Rick Niemira

 

 

Rick Niemira was a close friend of Tom Lewis.  I first met him as a new student when I attended Mr. Lewis’s dojo summer party held at a friend of Dennis Lockwood..

 

 

But I remember his best for these two stories.

 

 

When Rick began he trained under Don Nagel down in North Carolina. Nagel Sensei would split is time between a number of dojo. One night they had kumite and Nagel Sensei was there. The result was every member ended up in the hospital from sparring with Nagle Sensei.

 

 

The other story came about at the Bando Summer Camp I attended in 1983. One of the sessions was on how to break, and the beginners were each attempting to break a board. The Isshinryu and Bando Black Belts in attendance were watching the efforts. One of the Bando Black Belts said something, and Rick replied that is not how I do it.

 

He then went out to demonstrate. As my memory remembers it he placed 3 boards atop the two cinder caps to hold them. Then he placed a thin telephone book atop them. He got ready but he did not punch down as everyone else was doing. Instead he slapped the phone book with his palm and the boards shattered.

 

That got all the Bando black belts going out there to try to do the break that way. As I remember it many of them ended up with red hands.

 

I remember Rick explaining it took him a long time to learn to do that.

Bob Maxwell

Rick and I spent many hours on my back deck perfecting that technique.