Should Old Acquaintance be forgot

I used to be sad when the Christmas and New year's season ended as a child. For some reason Chinese New Year seemed so far away and unconnected. I have tried in the past to connect Lion Dance and Chinese New Year with Western New Year and Christmas (though Chinese culture has its own solstice festival, which I never actually celebrated other than showing up to other people's celebration.
This year we did do a Lion Dance right after Thanksgiving and we will probably be doing some Chinese New Year gigs the week before Chinese New Year. This is actually becoming more and more normal, and I have been told that you can totally do this according to the old Chinese rules anyway, by having a celebration to wrap up the old year. But in America, where Santa Claus is a big feature right after Halloween, it makes its own kind of sense.

I have been in New Jersey for about a year now and I have observed the local State Culture a little more. I am not saying I understand it necessarily. But I can see that it is way easier to get your Lion Dance team to join in Festivals that already exist than to try and create new Chinese New year Festivals. This is not only in terms of logistics. But people will think more about Manhattan's Chinatown in NJ rather than say, a a vision of a huge event in Edison.

NJ seems to be full of people from NY or Philly. Even if they are the children or grandchildren of people from NY or Philly, it is part of the legacy to "go into the city" for celebrations events, mischief, crime, business, whether it is Tracy Morgan or the #2 guy for Madoff, the action happens in Manhattan or Brooklyn and NJ is as Morgan calls it, "the Fortress of Solitude" so whether you are a Wall Street Criminal or gangster or whatever and you are neighbors to such types, NJ is almost like a vacation place where you don't want to see any signs of this. Rules keep the area residential and quiet. Yes this is the opposite of what shows like Jersey Shore and other stereotypes in NY run media show, and of course there are raucous areas of NJ but it all seems to be compartmentalized by geography.

Long story short... this means some sort of Lion Dance parade is a foreign thing to people here. You can do it on a stage in a school or festival, or in a parade that already exists, but the store to store dance so common elsewhere is logistically quite difficult. There are hardly any sidewalks, and you can't cross the street. You will have to load up equipment and drive across a highway.


Not only that, but because the concept of doing lion dance like this is so foreign, even though i am working with the community in several overlapping organizations, pulling together enough people for a team, a real team, a team of adults and teens and kids and elderly that will play for an extended period of time and be really into what they are doing ritually, socially and traditionally, has been hard to make materialize. Yes I can do a school or library with my kids and some students anytime, even a "formal" or "serious" performance... but that feel of a Chinatown Lion Dance or a Chinese Village Lion dance....which is less performance and more ritual, where the difference between the audience and the participants is actually not that clear, and where the beginning and the end of the celebration is not as clear, where the dance lasts the whole day or even seems to carry over several days in a dream like floating world that ties you to the traditions and spirit of people past that you know, even though you have never met them and don't even know their names or stories.


That type of dance is more difficult to bring about it seems.

HOT POT: divisiveness and togetherness. FEN JIU BE HE HE JIU BE FEN

3A recent twitter storm over hot pot has inspired me to recount my own hot pot experience. The twitter war has been over whether it is racist to make fun hot pot, or something like that. I have often surprised people when I told them I am not that into hot pot, especially since when I do go to hot pot I grab all the organ type parts and pig out. They assume that my whiteness or germaphobia is the reason why I wouldn't like it. It's actually that I dont understand the cost and hot pot, or shabu shabu or da been lo was introduced to me as an excuse to down all sorts of alcohol and the swishing of meat in broth was sort of an expensive side activity, like darts.

When I said to my wife I didnt understand the cost, she said, "That's cause you never tried to prepare it yourself. There's lots of little parts." Which brings me to the other way hot pot aka da been lo was introduced to me, which was an activity done at home as a party. I did have fantastic hot pot with childhood friends and teachers L Chan and M Li and live shrimp was involved. (That was probably the best hot pot I have ever had) But the hot pot moment that really stands out in my mind was the time me and my Si Hing tried to throw a hot pot party at the Kung Fu school, a grand attempt to bring FOB and ABC and various other flavors of Americans together into one blended thing...it was a happy night but we never attempted this again.

Si Hing: "We should get all the guys together like a lot of people do now and da been lo. Just get together to have fun. Have the kids and the adults. But we have to borrow the electric pot and buy these frozen fish balls etc. There is a lot of preparation."

The night of the grand event was actually the hour after the kids class. Americans showed up with girlfriends bearing gifts of Champagne and dressed up in clubbing gear while the children and I wore Kung Fu clothes, not realizing the level of formality the event had taken on.

As the preparations were being made one of the more suburban Jook sing ish kids started a rebellious chant of "We want food!" Which was emphasized by banging on the home made kids table which was a board on top of those plastic chair stools old ladies sit on the separate stems from leaves on the vegetables.

Sifu: Hey you guys know what you are doing?

We tried to explain hot pot aka shabu shabu aka da been lo to our Sifu and my Si Hing's father. "Such a thing will never work " He shook his head, "You guys are young and lack experience, step aside."

The  hot pot pieces were then all boiled at once and served to the kids basically turning hot pot into boiled dinner, (which is how much European food is made and served correct?) And then the adults formed a line and da been lo sort of became a soup kitchen, albeit tasty and home cooked.
The rebellion stopped, though some American women who had never before tried "Chinese Fondu" did not get the chance to experience this. In retrospect kids could have burned themselves if the hot pot would have been to be carried out. And in a way those Americsn girlfriends who probably by now, more than a decade later, have been to many a Chinese hot pot restaurant, got to experience something unique that night.

The kids ran around, conversation was made, nothing was actually shabued but everyone was fed and the champagne was opened.

It was fun, but I don't think a Moh Goon party like that was attempted except for lion dances where food was ordered or once for my birthday when again food was ordered and shots were put out for the lion to drink  and drunken kung fu was performed. But never again was home hot pot attempted at Moh Goon that I am aware of.

I wouldn't say it was a failure, it just wasn't what was envisioned. Of course as I am writing this my wife is now saying we should attempt to do home hot pot for New Year's eve.

Sure...what could go wrong?

Origins of Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai 2

Finally watched the fianle with Garce and argued about what they should do on season 2. In Karate Kid 2 they travel back to Okinawa to discover if Origins of Miyagi Do Karate. I think they should travel to South Korea (Kreese's teacher is supposed to be South Korean.)

But who would play good Chozen or Miyagi tyoe characters. Just as Karate Kid 2 played with a dark side of Miyagi Do, maybe the light side if Cobra Kai should be played by Stand Up Comedian Eliot Chang. But the tole should be serious, just like Pat Morita played a serious Miyagi... well not too serious, which was the criticism of Toshiro Mifune's audition.

Would be cool to have an Chloe Kim be in there as the star of Cobra Kai's good branch. I mean they suggested Sam Larusso would be stepping onto the mat ans snow boarding is a perfect foil to Robbie's skateboarding.

Bur what about the origins of Cobra Kai? I would suggest a non traditional origin. For instabce I heard a story of a Korean Martial Artist who hot wired a Japanese plabe during the occupation and flew to Japan wanting to be a Kamikaze pilot....he didnt know how to fly a plane, he just did it.

He then was put into some prison camp or something with a group of other Korean men who had all bad assedly done the same thing. He read Musashi's book taught himself martial arts, shaved iff one eyebrow and isolated himself in training and later challenged all the Dojos in Japan and won. They made him a Japanese hero even though he is Korean because he is so bad ass. They made movies based on him (with nods to Bruce Lee's Chen Jen) but I think that would be the perfect origin story yo Cobra Kai, and a perfect way ti show the positive aspects of a way of thinking that comes out as strike hard strike fast no mercy.

Some kind of Zen intervention is needed to bring the Hawk and Miguel characters bacj to the light side and to fight Kreese and Terry Silver.

Like I sais, Elliot Chang would he a good mentor and Chloe Kim a great easy going fighter that is competetive but fun as well and maybe focuses on snowboarding and maybe might even lose well, similar to how Robin Hood loses to Little John... fighting with no mercy, losing, but then recruiting Little John.

The tree and the serpent

Grace finally agreed to watch Cobra Kai properly. The date of the all vallry tournament was yesterday so the creators jokingly apologized for upstaging the royal wedding.
Simultaneously I was looking up stuff online for this lion dance ritual I wanted to make my own but draw from  older sources and probably mix it with western stuff because I am mixed....in any case, I was looking in ancient places.

The story of the nian suggests an ancient origin because it suggests the origin of the word for year... nian. Han writing is from the north, but ask a northern Chinese person about the story of the nian and they will look at you funny.

Tell them the story well enough and they will believe that you just taught them something about their own culture. By try to actually trace the story and think about what really makes sense.... and you might come to a conclusion that the traditions, in the form they are, are newer than yoy are... and draw from older traditions....much like what I am doing now.

Cobra Kai, Karate Kid, and Martial Arts in general all do this.

Miyagi Do Karate comes from a fisherman who gets lost and learns Kung Fu on China (this is similar to the actual story of Karate, which is Fukianese White Crane and was once called Chinese hand instead of empty hand) it is practuced by the Miyagi Family in Okinawa. (actual Karate becomes widespread in Japan when an educator makes it part if the curriculum, interestingly at around the same time Suzuki develops his method of violin teaching. The goals are similar and the Karate educator is a pacifist.)

In Karate kid they play with these ideas through Mr. Miyagi, the teacher and then his friend and nephew who represent Modern Japan in the 80s.

In Cobra Kai, Danny is the American who grew up with the Karate kid movies and loves the symbolism, but ultimately is not Mr. Miyagi, and all Larusso has are the teachings.

Simitlarly Johnny is getting his teachings from an 80s movie, from his students, and from people around him. The women in the story, whether it is Danny's wife, Miguel's mom, seem to be the adult voices. The voices of reason. The grandmothers both have more pugilistic views. Aisha often has rational interpretations of strike first that bring the Cobra Kais away from acting too crazy.

My point with all this is that even though Cobra Kai is fictional, it toys with old stories that are ancient.... but one of the symbolic and ancient stories it may be destined to toy with intentionally or subconsciously...has its orugins bot in the east but in the west. After all, the Cobra, snakes, nagas, dragons, these are holy things in the east... in the west too before Christianity. Arthur used the serpent but that is a pagan symbol.

The symbol of Cobra Kai is obviously the snake. What is the symbol of Miyagi Do? It is the Bonsai... the tree. Cobra Kai, is telling the story from the Serpent's point of view.... you see whete I am going here? In fact this symbolism is the only thing that is good about Karate Kid 3.

Hopefully Cobra Kai 2 will draw from the plethora of Kung Fu movies. I mean. Robbie is easily  Yang Guo from Condor heroes...

But the "blueprints", as Larusso would say, of these movies is more easily seen in Genesis. Which makes sense given which culture is actually writing the story.

In fact in an interview they compare Ally to Helen of Troy.

Grace was asking me what the point of Cobra Kai is, and why not keep Miguel with Danny. Keep it formulaic.

The point is two countries fighting and that there is always another side to the story.

The point for me is, story tellers are so creatuve and imaginitive that they can make something new and awesome that draws so well from ancient rituals that you believe that they are older than they are. Instead of getting mad about this... get inspired.

Cobra Kai

I binged watched this series already, and talking about it, yes most likely I will have spoilers... so don't read on if you plan to watch it! The thing is, the original movies are formulaic and I have to see this series, in terms of plot,  really has the others beat. Even though you are watching within the Karate kid formula and with many of the same themes... you really don't know what to expect exactly... or even who to cheer for!

The only flaw is that there is no Mr. Miyagi type character, because nobody can replace Pat Morita. Some people thought that the Mr. Miyagi asian master character was racist, some embraced it. All I will say it is a shame that there is no Asian hero... but I like how they played with the Asian stereotypes.

Again spoiler alert..l but the Asian guy (who is a minor villain) is an Alpha male jock who is a love interest. In other words... he is the new Johnny.

Daniel's character is split in two... and basically we learn that life is not as simple as good and bad. This plot is more complicated.

There is also that feeling of 80's verses the modern generation, and how i some ways you can bond more with your enemy than your own family at times, because you are more similar.


It made me rewatch Karate Kid 2 and 3 (you should just read the recap for 3, some good ideas but not worth the time) with Noah. I guess we should rewatch one but Noah was adamant that he remembered everything.



And so...although there will be much written and has been much written about these movies, I will talk about it from my Martial Arts perspective.


Even though Johnny is depicted as a "loser" for having a strip mall Karate Dojo... that is my freakin dream. And yes, Cobra Kai is a bad ass form of martial art. Although they make the following lines seem sort of evil, I am going to compare it to White Crane.... two styles of White Crane.


Here is what Johnny posts on the wall of his Dojo.


1. Strike first
2.Strike Hard
3. No Mercy



This is considered the unsportsmanlike dark side in Karate kid one. Larusso (Being in NJ, we actuall know some Larusso's now lol) any way, Larusso tells Johnny, "Why would you bring this back to the valley."

Johnny, "Because the lessons worked."

Larusso sarcastically, "Strike hard strike first no mercy? Yeah that's really the lessons that kids need."


In truth. Johnny seems to be learning more from his students than the other way around. And I have to say, I really empathize with him. And Danny Larrusso can't really say shit because he hasn't been teaching Karate! He basically left a void this whole time which Johnny does his best to fill. He steps in as a leader to these youth who are outsiders like Larusso and whom Danny's daughter even left for more popular kids. And by reawakening a rival for Danny, in a way, Johnny is showing Danny (inadvertantly) that he has gone astray. Danny needs Johnny in order to be Danny. And this time around. Danny pulls some inexcusable asshole shit and shows that he has some character flaws he needs to work on as well.


Anyway, here are four words of philosophy from Tibetan White Crane. (My style of Kung Fu is not fully this form... but my basics are essentially this. I don't teach kids the philosophy (no time) but I do teach them the moves, which in and of themselves aren't savage, or even useful if they are only practiced once a week, something I have to remedy...


I might not even have the order right but.

1. Jeet
2.Chuen
3.Seem
4. Chan


Bruce Lee took Jeet and created Jeet kuen do. It is an intercepting fist that is able to start second but finish first. In other words, dun du dun!!!! Strike First!


Yes, Tibetan White Crane is an OFFENSIVE Martial Art. The Crane.. .is an Offensive animal. It is a predator. And there are Snake and Crane forms. But the Tibetan White Crane has it's origin story in Ape and Crane. Where a wild Ape attacks the crane with cups and the crane "defends" itself by attacking. It avoids the moves and strikes the eye. Tibetan white crane incorporates both animals, the the systems outside of my school that I have seen are heavier on the ape than the crane in my opinion. But maybe that's like a level thing and the Crane moves are more hidden.


Chuen gum paw saec... or penetrating gold and destroying rock... an exagerated and mythical allegory that says... Strike Hard!  Yes if you are going to strike than strike hard. A crane is a peaceful animal, but it strikes the fish (not an enemy but prey) to kill it and then eat it.

Fai yuet Seem deen.... just like the song...  "And they were fast as lighnin".....Obviously, in any sport or skill, after you are smooth and good.... being fast is helpful and cool looking, and when fighting... important.


Chan Fai... handicap.... in other words, cripple the opponent. ie. NO MERCY!


Ok, so is this evil or too much?

I would argue not. And Even when Johnny teaches Xolo or I think the character's name is Miguel... Danny 2.0... the throat strike... or the bite of the Cobra, he explains that the throat strike is only for extreme situations. In other words, even Johnny in all his aggression does hold back.


And the thing is.... if you are going to fight, then yes no mercy. Because you will show mercy, the other person doesn't, and your dead. As much as I would like to believe that I would have the skill to put someone into a BJJ choke hold and simply put them to sleep as seen on many a youtube video...I don't believe I am that good to hold back. What if you do that, because you are trying to be nice and then they stab you?


As some of my Si Hings in China said, who were unfortunately separated from our Sifu when he came to the states, they said, there are two options. 1. don't fight. 2.You fight (because there is no choice, or you feel you have no choice, or in many cases you can choose not to but for whatever reason you are decding to fight) Lau sei kui. Basically kill or maim or at least knock them out.

Why?

If you take this approach to martial arts instead of treating fighting like a game, you will probably get into less fights. That is a problem  sometimes because you get many Martial Artists, probably myself included, who don't fight much, for better or worse. In terms of developing your art? Probably worse.  But then if you fight all the time and get injured or whatever or beat the crap out of people who don't make you better.... well that doesn't help you get better either. Maybe it makes you worse.

If you fight and you are merciless in the fight and that gets around. As long as you don't force the situation up, people are less willing to fight you... even if you kind of suck at Kung Fu.

It wasn't until I rewatched Karate Kid 3 that I realized that Miyagi Do Karate is about the Kata and the roots and improving yourself inside and from there you will always know what to do. In fact, there is a lot in the movies that portray it as an internal art, more like Tai Chi. And it is defensive. Wax on Wax off is like Fujianese White Crane... but there is still the secret Drum counter punch of Karate Kid 2, much like the been ngow... actually exactly like Been ngow, which is an attack.

The Crane kick is an attack two when you think of it, and although Wikepedia says its not a real move Teen Gong Kuen has many a version of it, and it is done in a charging aggressive manner, with follow up punches.
   

Cobra Kai, is more about changing your outside, flipping the switch, like Lip transforming into Hawk, and then later you discover yourself (or maybe not) It isn't exactly evil... the truth is, you need both. Which makes me excited for future seasons... will the two forms of Karate be reconciled and become one in future generations?


The Cobra.


The Cobra is portrayed as something badass but evil.

But lets take a look at one of the jokes in Cobra Kai.


Johnny has to sublet to a Yoga class, which covers up the three lessons of Cobra Kai.... but then they get into... Cobra pose!

In fact, the idea of unleashing the serpent is all over Yoga.. watch Wild Wild Country....

Also there is a Buddhist story where Buddha as a child i meditating and the Cobra fans out it's body to provide shade for him....

Also the Tibetan White Crane body is like Bruce Lee's with the back like an iron fan... is like the Cobra's back.


Mein Lei jum and many of the forms are full of snake strikes, and BJJs chokes are like that of a boa constrictor....a gentle form of attack that is slow... but deadly.


There really isn't a lot of snake techniques in Cobra Kai in Karate Kid one... but you see more about the origins in Cobra Kai the youtube sereis, and from Karate Kid 3 and training methods in Cobra Kai the series, you get the sense that it has origins and history in the military. John Kreese's Sensei was South Korean and Kreese and Terry Silver served in Vietnam together. Kreese is racist against Asians calling Miyagi "slope" *this does not happen in the Youtube series, and Kreese's racsim  is bizarre since his sensei is Asian though we never meet him or learn about his personality. But I suppose he is supposed to be like that from the war. There is also a seen in Cobra Kai, where Johnny trains Miguel... which looks similar to a Navy Seal drill.


In other words, it would be really cool to learn in Season 2 of Cobra Kai, what we learned in Karate Kid part 2.... the origins of Cobra Kai. Is it part of US military training? Did Kreese take the wrong path or was his Sensei also an asshole?

There is a legendary fight which supposedly took place between Tae Kwon Do Master  who was the Drunken Master Villain. A Knife martial artist from Vietnam challenged him in South Korea and the Tae Kwon Do Master refused. Then when attacked, he killed him with a heel kick. or so says Wikipedia somewhere. In any case.... that would be cool to tie into this story... perhaps show a peaceful version of "Strike First, Strike Hard, No mercy" 


Yeah if you can't tell, I freaking love the series and the approach they took and it got me into practicing my basics again. I'm going to try to do Basics and Mein lei jum everyday on my own, and then also teach my kids on the schedule I have them, which involves more play... but I really want them to do the basics and mein lei jum endurance training too eventually.

I want to have a group that practices several times a week and is into the Martial Arts part of Kung Fu.


The series draws you in and you totally cheer for Cobra Kai and you also realize that there are flaws to being too pacifist. Even though the movies pretty much toy with that, and then show that ultimately you should be pacifist except when defending life, or a village. But not for honor or a plastic trophy.


But even still Miyagi said in p[art three, "it's ok to lose to your opponent, but not to fear." Not fighting out of fear is different than not fighting out of principle.


Ultimately, at the end though, and even throughout, you get the sense that Johnny is very close to something...a higher way of Karate, but always something is thrown in to throw him off that path, and more and more it seems like, if Miyagi could step in at that moment.... that Johnny would be able to achieve that mental enlightenment or be set right. Can he learn from Daniel or his students? The truth is that Daniel is also not really quite Miyagi and has a lot to learn as well. It almost seems like they can learn from each other... but then the plot throws a wrench in reconciliation... which shows true mastery of story telling.


And in the end.... Pandora's box is opened in terms of possibilities for Season two.


This is the best stuff I've seen in a long time... would be nice to see some more Asian characters though for season two.