Participants: Documentary on Martial Arts
Series Code: SF
Program Code: SF000049A
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00:27 I remember my first introduction
00:28 to the martial arts. 00:31 I was only about four or five years old 00:33 as I watched in amazement 00:35 as a little oriental man 00:36 perform seemingly impossible feats of skill and power. 00:41 A seed was planted that day, 00:43 a seed which grew silently within my heart 00:46 for the next 10 years of my young life. 00:49 I never forgot the exhibition that I had seen that day 00:53 and I dreamed of the possibility 00:54 of doing those things which I had watched 00:56 that little old Asian man demonstrate with such ease. 01:01 But little did I realize 01:02 the darkness into which this path 01:04 I was now following would lead, 01:06 nor the lives that my decision that day 01:09 would influence and forever change. 01:12 Today the martial arts were looked upon as sport, 01:15 as self-defense, 01:17 health, and fitness, 01:18 and often as a form of artistic expression, 01:22 but is this the way it has always been? 01:24 Who are these men and women 01:26 who dedicate their lives to these arts 01:29 and amaze onlookers with their incredible feats 01:32 of almost superhuman strength and speed? 01:35 How are these abilities attained 01:37 and from whence comes the philosophies 01:40 and spiritual teachings which permeate these practices? 01:44 Why do we see such a growing influence 01:46 of eastern philosophy and mystical practices 01:48 within the Christian church 01:50 over the last 10 years? 01:52 Are these practices focused merely on athletic ability? 01:55 Or are they being used to prepare mankind 01:58 for the coming of a World Teacher 02:00 and a 1,000 years of peace? 02:04 Are these eastern mystical arts 02:05 based merely on human talent and ability? 02:08 Or is there something much darker 02:10 and more elusive working behind the saints? 02:16 The first time that I was exposed to martial arts, 02:19 I don't remember where I was, 02:21 but I remember I saw something on television. 02:23 And it was a picture of this little Chinese man 02:28 and he was demonstrating martial arts ability. 02:32 And he took an egg 02:35 and set it on the ground 02:37 and stepped up on to the egg 02:40 and stood there. 02:41 And it was only for, you know, 20 seconds 02:44 but he stood on that egg and then he stepped off. 02:47 And I was a little child 02:49 that's always stayed in my mind, 02:50 you know, when I saw that because I thought, "Wow," 02:53 you know, that's almost like a miracle, 02:55 you know, that he could do that. 02:56 When I was 12 years old 02:58 my parents went through a separation and the divorce 03:01 and it devastated my life. 03:06 I became very rebellious, I was angry, 03:09 you know, I know that neither one of my parents 03:10 ever intended to hurt me 03:12 but I felt abandoned, I felt rejected, 03:15 I felt like I wasn't worth fighting for. 03:18 And during that time 03:21 I began really searching for some purpose to life 03:24 for some reason to be a man, 03:28 I mean, what is the reason for being here? 03:31 And I remember talking to my mother one day 03:35 about possibly looking for a martial arts school 03:38 because that memory that I've seen that picture 03:41 always stayed in my mind. 03:44 And we found a school 03:45 downtown in the city where I live. 03:49 And we went down there one evening 03:51 after she got off work. 03:53 And I remember to this day that walk, 03:57 we were walking down the street, 03:58 it's a downtown rough part of the town. 04:02 And the dusk was coming in, 04:06 the only lights were the streetlights 04:09 and they were just beginning to glow. 04:12 And while we're walking down there, 04:13 I mean, you can see like the pool hall 04:15 they're turning the lights on their. 04:16 The night life was starting to awaken. 04:19 There is all these old brick buildings 04:21 and warehouses. 04:24 And we're walking down the sidewalk 04:25 and all the shops were closed, 04:26 all the little mom and pop stores, 04:30 and we finally came to this building 04:32 that's old brick building. 04:33 It was probably three stories, maybe four stories tall. 04:37 And I remember when my mom and I were walking up, 04:39 we're looking for this door for a name of a school 04:42 and were expecting that to be, 04:44 you know, like it is today, 04:45 you know, this really elaborate, nice, modern... 04:49 And we found this little doorway, 04:51 I mean, it wasn't even a full door, 04:53 a tiny little wooden door 04:55 and it had the name of the dojo on the door. 04:58 So we opened the door up 05:00 and since we opened the door up, 05:01 we could look up, and we could see a light 05:03 at the top of the narrow staircase. 05:06 And my mom and I started walking up that staircase 05:08 and as we're walking up we could hear the shouts, 05:11 the "Hiyah," 05:13 the students, you know, yelling. 05:15 We could hear, you know, the instructor, 05:17 you know, commanding the students what to do 05:20 and now I remember feeling my heart begin to quicken. 05:25 And I was like, "I'm finally here," 05:27 you know, something I've dreamed about, 05:29 you know, forever. 05:31 And we got to the top of the steps 05:33 and we stepped into the studio. 05:36 And here's this man in a white uniform 05:41 with this old black belt, 05:43 I mean, it was just faded with age 05:46 and he is giving these orders to these students. 05:48 And there was the utmost feeling of respect, 05:51 I mean, all these students are doing exactly what he says, 05:54 exactly when he says it. 05:55 And they're doing these forms, these karates, 05:58 you know, punching and blocking 06:00 and the kicks and the yells. 06:04 And I remember trying to take in the whole scene, 06:08 there's calligraphy, you know, Japanese calligraphy, 06:11 an Okinawan calligraphy on the walls. 06:13 And there's pictures of old masters 06:16 and people that have died, 06:18 you know, the founders of the art. 06:20 And we stayed there for probably 35, 40 minutes, 06:24 you know, watching when the instructor got a break, 06:27 he came back over to us 06:28 and he had started talking with my mother and I. 06:30 I had to have my mom's approval, 06:32 you know, to do this. 06:34 And I remember the instructor, 06:37 you know, talking about the classes and the schedule 06:39 and I was getting so excited 06:41 and then we got down to the end of how much does it cost? 06:45 And this was back probably '83, '82 somewhere in there. 06:51 And he tells us the price 06:54 and, you know, I saw my mom's eyes 06:57 and I knew it was too much, 06:58 you know, because we were very limited on her income 07:00 with my mom and dad being separated. 07:03 And, you know, we thanked him, 07:07 told him we would think about it, 07:08 and we walked out of the dojo, 07:10 we walked back down those steps. 07:12 I remember, as we were walking down those steps 07:14 and I stepped out on to the street, 07:17 it was like the wind had been taken out of my sails. 07:19 I thought, you know, here this dream was 07:21 and I thought this was it. 07:23 And now I knew there was no way that we could do it 07:25 because the price was just too much. 07:28 As my mom and I are walking down the street 07:30 and I can sense 07:32 that my mother felt uncomfortable, 07:34 not just about the price 07:35 but more importantly she felt uncomfortable 07:37 about something in the dojo. 07:41 And even though I was so excited 07:44 about participating and becoming part of this, 07:47 I had sensed the same thing 07:49 it was, I was raised as a Christian, 07:53 you know, we went to church every Sabbath 07:57 and yet there was something about what we had witnessed 08:00 about the power, 08:02 and about the violence, 08:04 about the actions of the art, 08:07 they just didn't match. 08:09 And I couldn't put my finger on it 08:10 and it didn't make me feel good so I just dismissed it. 08:14 And I knew my mom couldn't dismiss it. 08:18 So we went home that night 08:21 and I didn't ask her what was on her mind 08:23 and she didn't tell me but I knew. 08:31 A friend of mine, 08:33 their older brother was there at lunch, 08:36 he was a junior or senior, 08:38 he's couple of years ahead of me. 08:39 I was in high school 08:41 and he started telling about this martial arts school 08:44 that he had found, a kung fu school in the area 08:46 and he had been training there for, 08:48 you know, probably a year or two. 08:50 And he was talking about it and I just I asked him, 08:51 I said, "How much does it cost?" 08:53 And he said, you don't believe it, 08:55 he said, it's a dollar a night. 08:57 And I was like, "You're serious?" 08:58 He said, "Yeah." 09:00 And I said, "What kind of school is it?" 09:02 Because I was thinking about my mom's apprehensions 09:04 and he told me he said, "The guy is a Christian." 09:08 He said they will have a Bible verse every night, 09:10 he said we train, we fight, 09:12 but it's a Christian school. 09:14 And it's a dollar every time you come, 09:15 there's no contract. 09:18 And I was so excited, 09:21 it was like all of a sudden my hopes and my dreams revived. 09:25 I went home and told my mom about it 09:27 and she was excited, 09:30 so the following week my best friend and I, 09:33 we decide to go visit this school, 09:34 so we get to the school that evening. 09:36 And I remember walking in the door 09:38 and it was a very different from the Okinawan school, 09:41 the karate dojo we'd went to. 09:43 When we walked in 09:45 this was a very, very old building 09:46 single floor... 09:50 There were all these pictures when I walked in 09:52 and I remember walking past the wall 09:53 all these pictures 09:54 of the higher level students in the school 09:56 from the past, you know, 25 five years. 09:59 There was pictures of the men that had made black belt. 10:01 There'd only been three up to that point 10:04 in over 25 years. 10:07 Pictures of the instructor, 10:08 pictures of military background, 10:11 pictures of just all these intriguing mystical, 10:17 you know, ideas, thoughts of the martial arts. 10:21 So we got there 10:23 and I began training. 10:26 And this school was very unique, 10:27 they based rank on your ability. 10:31 And there were only four ranks, 10:34 you got white, green, brown, and black, 10:36 and you could get a stripe in between 10:39 which meant you're just a little bit ahead 10:41 of the other guys. 10:43 But in the only way to achieve rank was fighting 10:47 and we fought full contact, 10:48 you know, with boxing gloves 12, 14, 16, ounce boxing gloves 10:53 and we also fought what's called empty hand 10:55 or open-hand. 10:56 The thing that really intrigued me 10:57 the most about this school was is... 10:59 Because it was a kung fu school 11:01 the fighting when it was done open-hand 11:03 was based on what's called animal styles. 11:05 So if someone was a tiger stylist 11:08 and if they were good 11:09 when you watch them spar or watch them fight, 11:12 you would see them mimicking, 11:14 you know, the motions of a tiger 11:16 with their hand positions, 11:17 with their blocking, with their stances. 11:20 If someone was a snake style, 11:22 you would see the heads of the snakes 11:25 or the heads of the cobra 11:26 as they were fighting, you would see the techniques. 11:29 And then the instructor, 11:31 his primary style 11:32 although he taught all of them, 11:34 his primary style was praying mantis 11:35 so when they would fight 11:36 you would see the hand positions 11:38 like the praying mantis. 11:39 And the mantis was a close in style, 11:41 it drew its opponent in and crush them on the inside. 11:45 And I was so overwhelmed, 11:48 you know, after that first night 11:49 of seeing all these things 11:51 and the guys, you know, kicking. 11:53 And I looked and I thought, you know, that's power, 11:56 that's not just power but control. 11:58 It's like my life felt so out of control, 12:01 I felt like I didn't have any control over anything 12:05 that was happening to me. 12:06 And this is what I wanted, I thought that's what I want, 12:09 I want to be able to control my circumstances, 12:11 I want to be confident, 12:13 I want to believe in myself, 12:15 I want to know 12:17 that whatever I set my mind to do, I can do. 12:20 When we're there in class, you could tell the order, 12:23 the hierarchy, if you will. 12:25 You know, the white belts were the beginners 12:27 and they listen to the green belts, 12:28 and green belts were terrified of the brown belts, 12:30 the brown belts 12:32 didn't want anything to do with the black belts. 12:33 And there was this pecking order of authority. 12:39 The thing that intrigued me or caught my attention 12:41 that I wanna make green belt to desire that green belt was. 12:45 One night a week at 10 o'clock 12:47 after all the other students had left the school 12:49 those that had made green belt 12:51 were allowed to come in to the school 12:53 and they would shut the door on the training room. 12:56 And they got private instruction 12:57 from the "Sifu, the teacher." 13:01 And no one was allowed to see or to talk about what was, 13:04 you know, taught in there, 13:06 so it was like immediately 13:07 it's like what's behind the curtain, 13:08 I mean, I want that 13:10 and you saw the green belts their ability, 13:11 and you saw what they could do. 13:14 So you wanted to have that ability 13:16 and you realize the only way that they had that ability 13:18 was because of that special training they were getting, 13:20 you know, behind closed doors. 13:23 Well, after I made to green belt, 13:25 you know, I got to go into that first class 13:27 and I remember there was sort of a basic initiation 13:31 when you stepped into the class, 13:33 into that high rank class, 13:34 you lie down on your back on the floor, 13:37 they raised your shirt up, 13:39 and every single one of them would get two slabs 13:42 with an open palm on your belly 13:44 as hard as they felt you were able to handle. 13:47 And nobody was... 13:49 nobody was gonna get seriously injured 13:51 but I can remember I had marks on my stomach 13:53 for, you know, four, five days afterward. 13:56 I mean, it would bring blood to the surface, 13:59 but then you felt like you're part of something 14:00 like you had earned it. 14:03 So I stayed there and I trained for approximately two years. 14:07 We had Bible verse each night, 14:09 you know, they were people 14:10 that gave their hearts to the Lord, 14:12 made professions of faith. 14:15 But then I got to where I was graduating high school 14:18 and my dad offered to put me through college, 14:21 he said, "Eric, if you move down here with me, 14:23 you know, outside Chattanooga," 14:24 he said, "I'll pay for your college." 14:27 So I moved, 14:28 I hated to leave that school because it meant so much to me 14:31 but that was only school I'd ever trained in, 14:33 I didn't know there was anything else out there. 14:35 And we were told that, you know, we're number one, 14:38 this is the best school, 14:39 there's no other styles that do it like we do. 14:42 And I thought, well, this will give me a chance 14:44 to find out if that's true. 14:46 So when I moved down to Cleveland, Tennessee 14:49 right outside Collegedale, 14:52 I started looking for a school. 14:54 Went through the phone book 14:55 and you can open the phone book up 14:57 and there's all these advertisements, 14:59 you know, the bigger the town is the more schools there are, 15:01 the more dojos and studios. 15:04 And, you know, some of them would list at the top, 15:07 you know, the instructor this is how many, 15:09 you know, degrees of a black belt 15:11 he has, he's a fifth dan, he's a sixth dan, you know. 15:13 And you look at those, you go, 15:15 well, this guy's got a lot of experience. 15:17 And then they would list the different styles 15:20 or arts that they would teach 15:22 and almost all of them said, 15:23 you know, self-defense, self-confidence, 15:26 self-esteem so it really... 15:30 They lured you in, 15:31 they knew what people were lacking. 15:34 I look back now, 15:36 you know, after my conversion 15:37 and I realized 15:39 that all of those things that they offer 15:41 can truly only be found in Jesus Christ, 15:45 it can only be found 15:47 in absolute faith in the Word of God. 15:50 But I wasn't there at that point. 15:53 I'd walked away from the church, 15:55 walked away from God 15:56 when I was 14 years old, 15:58 I got tired, 16:00 I said, "You know, there's no power in this, 16:02 I go to church every week, 16:03 I'm hearing the same verses over and over again, 16:07 but it didn't changed my life." 16:08 You know, I went to church and I heard sermons 16:11 but it didn't help me deal with the problems 16:12 I was having with, you know, girls and with lust 16:15 or it didn't help me with the problems with, 16:17 you know, the guys at school 16:18 that were threatening me 16:20 or, you know, the bullies. 16:21 So in my mind I thought, 16:23 you know, churches must be a good idea 16:26 but it's not helping me in my practical everyday life. 16:29 I can do something else. 16:32 So in a very subtle way, 16:34 the enemy was moving me from one religion into another. 16:38 I began to look for those answers 16:40 in martial arts 16:42 that I wasn't finding in the church. 16:44 And unfortunately, 16:47 the answers were there, 16:49 I mean, I felt like I was getting control, 16:52 I wasn't afraid of the bullies anymore, 16:54 I became very adamant. 16:58 My mouth sometimes would get ahead 17:00 of what my body was able to do 17:01 but there was a pride 17:04 that was growing within me about the abilities 17:07 that I was learning in the martial arts. 17:11 I went to a couple of schools while I was there in Cleveland, 17:14 the first one when I was at college 17:15 was an Asian root school. 17:17 And I trained with them for two and a half years 17:19 while I was there in college 17:22 so I heard about a place, 17:24 a class that was held at the YMCA. 17:26 My dad told me, he said, "Eric, try the YMCA." 17:28 I thought, "Dad, I mean, there's no meaning at the YMCA. 17:30 I mean, that's like kid stuff." 17:32 So I went to the YMCA one night 17:35 and I walked into a class 17:37 that's known as Burmese bando or bando boxing. 17:41 And it's from Burma 17:44 and they had a great influx 17:45 of the influence from the Chinese above 17:48 and from the Okinawans and the Japanese 17:50 so it was like there was a mesh of these oriental ideas 17:54 when it came to combative arts. 17:57 They believe very heavily in full contact, 17:59 they did boxing, they did empty hands, 18:02 and they did animal styles. 18:03 Although they were different animals 18:05 than what I was used to with the kung fu, 18:07 it was similar, it's very easy to adapt. 18:10 I trained with them for five years 18:13 before I made black belt in that style. 18:15 And during that time 18:17 we went to a national kickboxing tournament, 18:20 it's probably the biggest event 18:22 that I'd ever been through personally. 18:23 There were hundreds of people there 18:25 and I remember I was a nervous wreck, 18:26 you know, because I've never fought 18:28 in front of that many people 18:29 and they got spotlights on you 18:31 and as just, you know, it was really nerve wracking. 18:34 But then when you get out there, 18:35 and I remember stepping into the ring 18:37 and I was looking around at all these people 18:39 that were around me 18:41 and they got card girl walking around, 18:43 you know, in a bathing suit holding up a number. 18:45 And I'm thinking, "Is this real?" 18:48 And, you know, there was butterflies in my stomach, 18:50 you know, how am I gonna do, 18:51 you know, all these people are watching. 18:53 And then the other guy, my opponent, 18:55 climbed in the ring on the other side, 18:57 and when I looked at him, 18:58 and our eyes met everything else was gone. 19:01 It was like I didn't see anybody any more, 19:04 I didn't hear anything, the crowd was gone, 19:06 all that mattered was the battle 19:08 that was in front of me. 19:12 When I look back at that at that fight 19:15 it really changed me 19:16 and when I came back, 19:18 I mean, there was a newspaper write up 19:19 about me and the other team members 19:21 from our martial arts studio 19:24 that had made, 19:25 you know, the grade that it had achieved 19:28 and pride was built a little bit more. 19:32 After five years of hard training 19:34 in the Burmese style of bando 19:36 I achieved black belt, 19:38 and my instructors encouraged me 19:40 to begin teaching the art to others, 19:42 but there was something missing, 19:44 something of which I had not attained. 19:47 And shortly thereafter, 19:49 I decided to return to my first school, 19:52 for I wanted to test my skills now 19:54 in the place where I had begun. 19:56 But little did I realize 19:58 the spirit that was influencing my decision 20:01 nor the darkness 20:02 into which this path I was on now led. 20:05 During this time 20:06 I saw the fourth man in the history of our school 20:08 achieve black belt. 20:10 It was the first ceremony of this type 20:12 I had ever before witness, 20:14 and event which inspired me with awe. 20:17 So when I came back to the art, 20:19 you know, I started back where I was as a green belt 20:22 and within six months I made it advanced green, 20:25 you know, within another year and a half 20:27 I'd made brown belt. 20:29 And the instructor knew 20:31 that I wanted to be able to teach, 20:34 I wanted a black belt in this style. 20:36 During that time I got to see 20:38 that advanced brown belt make black belt. 20:40 And it was the first ceremony 20:42 that I'd ever been to like that. 20:45 Candles and it was very intense. 20:49 And I remember the instructor looking at me 20:51 as this other man was being promoted 20:54 and I knew that's gonna be me one day 20:55 I'm gonna make black belt here. 20:58 In 1999, I was the fifth person 21:01 to make black belt in that school. 21:02 Fifth person in almost 30 years 21:05 and it took me 14 years of training to do that. 21:10 You know, while I was training in these arts, 21:13 most of that intense internal training 21:16 came in the high rank class last behind closed doors. 21:19 When we trained in that class, 21:22 there was an idea that was introduced to us 21:24 and that was the idea of something called "Chi". 21:27 Now that term is thrown around even on sitcoms today, 21:30 it's everywhere, it's in health magazines, 21:32 it's in dentist offices. 21:34 But back in the '80s and the '90s 21:37 this was not something that was thrown around 21:40 to just everybody. 21:41 And the way that it was described to us 21:44 by our instructor 21:45 was this chi is something that God put within man, 21:49 it's internal strength, 21:51 it's something that you have to learn 21:53 to pull from within you, 21:55 and to focus it into your techniques, 21:57 whether that be kicking a bag, 21:59 or punching somebody, 22:00 or being able to do 200 pushups without stopping. 22:03 You had to take the strength from within and draw it up 22:07 and put it into whatever you were gonna do. 22:09 And that I knew this is what we need, 22:13 this is the key to why those brown belts 22:16 and those advanced brown belts 22:17 and black belts can do the things that they do. 22:20 And we see nowadays, 22:21 you know, in films, 22:23 Hollywood films as well as documentaries, 22:26 you see men breaking huge, 22:27 you know, 500-pound blocks of ice, 22:30 or breaking solid timber, 22:31 you know, boards, 22:33 not these little pine boards 22:34 with pencils inserted between them 22:36 but real things. 22:38 So we asked about, you know, how do we learn this 22:40 and I can remember the instructor telling us, 22:42 as advanced green belt 22:44 he said, "This type of training is reserved for black belt." 22:49 He said, "I can show you pieces of it, 22:51 how to get you ready for that, 22:53 but you won't really learn 22:55 about how to tap into the chi, until after black." 22:59 But one of the things that we did 23:00 that helped us to bring this power up 23:04 from within us was... It's called pain class. 23:07 And I remember the first night that we did this, 23:09 the instructor had been warming us up to this idea 23:12 as students for a couple of weeks, 23:15 but we got there 23:16 and I would face off with my partner. 23:19 You pick somebody that was equal rank as you. 23:22 We started off with smacking each other in the face, 23:26 and he would smack me and I would smack him 23:29 and it start off with something like that 23:32 and it increased, each smack was harder. 23:36 So he'd smack me a little harder 23:38 and I would smack him a little harder 23:39 and you're looking at each other, 23:40 staring each other right in the eyes, 23:42 and it was harder and harder 23:43 and this went on for five minutes, 23:45 until you keep getting harder. 23:47 And you could see the green belts 23:49 that were nervous, 23:50 they were taking it easy on one another 23:52 and then you see the brown belts, 23:53 well, they were, I mean, just hitting each other hard 23:55 with an open palm. 23:57 And they were feeding off of one another's aggression 24:00 almost like sharks. 24:01 And so we would do the face, and then we would do the arms, 24:05 and then we would do the legs, 24:07 and then we would bring out a board. 24:09 And usually it was a one inch solid oak board 24:13 or hickory board. 24:15 And you would stand there, intense up your body, 24:18 and allow them to strike in the stomach. 24:19 And you had to channel your breathing 24:22 so when you're being hit, 24:23 you breathe out in very intense. 24:26 And our instructor told us that this was the first step 24:29 in learning how to tap into that internal strength 24:34 that was supposedly inside of us. 24:36 Something that happened that night 24:37 that really intrigued me 24:39 and I look back now 24:40 and I understand it more than I did then. 24:42 He did not allow us to fight after we did that class. 24:46 In normal we always fought after high rank class, 24:48 there was no fighting allowed. 24:50 And years later I asked him about that 24:52 and he said, "Because you're too keyed up 24:55 after going through that, you'd hurt each other." 24:58 He said, "You wouldn't hold back." 25:01 So that struck in my mind. 25:04 In the martial arts 25:06 there's a division between styles, 25:07 some styles were called internal, 25:09 some styles were called external styles. 25:11 The external styles are styles that focus 25:14 on really developing the physical body, 25:17 while the internal style 25:19 is focused almost intensely on breathing, 25:22 being able to tap into the chi, into this internal strength. 25:27 Within those styles, 25:28 the Japanese have a term it's called Bushido, 25:31 and all martial arts is based on that term "Bushido," 25:36 it means the way of the warrior or the warrior spirit. 25:40 It's telling you right off the bat 25:42 it's telling you, 25:43 this is what we're training to become, to become warriors. 25:46 Oh, it's not warriors for God, 25:48 for Jehovah, it's warriors of the flesh. 25:52 Satan delights in war, 25:54 for it excites the worst passions of the soul 25:57 and then sweeps into eternity 25:59 its victims steeped in vice and blood. 26:02 It is his object 26:04 to incite the nations to war against one another, 26:07 for he can thus divert the minds of the people 26:10 from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God. 26:14 Within Christian circles 26:16 many times Christians will ask questions. 26:21 What's wrong with learning how to defend oneself? 26:24 Is there something wrong with our military? 26:26 What about our military? 26:28 What's wrong with them knowing how to defend our country? 26:30 What about law enforcement? 26:32 We have many people 26:33 that, you know, contact our ministry and say, 26:34 "You know, what about the police officers," 26:36 what if they didn't learn how to fight, 26:37 you know, where would we be? 26:39 There's a distinct difference though 26:41 between military training 26:46 and defending the helpless 26:49 than what is taught in martial arts. 26:52 We've only seen military in our country 26:55 since the 1950s being introduced into martial arts. 26:59 Since the founding of this country 27:00 we've had warriors, 27:02 we have armies, 27:03 and these armies never were trained 27:05 in eastern mystical combative techniques 27:07 or spiritual techniques. 27:09 Only since the 1950s after World War II 27:12 was the martial arts brought back with our soldiers. 27:16 Many of them when they were stationed in the war 27:18 in Okinawa, 27:20 they picked up the idea of the martial arts. 27:23 They saw men 27:24 that, you know, traditionally are smaller in stature, 27:28 smaller in build, 27:29 they saw these little oriental man 27:31 able to do seemingly impossible 27:33 or superhuman feats of strength and speed. 27:37 So when they saw this 27:38 and they brought it back with them, 27:40 we started seeing an influx of Asian masters, 27:44 and first it was the Japanese and the Okinawans 27:47 teaching judo and jujitsu, 27:50 and then it began to develop farther in the '60s 27:53 we started getting more of the eastern mysticism 27:56 with yoga and the hippie movement. 27:59 All along that timeline 28:01 while these arts, these mystical ideas 28:04 and philosophies are being brought into our country, 28:06 the media is picking up and running rampant with it. 28:10 We're seeing martial arts movies, 28:11 you know, I remember, you know, Bruce Lee, 28:13 Enter The Dragon, 28:14 that was like the greatest martial arts movie 28:16 that anyone had ever seen, 28:18 we had The Green Hornet, 28:19 we had David Carradine with kung fu. 28:22 And as we progressed through the '70s and the '80s 28:25 we had Chuck Norris movies. 28:26 So these heroes were being put before the minds 28:30 of our families and our children. 28:32 Even traditional fundamental Christianity 28:35 was now looking at what was once considered 28:37 esoteric and occult power 28:40 as, is this physical? 28:42 Is this a physical thing 28:44 that we've just not learned how to tap into yet? 28:47 So with those movies, I mean, I was intrigued, 28:50 I mean, because we could do these things in real life. 28:53 We always went to the movies to see, 28:55 you know, how they were portraying, 28:56 you know, the arts we were practicing. 28:59 There was one man in particular 29:01 that really set the stage for modern day martial arts, 29:04 his name was Gichin Funakoshi. 29:07 This man was one of the founders 29:09 and fathers of modern day karate. 29:12 And I remember seeing his quote in books, 29:15 on dojo walls, 29:16 and often times when parents take their students 29:19 Johnny and Susie in to sign up for karate, 29:22 this quote is the one that wins them. 29:24 Funakoshi said something, 29:26 he said, "Martial arts is not about winning or losing. 29:30 It's not about competing and defeating your enemy. 29:33 It's about perfection of the character 29:35 of its participants." 29:37 And when you hear that it makes you feel, 29:40 "Wow, that's what I want for my children, 29:42 I want to perfect their character, 29:43 I want them to be self-motivated, 29:45 self-disciplined, self-control, 29:47 I want them to have self-esteem," 29:49 as I do for my children. 29:51 What they don't realize 29:53 and what most of the instructors 29:54 won't show you 29:55 is the cover of his book, 29:57 his master's textbook on the martial arts 29:59 and when you see the cover of that book 30:01 and the image that is on there, 30:04 you begin to realize the character 30:05 that is actually being developed in the martial arts, 30:08 the war character. 30:10 A few years ago 30:11 when I was looking at that image, 30:13 I thought, "Where did this come from?" 30:14 I mean you don't just pick an image 30:16 that looks blatantly demonic, 30:18 an image of rage and power for no reason. 30:23 And as I researched I found that image, 30:26 it was an image of one of the 12 Asian zodiac gods. 30:30 So it was this image that was being portrayed 30:33 through the punching, the kicking, the fighting, 30:36 continually training in the art of war. 30:39 Martial arts means the art of war, 30:42 martial art. 30:44 So is this the character 30:46 that we wanna develop in our children 30:47 and in our own lives. 30:49 I remember as I was training, 30:51 when I was growing close 30:53 to making black belt a first dan 30:55 in kung fu 30:57 or a black sash as the Chinese would say. 31:01 I was fighting with my greatest competitor 31:03 he was another advanced brown belt 31:06 and that rank took the longest, 31:07 it was over two and a half years 31:08 to go from advanced brown to black belt. 31:11 And we fought every single week, 31:13 this guy outweighed me by close to 120 pounds. 31:17 And through the training 31:20 we had learned how to push through 31:21 no matter what the obstacle was. 31:25 When the day came 31:27 and I was fighting this opponent, 31:29 this other advanced brown belt, 31:32 I remember the instructor stopping the fight, 31:35 it was in the afternoon and looking at me 31:37 and he said, "That's good enough." 31:38 My instructor pulled me to the side 31:40 and he gave me a date, 31:41 he said, "How does May sound?" 31:44 And I knew what he was talking about 31:46 and he just smiled 31:47 and for the next few weeks he didn't even bring it up. 31:50 When that day came, 31:51 I drove up to the school, 31:53 you know, with my wife and children, 31:55 there was gonna be all these alumni of the school, 31:57 older high ranks, 31:59 brown belts, advance brown belts, 32:00 and green belts 32:01 that it had been there from years before 32:04 coming to support 32:05 and to be a part of the ceremony. 32:08 When we got out of the car, 32:10 my instructor, my Sifu, he had one of the high ranks 32:13 come and take my wife and children 32:15 and lead them into the school. 32:17 And he took me separately to a separate room 32:21 outside of the school 32:22 and he sat me down. 32:24 And he told me, he said, "Eric," 32:25 he said, "I wanna tell you something." 32:27 He said, "You may not understand this now, 32:28 but you will one day." 32:30 He said, "What's about to happen to you, 32:33 what you're about to participate in 32:35 is more like a marriage than a promotion." 32:38 And then he walked out of the room 32:40 and he left me there to think. 32:43 As I came into the school, 32:45 you know, an hour or so later 32:47 after the ceremony was all set up, 32:49 there was a path of candles. 32:52 And the instructor would walk in 32:55 and then the higher ranks, 32:56 the brown belts and advance brown belts 32:59 and then each one of the green belts would walk 33:01 and the brown belts carrying the candles 33:03 setting it down, 33:04 setting as it were a path of fire 33:06 that you walk through to achieve this moment. 33:11 When I came in after and walk down that path, 33:16 I came in the front and the school was full, 33:18 there were hundreds of people there. 33:20 And I sat down in front with my instructor, 33:23 you know, in a lotus position with the cross legs. 33:26 And he sat down there in front of me 33:27 and I sat down. 33:29 And he gave a speech, 33:31 you know, he told about, you know, the achievements 33:33 and the difficulties that I'd overcome. 33:37 As he was doing this 33:39 I looked and there was a traditional Asian teapot 33:42 for the tea ceremony, 33:44 there was also two candles there. 33:47 And he told me, he said, "When we do this ceremony," 33:50 he said, "You reach up 33:52 and you put the candle out with your finger." 33:53 And afterward we did the tea ceremony, 33:56 the tea ceremony was one teapot 33:59 him pouring and me pouring 34:02 and in us both drinking from the same water. 34:05 And that was very symbolic, 34:07 what it meant was 34:08 is that his teachings were now my teachings, 34:11 his life was now my life, 34:13 his spirit was now my spirit. 34:16 It made us and joined us as one. 34:20 After the ceremony we had a dinner 34:22 and I remember at the dinner, 34:24 I mean, there was all these people, 34:25 all these family members and students there, 34:27 and I was so used to for my upbringing, 34:31 helping other people. 34:32 So I started to go over and help the high ranks, 34:34 the green belts to serve people. 34:36 And I remember the grand master came over to me 34:39 and he touched me on the shoulder 34:40 and he pulled me to the side 34:42 and he said, "You're not part of that group anymore, 34:44 you're not supposed to be serving." 34:46 He said, "Come up here and sit." 34:48 So I went up to the table 34:50 and sat down with the other black belts 34:52 and the grand master sat beside me. 34:55 And he said, "You are to be served." 34:58 And all these green belts begin to bring the food to us. 35:02 And at that point it was like the Lord sent up a red flag 35:06 something's not right about this, 35:08 this is exactly opposite from what God's Word says. 35:12 In Matthew 20, Jesus tells us, 35:15 "You know, that the princes of the gentiles and unbelievers 35:20 exercise authority and dominion over them. 35:23 And they that are great or powerful 35:26 exercise authority upon those that are weak. 35:29 But it shall not be so among you, 35:32 for whosoever will be great among you, 35:36 shall be your servant. 35:38 And whosoever shall be chief among you, 35:41 let him be your minister." 35:44 These thoughts were racing through my mind, 35:46 you know, why am I now being served, 35:48 when I should be the one that is serving? 35:51 And at the same time that spirit of pride 35:53 that had been growing for 14 years within me 35:57 liked the position of being served, 35:59 liked the attention. 36:01 I was now beginning to realize 36:02 that martial arts is not just about fighting in self defense 36:06 but it's budo, it's a way of life. 36:09 The term budo literally means, "The Martial Way". 36:14 Every style, 36:15 you know, especially those in the Okinawan styles, 36:18 the Japanese styles 36:20 the Do, whether it would be jeet kune do 36:22 or karate-do, 36:24 or judo, or aikido means the way. 36:27 After that ceremony 36:29 I went to the school the following week 36:32 and I was taking private instruction at that time 36:35 because I really wanted to make sure 36:36 that I could achieve 36:40 and progress in the arts. 36:42 And my instructor came up to me 36:45 and he asked me a very pointed question, 36:48 and I noticed that something had changed between he and I 36:50 from that ceremony. 36:52 Now instead of him looking down at me, 36:54 it was as though a wall had been taken down 36:58 that kept the student away from the master. 37:01 And he asked me a question. 37:02 He said, "Eric," he said, "What is it that you want 37:05 from the martial arts now? 37:06 Now that you've achieved black belt, 37:08 you know, where do you wanna go?" 37:10 And I told him very plainly, I said, "I want what you have. 37:14 I want the abilities that you have." 37:16 The things that I'd seen him for those 14 years 37:18 do the same magic. 37:20 My instructor encouraged me 37:23 to begin training in other arts. 37:25 My primary focus had been on full contact 37:28 and on the animal styles. 37:30 He began to encourage me 37:31 to train in other arts in Aikido, in Judo, 37:35 in the Okinawan styles. 37:37 In most martial arts styles 37:40 a black belt, or a first degree, 37:42 or a first dan is considered a beginning disciple, 37:46 he's a follower of the way, a follower of the art. 37:49 Again not just the physical techniques 37:52 but the way of life. 37:55 So you begin to follow the master, 37:57 whoever that instructor is, whatever his rank is. 38:01 So as I did this, 38:04 I wanted to be officially a disciple, 38:07 I wanted the title of a disciple. 38:09 And my instructor had told me that to achieve that, 38:13 the training and the focus of training 38:15 had to begin to be purely on chi, 38:19 on the internal strength. 38:21 So all of my focus, all of my attention 38:23 began to be in any art that I was training in, 38:26 how was this art related to chi? 38:28 How can I use this art 38:30 to achieve these supernatural abilities? 38:34 The Shaolin Temple says in their own writings 38:38 that the relationship between a master and his disciple 38:41 is stronger than that of blood. 38:44 So through this practice 38:46 and with me it was five, six days a week, 38:49 I went to church once a week on Sabbath, 38:52 the rest of the time I was training martial arts. 38:54 Whenever I was out with my friends, 38:55 it was about martial arts. 38:57 Everything became martial arts focused. 39:04 As I was being drawn deeper into the martial arts, 39:07 I was being pulled slowly away from the bonds of my family. 39:12 I can remember when it would be my anniversary, 39:16 my wedding anniversary, 39:17 and I would tell my wife let's do it the next day 39:20 because I've got something really important in the arts 39:22 that have to be done that night. 39:24 So we would postpone things 39:27 with my wife and children 39:28 in order that I could put the martial arts first. 39:32 I remember one weekend, 39:34 my wife and I were sitting there talking 39:37 and she told me that she'd had a dream. 39:41 And I've never really, 39:43 you know, given much credit to dreams, 39:44 I mean, they're just dreams. 39:46 My wife was very concerned about this she said, "Eric," 39:48 she said, "This was from the Lord." 39:50 She said, "I saw the high ranks at your school." 39:56 And she said, "They were all standing in a circle 39:58 with their arm's linked one to another." 40:01 And she said, "Behind them on the outside of the circle 40:06 I saw all the wives 40:07 and the mothers and the children. 40:10 And it was as though the circle was growing tighter 40:14 and the families were being pushed to the outside." 40:18 After my wife shared with me this dream 40:21 and I could tell that it bothered her, 40:22 you know, tremendously. 40:25 I became angry, and I didn't realize it then but I do now 40:29 there was a division of loyalties. 40:32 I felt like she was trying to pull me away from this thing 40:35 that had meant so much to me 40:37 this art that had filled my life 40:40 and I became angry. 40:42 I thought she doesn't understand. 40:44 I began training even harder 40:47 determined not to allow anything 40:49 to stand between me and the dreams of my youth. 40:52 But it was I who did not understand, 40:55 for I had allowed my own selfish desires to come 40:58 between my wife and I. 41:00 If only I had listened in faith, 41:02 and obeyed the Word of the Lord that life giving word 41:06 which is still speaking to each of us today. 41:10 "My son, give me thine heart, 41:12 and let thine eyes observe my ways. 41:16 Husbands, love your wives, 41:18 even as Christ also loved his church, 41:21 and gave himself for her." 41:25 This is the battle that faces every man to love his wife, 41:28 his children, and to love all others above himself. 41:32 In frustration and rebellion, I turned away from the one 41:36 that was calling from my heart not realizing 41:39 that it is only through this surrender 41:41 that victory and freedom are finally won. 41:45 The night which I longed for finally came, 41:48 two of us were to be recognized 41:50 and awarded the title of disciples in kung fu. 41:53 It was a private ceremony, one which only the high ranks 41:57 were permitted to attend. 41:58 And now after training and teaching for 17 years 42:02 on the martial arts, myself and the man 42:05 whom I had first seen awarded the coveted black belt 42:08 were now being honored with the rank 42:10 equivalent of a fifth dan. 42:13 I remember the grand master 42:14 when he walked in to the discipleship ceremony 42:17 myself and that gentleman 42:19 that had made advanced brown belt 42:22 that I'd fought in the beginning, 42:23 both of us made disciple the same night. 42:25 We were the first ones in over 30 years 42:28 to make that rank, 42:29 it was the equivalent of a fifth degree, a fifth dan. 42:33 When the grand master walked in, 42:34 he had this huge staff in his hand 42:37 and there was hair, horse hair coming out of it, 42:40 and there were carvings on the side of it. 42:43 And after the ceremony when everyone was gone, 42:47 you know, we asked him about that, 42:49 you know, where did that come from? 42:50 I'd been there for all these years 42:52 and never seen that even in display. 42:54 And he told me he said, "That staff was used only 42:57 when someone made a disciple." 42:59 I know now that was a shaman staff 43:02 even though this man love the Lord, 43:04 you know, was a professed Christian, 43:07 he was blending light and darkness together. 43:11 After that point we had a private lesson with him 43:14 that week after that ceremony. 43:17 And the grand master told us something 43:21 that I'll never forget, 43:23 he looked at me and the other gentleman there 43:26 and he told us, he said, 43:28 "What you all are learning to do now 43:32 you would be considered wizards, 43:34 if this was done a 100 years ago. 43:37 For the last two and a half years 43:38 myself and the other disciple had trained in ways 43:41 I could have never before imagine. 43:43 We spent hours each day meditating, 43:46 standing in a low horse stance upon balance beams, 43:49 and Shaolin plum flower poles. 43:52 Striving to tap into and harness this mystical power 43:56 called chi through meditation, deep breathing, 44:00 and visualization techniques, 44:02 we were taught to change the temperature of our bodies. 44:05 And through the power of our minds 44:06 to influence and control both our environment 44:09 as well as those with whom we fought. 44:12 To advance in this training, I was required to compromise 44:16 the very clear instructions of the Word of God, 44:19 and with each further step 44:21 I took on this path of disobedience, 44:23 my heart grew harder and my ears more deaf 44:26 to the voice of my Father's love. 44:29 God's Word being removed, 44:31 the foundation of my life began to crumble beneath me, 44:35 and our family and home 44:37 was being swept away in the storm. 44:40 The ties which had bound me 44:41 to my Savior and the covenant with my wife 44:44 slowly had been eroded away. 44:47 During this time after I had made my discipleship, 44:51 my marriage and my family began to become very shaky. 44:56 And I was battling with something inside 44:58 that I couldn't voice to others. 45:02 Everything that I was going through with this fight 45:04 of staying married, fighting for my wife, 45:08 fighting for my children, and then the martial arts 45:11 pulling me the other direction. 45:13 This was harder than any battle that I had ever faced before 45:17 and nothing that the martial arts had taught me, 45:20 gave any hope of freedom or victory in this fight 45:23 against sin. 45:26 In the martial arts they told us 45:28 that everything was okay in moderation, 45:31 there were no absolutes, 45:32 there was no absolute black and white, 45:35 everything had a relative grey. 45:43 The Word of God tells us clearly, 45:45 "That no man can serve two masters." 45:49 And for more than 16 years 45:50 I had attempted to do just that. 45:53 While attending church each week with my family, 45:55 my heart had been slowly drawn away 45:57 from the things of the Lord and my home. 46:00 I had allowed the martial arts 46:02 and the desires of my own carnal heart 46:04 to come between my wife and I. 46:06 And the covenant which I had made to her 46:09 and to my God, 46:11 this was perhaps the greatest battle I had ever faced. 46:14 Through the years of my training in the arts 46:16 and full contact fighting, 46:18 I thought I had prepared myself to face any conflict, 46:23 but now I realized that none of the master's teachings, 46:27 nor the training of the flesh had prepared me for this. 46:31 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, 46:34 but against principalities and powers, 46:37 against spiritual wickedness and the heavens, 46:40 against the rulers of the darkness of this world. 46:43 Not only in the church but in our homes 46:46 and even within our own lives does this battle wage. 46:50 The enemy I was now facing 46:52 was within my own heart and mind, 46:55 and I knew not how to free myself 46:58 from my own selfish desires and the flesh, 47:01 nor from the voices I had listened to and obeyed 47:03 for so many years. 47:05 Voices would speak to each of us every day 47:08 through television and movies, through music, 47:11 and the printed page. 47:13 And the voices which had spoken to me 47:15 through the grand masters 47:17 and teachers of the arts which I practiced. 47:20 The Lord promises us that the weapons of our warfare 47:23 are not weak and carnal, 47:25 but they are mighty and full of power 47:28 through God to the pulling down of strongholds. 47:32 The stronghold of lies 47:33 which the devil whispers in our ears, 47:36 casting down imaginations, and every high thing 47:40 which exalts itself against the knowing of God, 47:44 and bringing into captivity every thought 47:47 to the perfect obedience of Christ. 47:50 But how few avail themselves of that victory 47:53 which the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting 47:56 and ready to freely give. 47:58 To be a genuine Christian, truly a disciple 48:02 and follower of the Lord 48:04 means more than just believing in Jesus. 48:07 It means more than just attending church once a week 48:10 and reading a few verses in the morning 48:12 before you rush out into the world. 48:15 The Lord Jehovah Yahweh is not asking 48:19 for 70% of your life, 48:21 to be truly born again cost everything, 48:25 it will cost you your life. 48:28 The martial arts had taught me to look inward to myself 48:31 rather than upward to Christ, to follow my feelings 48:36 rather than the instructions of God's Holy Word. 48:39 And now there was a war taking place, 48:42 a war which began more than 6,000 years ago in heaven. 48:46 And although one seemed to the common eye 48:49 this war rages with intensity 48:51 within every man, woman, and child. 48:54 For there are people struggling in darkness, 48:57 battling with internal foes, 48:59 all around us each and every day. 49:01 There are souls that are starving for the bread 49:04 and the water of life, waiting longing for someone 49:08 who truly believes the words of Christ, 49:11 and who knows His love and great power 49:14 to deliver and to save. 49:16 Now when I needed the Lord the most, 49:18 when I needed clear discernment, 49:21 and to know and to hear His voice, 49:23 I had become both blind and deaf 49:25 to His Spirit's instruction. 49:27 Although I wanted a solution 49:29 to the problems in our marriage, 49:31 I could no longer read and understand the scriptures 49:34 as I once had. 49:36 Light had become darkness to me, 49:38 and evil now appeared as good. 49:40 For the Bible says, 49:42 "Spiritual things can only be spiritually discerned." 49:46 I had spent so many years listening to reading 49:49 and hearing the voice of the serpent 49:51 through the martial arts, my instructors, and the media 49:55 that I could no longer discern 49:56 the voice of my Father in heaven 49:58 as He spoke through His Holy Word. 50:01 For the carnal mind and the flesh 50:03 is enmity against God. 50:05 It is not subject to the law of God 50:07 neither indeed it can be. 50:11 I fought the battle going on in my mind 50:13 for almost six months, 50:15 but I fought it only as I had been taught in the arts 50:18 by the power of my own will and flesh. 50:21 And regardless of the training, no man is a match for Satan 50:25 and his legions of fallen angels 50:27 without Christ. 50:29 In frustration I yielded to the voice of the dragon 50:32 and my own selfish desires for freedom 50:35 and I filed for a divorce. 50:37 I cannot put into words how our family was broken 50:40 when yielding to the carnal desires of one's own heart, 50:44 rather than the Word of God few realize the lives 50:48 their decisions will affect for eternity, 50:51 for the heart is deceitful above all things 50:54 and who can know it. 50:56 I remember so clearly that last day 50:58 when I drove the moving truck to our country home 51:01 to pick up the remaining furniture 51:02 that I was taking with me. 51:04 And as I pulled out of our gravel driveway 51:07 I did not see my wife and small son 51:09 as they stood in the doorway 51:12 crying out to the Lord in heaven 51:14 for His mercy and help, 51:16 nor did I see the six-year old little girl 51:19 running behind my truck crying, "Daddy, Daddy wait. 51:23 Please, don't leave." 51:25 It wasn't until years later that I realized 51:28 what my leaving had done 51:29 to my wife and children's lives. 51:32 My wife Sarah began to fight the fight a faith, 51:35 refusing to believe 51:37 that the Lord would not keep His word, 51:39 she daily claimed His promises repeating out loud, 51:43 "What the Lord have joined together, 51:45 let no man put asunder. 51:48 For with the heart we believe unto righteousness, 51:51 and with our mouth confession is made unto salvation. 51:55 For whosoever believeth on Him shall not be put to shame." 52:00 And while my wife lost herself in the Lord, in her Bible, 52:03 and fasting, and prayer, I plunged even deeper 52:07 into the darkness of the arts 52:09 which had been the dream of my youth. 52:11 Struggling, struggling to silence 52:14 the voice of the Lord in my own guilty conscience. 52:18 I can remember seeing Sarah as she walked up the steps 52:20 to my apartment to drop off our children. 52:23 She looks so thin and fragile 52:26 and yet there was a joy in her eyes 52:28 which I could not understand. 52:30 She had found that 52:32 for which I struggled so hard to apprehend, 52:35 but no matter how far I ran 52:37 and regardless of the entertainment 52:39 and distractions the devil used to occupy my time, 52:43 when I lay down alone at night the silence was deafening. 52:48 "O that thou hadst hearkened unto my commandments. 52:52 For then had thy peace been as a river, 52:55 and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. 52:58 For great peace have they that love my law, 53:02 and nothing shall cause them to stumble and fall." 53:06 As I sought for deeper knowledge and power 53:08 from the martial arts, 53:09 I also began training more heavily 53:11 in the Chinese internal styles 53:14 of tai chi quan, baguazhang, and qigong. 53:18 I remember the weekend 53:19 when an accomplished martial artist 53:21 and close friend of mine invited me 53:23 to attend a training seminar 53:25 which his grand master was holding in a city 53:28 but a few hours from where we live. 53:30 I was excited about the prospect 53:32 of meeting this man, 53:34 a man of his rank and reputation, 53:37 and even more so because he was known for his ability 53:40 in both demonstrating 53:41 and teaching the use of internal strength or chi. 53:45 This man was recognized as a tenth dan 53:48 into two systems of kung fu 53:50 and a master teacher in Chinese qigong 53:53 a system which has as its sole purpose, 53:56 the martial, and medical development 53:58 of chi power and energy. 54:01 After the day's training was over, 54:03 the grand master came and spoke with a small group of students 54:07 from the area he gave instructions 54:09 to the black belts and their pupils 54:11 in regard to their training 54:13 which they quickly left to complete. 54:16 Once alone the grand master addressed me personally 54:19 and although we had never met before he told me 54:22 that it was not by chance that I was there that day. 54:25 For according to an old Chinese proverb, 54:28 "When the student is ready, 54:30 it is then that the master will appear." 54:32 From that day forward I looked for every opportunity 54:36 to train under this man, 54:37 for not only did he have the knowledge to teach me 54:41 but he also had the authority to ensure my progress 54:45 in the ranks above fifth dan. 54:47 Of all that I learned during those years 54:50 one thing stands out in my memory 54:52 to this very day, 54:54 late one night after a hard day of training, 54:57 he began to speak of the riddle of internal energy in chi, 55:02 and how this power was achieved. 55:04 But to my surprise 55:06 instead of telling of ancient Chinese warriors and sages, 55:09 he spoke of the artistic ability 55:12 of many of today's modern musicians 55:15 men such as Clapton, Hendrix, and others. 55:18 He compared the energy which we were taught 55:20 to use in kung fu to that 55:23 which these legends of rock and roll channel 55:25 while playing the most sensual and ungodly music. 55:29 It was then that I was told that to the beginner 55:33 chi is known simply as internal strength, 55:36 while at the intermediate levels 55:38 chi is taught to be breath, 55:40 and at the final level chi is revealed to be spirit. 55:45 And it is this spiritual energy 55:47 which is manifest in a 1,000 different forms. 55:51 To the martial artist it is used for speed and power, 55:54 to the holistic healer 55:55 it is used to channel vibrational energies to heal, 55:59 for the corporate executive and leader 56:01 it is used to influence and manipulate 56:03 those beneath him, 56:05 to the actor it is used to mesmerize their audiences, 56:09 while for the musician 56:10 this spiritual energy is used to inspire 56:13 and to quicken their performance 56:15 and control the minds 56:16 and emotions of their listeners. 56:19 After a few years under his instruction 56:21 I was soon impressed 56:23 that if I was truly going to learn 56:25 what this man had to teach 56:26 I could no longer serve two masters. 56:29 After all it was common for disciples to step out 56:32 from under the covering of their original teacher 56:34 and school and begin teaching on their own. 56:37 And this idea now feeling freedom to learn unhindered 56:42 by divided loyalties, 56:43 I began seeking to understand the hidden thread 56:47 which is woven throughout all the eastern arts. 56:50 My power whose results could be seen 56:52 but whose source remained ever elusive 56:55 and concealed beneath a veil. 56:58 I often made the long six hour drive to the city 57:01 where my new teacher lived and taught. 57:04 And it was on one such visit 57:05 that I went to the grand master's home, 57:08 it was here that I learned the secret 57:10 for which I and disciples around the world 57:13 had fought and trained for so many years. 57:16 As I entered his home I saw that 57:18 which was most unexpected 57:20 instead of images of Shaolin warlords long dead and monks 57:25 in their traditional robes and sashs. 57:27 I saw hanging upon the walls of every room 57:32 tall, life-size tapestries of the Hindu gods and deities. 57:37 Alarms were sounding in my mind, 57:39 echoes of the scripture warnings 57:41 I had been taught as a child, 57:43 echoes which I sought to ignore. 57:46 The grand master asked me that day 57:48 a very puzzling question. 57:51 He said, "If all martial arts begin at Shaolin 57:54 which I knew they did, 57:56 then why do we see such different expressions 57:59 of that one and same art?" 58:01 I was stunned and yet intrigued for this was that very question 58:06 for which I had sought an answer all of these years, 58:09 yet had never been able to put into words. 58:12 How did he know to ask me that question? 58:15 The alarms rang louder in my mind. 58:18 The year was 2007, I'd achieved everything 58:23 that I'd ever dreamed of in the martial arts. 58:27 One night I was teaching a class in the Chinese style 58:29 called baguazhang, it's very much like tai chi 58:33 all the movements are very slow, very precise, 58:37 there's a lot of deep breathing, 58:39 internal meditation, focusing within 58:42 as you do the movements of the form. 58:45 As I was doing this form, I was leading my students 58:49 through the motions in a circle 58:52 and as we circle we would focus on breathing 58:55 in certain hand gestures called mudras, 58:58 then as we completed the circle we would reverse 59:01 and go the opposite way. 59:04 As I was doing this, 59:06 I looked into the eyes of my students, 59:09 I was looking to see 59:11 if they were really tapping into that power 59:14 that the martial arts is supposed to reveal, 59:18 is supposed to impart to you. 59:21 As I looked in their eyes, I noticed 59:23 that almost every one of them was in a trance 59:27 and they were drenched in sweat. 59:31 Not because of the martial arts training, 59:33 I knew that this is not possible 59:36 humanly or physically speaking, 59:38 we had not done anything 59:40 to bring the body to a sweat, 59:43 we had not done anything physical, 59:45 there was no calisthenics. 59:48 At that moment 59:52 my mind was taken above what we were doing. 59:56 And as I was teaching this form, 01:00:01 it was as though I was looking down from above 01:00:03 and I was seeing a design or pattern 01:00:05 that we were forming on the floor of the dojo. 01:00:10 This has never happened to me before, 01:00:12 it was very much like a farmer with crop circles. 01:00:16 When he walks out into his field, 01:00:18 he just sees a mess, but if he sees it from above 01:00:21 from an aerial view, you can see a distinct pattern. 01:00:26 The pattern that I saw was a circle with a dot 01:00:31 right in the center much like a bull's eye. 01:00:34 The thing that I struggled with 01:00:37 was that I had seen the same symbol 01:00:39 in all of the martial arts literature, the writing, 01:00:43 the books of the masters and grand masters. 01:00:46 I went home that night and I went through my library 01:00:50 searching through aikido books, the Japanese styles, 01:00:53 through the kung fu and qigong books, 01:00:56 the Chinese internal styles. 01:00:59 In every style that I looked, I found that same symbol. 01:01:04 And I also found the meaning of that symbol. 01:01:07 The Symbol meant the sun god or the Dao. 01:01:15 I was not sure how to tell my students, 01:01:17 I mean, how do you tell close to a 100 people 01:01:20 that an art that we had been teaching at the school 01:01:24 was actually invoking the spirit of the sun god. 01:01:29 So the next week in my advanced class, 01:01:31 the high rank class, 01:01:33 I told my students 01:01:35 I had a homework project for them. 01:01:37 I wanted them to go home and do research on this symbol. 01:01:41 So I drew the symbol on our chalk board 01:01:44 and I gave them their assignment. 01:01:46 The following week when I came in 01:01:49 it was like dead silence 01:01:51 you could have heard a pin drop. 01:01:53 Each one of those students was very solemn. 01:01:57 I asked them to get up 01:01:58 and present before the class what they had found. 01:02:01 And when I had given them this assignment, 01:02:04 I told them that it didn't matter 01:02:06 where they found their information, 01:02:08 I just wanted to see 01:02:09 what they could find on that symbol. 01:02:12 They looked in history books, 01:02:14 they looked in Aztec and Mayan writings, 01:02:16 they looked in Egyptian hieroglyphics, 01:02:21 they looked in Greek, Roman, they looked in Babylonian, 01:02:26 they also looked in tattoo books, 01:02:28 they looked in books on Wicca and witchcraft. 01:02:32 And each one of them one after another got up 01:02:35 and presented the information they had found. 01:02:38 And all of them regardless of the source 01:02:40 found the same thing, the symbol of the sun god 01:02:43 or the Dao or yin and yang as it is known in the Chinese. 01:02:49 After doing this, 01:02:51 after realizing what the symbol really stood for, 01:02:56 one of my students asked, "What does this mean? 01:03:00 What we're gonna do? 01:03:01 How does this change what we're doing?" 01:03:03 And I told them from that point 01:03:04 on we would no longer be teaching that class, 01:03:06 we would no longer be teaching the art of bagua. 01:03:10 But as I went home that night, 01:03:12 I knew that there was more than what I had just seen. 01:03:17 So I began searching through all of the studies 01:03:19 that I had done, all of my books and literature 01:03:22 on the internal martial arts of tai chi, 01:03:25 and yoga, and qigong, and even the Shaolin arts. 01:03:28 And as I searched, I began to realize 01:03:31 that there was more working within these arts 01:03:33 than I had wanted to believe. 01:03:35 Memories of my mother's apprehension and discernment 01:03:38 when I took that first step on that night so long ago. 01:03:43 Now it was becoming clear that the spiritual forces 01:03:45 which enabled the abilities in the arts I had practiced, 01:03:49 and also wrought in my family's destruction. 01:03:53 But now the Lord was calling me, 01:03:55 "My son, it is time to come home." 01:03:58 He was fighting to set me free from the chains 01:04:01 in which I was bound 01:04:03 and revealing to my wife and children 01:04:05 the power of His unfailing Word. 01:04:08 And as the Lord was reuniting our marriage and family, 01:04:11 He was also restoring sight to my blinded eyes. 01:04:15 Within a week I made the announcement 01:04:17 to my student body 01:04:18 that we were no longer going to be offering or teaching 01:04:21 the internal arts such as tai chi, qigong, bagua, 01:04:25 and even Shaolin kung fu. 01:04:28 Now I was trying to separate 01:04:30 and divide the martial arts physical 01:04:34 from the martial arts spiritual. 01:04:37 This was very difficult, I attempted it 01:04:39 for probably six or seven months. 01:04:47 At the end of seven months, 01:04:50 I realized that you cannot separate 01:04:52 the spiritual roots of martial arts 01:04:54 from their physical practice. 01:04:57 When I made this announcement to my students, 01:05:01 I lost probably 40% of my student body. 01:05:05 It hurt financially, but it also hurt to know 01:05:09 that I have lost students 01:05:11 some of which had been with me for many years. 01:05:14 One night I came home from teaching class, 01:05:17 it was like probably 11:30 almost 12 o'clock. 01:05:21 I walked in the door 01:05:24 and as I walked through the kitchen, 01:05:25 I remember setting down my gym bag, my workout bag, 01:05:28 you know, beside the doorway. 01:05:31 I stepped over to the refrigerator 01:05:33 to get something to drink 01:05:36 as my hand reached out to open the refrigerator door, 01:05:40 the hair on the back of my neck stood on the end, 01:05:43 I felt an enormous presence behind me, 01:05:48 something that terrified me. 01:05:51 After all these years of martial arts 01:05:52 and full contact fighting, 01:05:55 I thought I wasn't afraid of anything. 01:05:58 What this was behind me terrifying me? 01:06:03 I didn't know what to do, it was like in that moment 01:06:07 all these thoughts, all the teachings 01:06:09 of the masters I had read and studied under 01:06:12 went racing through my mind. 01:06:15 Do I fight? Do I run? 01:06:18 But neither one would have done any good, both were futile. 01:06:25 And I was scared to turn around. 01:06:27 I did not even wanna see what this was 01:06:29 that was towering behind me. 01:06:31 It felt like it was 10 or 12 feet tall, 01:06:34 it was enormous. 01:06:39 At that moment I heard a name sounding in my ears, 01:06:46 the name of Jesus Christ and as I heard that name 01:06:51 there was a spark, a spark of hope. 01:06:55 And I thought is it possible that He would save me 01:06:59 even after everything that I've done, 01:07:02 even after the pain and the hurt 01:07:04 that I've caused my family and others, 01:07:07 will He save and deliver me? 01:07:11 In Acts 2, we have been given the promise, 01:07:15 "That whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord, 01:07:18 Adonai, the sovereign king shall be delivered." 01:07:23 I thought can it really be that simple? 01:07:26 Is it possible? 01:07:28 Will He really hear and come to my rescue? 01:07:32 In that moment I fell on my knees, 01:07:35 I looked up, and I cried out 01:07:36 with all that I had within me, 01:07:39 "Jesus, save me, Jesus, Yahshua, save me." 01:07:45 I don't know how long I cried, 01:07:47 tears were rolling down my face. 01:07:50 I could still feel that presence behind me 01:07:52 and I just kept calling on the name of Jesus Christ. 01:07:56 After what seemed like an eternity, 01:07:59 I felt something else enter the room 01:08:02 it was as though a hand grab this thing 01:08:05 that was behind me, this spirit, this demon 01:08:08 that was standing behind me and flung it 01:08:10 out of the room. 01:08:12 I didn't see anything 01:08:14 but it was as though you could feel it, 01:08:15 you know, I was covered in tears 01:08:17 and I was crying out to the Lord. 01:08:20 At that moment I came to know the Lord as my personal savior. 01:08:26 At that moment the Lord had shown Himself 01:08:29 that He was mighty to say. 01:09:10 If yoga has in the last three years really exploded 01:09:13 for Americans, a lot of folks swear by, 01:09:15 some Christians that believe there's actually a real problem 01:09:18 with yoga. 01:09:23 Meditate on this, I will. 01:09:25 I put the force into the movies 01:09:27 in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality. 01:09:34 The spirit that I received from the masters 01:09:37 and I trained under some of the best in the world. 01:09:39 And that spirit was one of violence, it was different. 01:09:43 It's limiting to just label it martial arts. 01:09:46 It's just a way of life. 01:09:47 I believe that from going emotional, 01:09:50 definitely even spiritually. |
Revised 2017-07-14