The Most Important Lesson - 10th Anniversary of the JKD Family
Our parents influence us all in ways we may never truly appreciate, but if there is one very, very important lesson that I learned from my parents, it's that if you're going to fight for human rights - you fight for everybody's human rights.
That is: if you're going to fight - you fight for everyone. We are one family on this little planet. If someone is in trouble, you help them. Simple. My Mother and Father didn't teach this lesson by word of mouth. They taught this by example.
I had my first real fight before I turned 5 years old against a kid 2 or 3 years older. A tiny, mixed race boy, I got picked on all the time. I hated running from a fight, so I'd be fighting all the time. You can bruise and bloody my body but you'll never crush my spirit! I hated bullies with a passion. If I ever came across someone being picked on, I couldn't resist getting involved.
As my reputation as a fighter spread, more and more people began coming to me for help. Sometimes they just needed advice, but other times were different. As I grew older, the problems grew more serious. So did the pressure. I dealt with pushers, pimps and rapists, spousal abuse and extortion, gangs and off-duty cops. Idiots come in all sizes and colors and from every walk of life. My life was a constant battle.
When I first started studying Jeet Kune Do Concepts, I just wanted to survive. I wanted to be the very best fighter that I could possibly be. Then one day I realized, that being a fighter wasn't enough.
"Give a man a fish - you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish - you'll feed him for a lifetime."
My Instructor, Paul Vunak, didn't just teach me how to fight - he taught me how to learn. I still remember that fantastic rush of freedom I felt after my very first Jeet Kune Do class. I might not have known it yet, but that's when I had found my mission.
As a fighter, one person can only achieve so much. It is not only dangerous, but also exhausting and ultimately frustrating. You can fight 24 hours each day, 365 days of the year, and barely make a dent in the world's most violent population. But, as a teacher, one person can equip an infinite number of people with the tools to defend themselves. Simply put, one person, like Sigong Bruce Lee, can inspire generations.
In more than twenty years as a student of Jeet Kune Do Concepts, what is the single most important lesson that I've learned?
It is by sharing - and not by fighting - that you have the potential to change the world!
Makoto ‘Nip Kicks’ Kabayama
May, 27, 2007
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