach Rich and his Team are now focused on closing out 2018 with the same momentum in which they opened it with, and heading into the 2019 San Shou Nationals with a Team that is up to the task of living up to the expectations of the Teams that preceded them.
His passion, intensity and love for Martial Arts and Sport Combat, are infectious and have allowed him much success in his newest endeavor, his lifelong dream finally becoming a reality – ‘Fight Team LLC’!