I remember I was doing Taiji with Albert Daniel when the phone call came informing me of the first plane hitting the towers. We went on with practice until the reports came in of the other attacks. Soon thereafter we stopped and Albert went to see to his family/ employees and business. I turned on the TV to see what I could.
Throughout the day, the phone calls kept coming, “Are we going to have class”? I said, “I am having the Kwoon open and will be training. Do what you feel is best”.
That night, there were many students at the school. I clapped for the start of class and started the music we often played during training. I played R.E.M.’s “It’s the end of the world as we know it” . The music sounded loudly through the speakers as we began warm-ups.
In the coming months some members of our school joined the military. One senior student became a tank unit commander. He and his troops took on Iraq’s elite Republican Guard in direct combat and defeated them in every encounter.
This student returned to the kwoon after the operation to take Iraq was concluded. I remember him entering. He stood tall, possessing the commanding presence and posture of an officer who has led men into battle.
He made the Kung-Fu salute as he entered. We spoke for a while of his experiences. Towards the conclusion of our talk he said, “Everything I did out there on the battlefield to win was a direct interpretation of what I learned here in class. There are a lot of young men out there that are alive today because of you, Sifu”. Then we hugged. He resumed his posture, saluted, and departed. I cried.
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