On 36,000 Kung Fu Fighters (Patreon)

[This is a visual essay I wrote over 7 years ago that I am rereleasing for Patrons]

By Sam

There is this question some of us who train MMA (mixed martial arts) and MMA-related arts (boxing, wrestling, muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu) ask: "Why train traditional martial arts?" I, too, have asked this in my early years of fighting arrogance. Why put up with all the traditions and rituals? I'm here for personal improvement and not tradition.

But when I see 36,000 students from the Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School moving in visual harmony, in their spirit I find my answer. Many of the things we're involved in emphasize us, and though we can try to resist it, the stress remains on individual achievements. However, it always take a group (often unrecognized) for individual achievements.

Consider what narratives we're drawn to? What narratives are we always shown? Little needs to be said for the one vs. the hundred—it's heroic. But there's an elegance to being a part of the 100 that goes underappreciated. (In this case, the 36,000.)

Growing up in the US, many Western ideals were alien to me. We have a different idea of the "self" in the East, which is more collective—in relationship with others. And even then, it's not nearly as strong as what the self means in the West. It's not as important outside of the West.

Even looking at my writing, it's easier for me to say "we" rather than "I." I can use "one," but "one" is not the same as "I."

Perhaps then, a traditional martial art is the first entry for many Westerners (if they're open-minded) to this Eastern view of the collective experience. To be a part of something greater than themselves that has nothing to do with religion or an eternal father in the sky.

When we talk about chasing dreams, it's often related to our individuality. If the goal were to be the best team player—an anonymous piece of something that solves a giant puzzle—few would consider that a "dream." But why dream when you can do?

There are little martial artists throughout the world, racialized and oppressed, in the poorest and most looted of places (individualism is the privilege of looting), showing the awe-inspiring beauty of being part of something greater than themselves—the martial arts. Cogs in an infinite wheel. And though many of us dislike feeling small and anonymous, there is such a wonderful beauty to unison fluidity, like particles in a cosmic chain reaction. Martial arts solidarity.

Martial arts to me is a social relationship.