The Green Stripe

I have been studying the martial arts for most of my life.  Thirty five years of training has taught me a lot about myself and the world.  Everything good in my life today is what it is because of my kung fu. My dedication to my art has never been a sacrifice but rather an investment that has generated massive returns. My life is blessed and I owe it all to kung fu.

There has not been a day in the past thirty-five years that I have not used my kung fu. I used it to build a body that is as healthy and strong as it was when I was a teenager. I have used it to  become mindful of the miracles that exist in every moment.   I have used my kung fu to become a more compassionate and cognizant human being.  Kung fu has made me who I am and my friends and family love me, warts and all.

Somewhere down the line, we in the martial arts industry have allowed the term ‘martial arts’ to become hijacked by people and sports who wish to reduce it to the lowest common denominator - fighting.  As long as you are wearing the fancy uniform and the coloured belt, you are a  marital artist. “Who needs to meditate when that stuff does not work on the street? Respect? Of course I know respect. I’ll teach respect to anyone foolish enough to step into the ring with me. “

Where is the value in martial arts? Is the only value garnered through weaponizing yourself so that you can handle yourself in a street fight? If so, I have to question your character and your lifestyle if your training is about addressing your fear of being beat in a street fight. Each of us is infinitely more likely to have our butts kicked by our diets, our limiting beliefs, and our acceptance of mediocrity than we are by a physical assault.

Thirty-five years of using my kung fu everyday and not a single street fight to show for it. Do I lead a charmed life and have somehow avoided being victimized, or could it be that kung fu has given me the emotional intelligence as well as the physical ability to live my life without fear?

Defeating an opponent has little to do with the martial arts. The only person I compete with is myself. I end every day different, hopefully better, than I started the day. Kung fu pushes me to understand myself, like myself, and push myself to improve.

“When people ask me about what I learned from martial arts, I don't talk about favorite punches or kicks, or about fights won or lost. I talk about learning self-discipline, about ethics and manners and benevolence and fairness.” - Jonathan Maberry (b. 1958)