Corona Virus, Racism, Lockdown and Martial Arts

There has been a storm brewing in recent weeks related to issues of sickness, finance and social problems. I know there are differing opinions of every kind, but from a kung fu perspective (physics, science and math) this could be much more serious than we desire or anticipate. 

I wish to start by saying I have nothing but love for everyone. I've truly learned to love people who dislike or even hate me. We are all at different levels of learning and when someone calls me a nigger, I know it's his problem not mine. But many years ago that was a call to violence. 

"When a man can make you angry, he can control you." My instructor said to me many times because of fighting in school. 

Please note, this article was written in love, but it's probably going to piss some people off. I just hope you allow yourself time to reflect on the truth. Today most of us value our feelings and opinions more than evidence.

Every tree can only grow as large as its roots. Ask yourself how deep are the roots of our current issues?

Did racism stem from Trump's election? I started martial arts at the age of 4 to defend myself against racism. This, was initiated by my father who learned martial arts to protect himself against the same issue. So when people began to say it was Trump who was making America racist, I was offended by the blatant ignorance.Yet, I was excited to see the closet racist coming to the surface. You can't fix a problem until you admit you have one. Finally we have exposed our ugly little private parts and we can work on either confronting them, or to keep jerking off.  

Whether you are talking about today's problems, sickness, or the martial arts, you must not deny the influence of "White Privilege." 

I can feel some of you cringing just as soon as I wrote the word. I had a hard time even typing it out. It's because as I grew up with friends of every type, I've never seen a world that anyone would actually feel privileged. My poor white friends used to eat dirt...literally dirt (not the brightest in the box). Point being that life itself is a struggle and just like giving labor, no one is going to get out feeling privileged. 

But let me correct the term by calling it the white default or even authority. Since I was born all of the heroes, cartoons, business culture, history or idea of beauty was set to the white default. Even if you study Africa or Native Americans in school, you study it through a white perspective. Just imagine someone interviewing your neighbor and describing your likes, dislikes and habits without ever asking you yourself? Even if it was accurate, it's a bit disrespectful. 

Even here in Asia, in order to be professional I must dress in Western clothing and have made my living because all of the parents need their kids to learn English. The children in Asia are taught (quite literally) the more white you can behave, the more successful you will become. It's to a point that their own culture has become futile and borderline annoying amongst youngsters. And everyone is wondering why kung fu is dying? I don't blame white people for making people hate their own culture, but it is a fact. Deliberate or not, no body wants a Mexican Thor.  

Even though white people are only 8 percent of the world, they are continually the most constant image of success and greatness. And in the society that we have created, a feeling of superiority isn't just natural, it's definite. Every day in different forums I see westerners telling Asian masters with thousands of years of history that they are practicing their own culture incorrectly. Some have even gone as far to say that their understanding of their own history is incorrect. Can you imagine someone who didn't speak English telling you you didn't understand American history? 

I'd gamble to say if you don't speak the language of any culture that you are studying, you are at best spewing second hand smoke. 

Let me take a moment to speak to only the white people because I can feel them frowning. You were born in a world that you are the default (Not by choice). Everything that isn't done through a western method isn't really legitimate (Knee jerk reaction). People say words like professional or even "safe." In the end if it isn't the way you are familiar with, it's incorrect. Where as, the rest of the world must continually correct our own culture according to your beliefs and perspective. It's not your fault. You are not to blame. But you know deep down inside that you could change it. But equality for you is obviously a step down. We can't let India run the world right?

But that is the issue with most westerners today. They feel they are losing their world to people who are..."less" than themselves. And it's in the Westerner's nature to "claim" things starting from before Christopher Columbus. This has travelled through every field and most recently the martial arts. It's amazing that after 30 years of UFC that the entire world is ready to be rid of thousands of years of martial arts development. We say modern vs. traditional, but on a map it's becoming closer to Western vs. Asian. 

Even though Asia has been through countless wars for centuries, using martial arts to defend themselves, it's being called ineffective? That's like saying the invention of the clock was ineffective. But please let me tell you what time it is. 

The corona virus has lead to lock down and will lead to even more all over the world. I know some people think the virus is just a scare, but the lock down, unfortunately, is not. The system will undergo a completely new change and then we will be able to see how good your kung fu really is. To be divided at this point is the worst possible scenario. I know amazing people from every race, martial art and country. I also know assholes from every origin in life. Trust me when I say, we completely outnumber the assholes. 

We allow a few bad incidents or trolls to determine our outlook on a group of people forever. This is stupidity at its finest. It's time, more than ever to join together. We should finally be at a point in our society that we can disagree and still love each other. If you hate everything I just wrote, please understand that you do not hate me, but my ideas. We are free to have different thoughts and there is nothing more dangerous than believing our opinions must coincide with the majority. 

Inside our heart of hearts we all have biased, but we refer to them as preference. Let's get to a point that no one's preference or biased is the standard.