Ground Zero

It seems somewhat appropriate that it snowed last night. The first snow of the season always feels like a new beginning, a clean slate. Today is day one, ground zero in what I hope will signal the beginning of the devolution of the martial arts. That’s right, the devolution. It’s time to get back to the basics and contemplate what value we bring to society. At the end of the day it isn’t the perfection of our skill that is making the difference, it is the self realization and understanding that emerges from the challenge of the journey.

Yes, we can change the world. In fact, the state of the world is Canada’s responsibility. Absolutely, it is we Canadian’s responsibility. In many countries, the consequence of asking a question can cost you your life. Canadians live in the freest country in the world where we can ask questions and demand accountability. If every Canadian began demanding answers and accountability, the world would listen. Part of our social consciousness paralysis, our inability to take action, stems from the prevailing assumption that with a problem of any magnitude, one alone cannot make a difference. This assumption is convenient and an excuse for mediocrity. It is not only our right but our duty to overcome our inertia and take action. No one seems to have an issue with holding someone accountable for their actions but is it not time we became accountable for our inactions?

I have always tried to keep my personal political and ideological viewpoints to myself and out of the kwoon. I think I was concerned that if I dared to express my opinions I would polarize my students and perhaps lose my ability to influence some of them in the future. I am careful to treat the power and influence that kung fu has given me with respect and a sense of great responsibility. I believe that ideological shifts are better generated through influence of example as opposed to the imposition of will.

I now find myself living in a world dominated by ideological conflicts of which there can be no resolution. I have seen the roots of deep seeded hate spread by short sighted foreign policies that are going to ensure this hate will be passed down from father to son, mother to daughter for many generations to come. I live in a world where the actions of my country today may spawn a conflict for my distant descendants long after me and my children have left this world. My ability to change the world is embedded within my willingness to take action and become personally responsible for influencing and inspiring those around me to include tolerance and understanding as their most treasured values.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
- James Neil Hollingworth (1933 - 1996)