It is with great sadness and shock that I heard about the recent passing of Vince Black. I first met Vince in the early '80s. Tom Bisio and Vince had met when Vice attended a Pikiti Tirsia seminar in Big Springs Texas. Tom was teaching at the seminar and he and Vince got to know each other. Vince demonstrated his Xingyi for Tom and Tom could immediately see how skilled Vince was. Later Tom invited Vince to come to New York. That was when I first met him and began a journey into Internal Arts that continues to this day. I liked Vince right away. He was one of the finest martial artists and TCM practitioners I have ever met. He also was charismatic and had a great sense of humor and could tell a wonderful story. Vince had a great influence on my life. If not for him I would probably never have studied Chinese martial arts. I definitely wouldn't have traveled to China and met Master Li and Song Zhiyong or Zhang Huasen, Wong Shitong and many others. Vince Black went to mainland China and opened up all of these relationships and over the years many, many others have benefited from them. It was my great fortune to have known Vince Black and spent time with him. He will be missed.