Rick has dedicated his entire life to the Martial Arts. He moved to Australia in 1975 to begin training with Grandmaster William Cheung, which proved to be a turning point in his career. He says, "This was the first time I had been exposed to a full time professional training facility". This allowed Rick to train full time and really dedicate himself and even though he had competed many times as a youngster, he was now training for serious competition in a very active tournament scene. After competing successfully for a few years Rick was chosen to represent Australia at the World Full Contact Martial Arts Championships in Hong Kong. This proved to be a competition highlight in his career made even more special after winning the middle weight division and crowned world champion 82/83 retiring undefeated as the title holder.

Lineage: Ip Man -> William Cheung -> Rick Spain