ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS …. A real life story about Billy Chen Hei Fu (personal details amended to protect privacy)

Intro

My name is Billy and I have had an incredible life though I am only in my 30's. I am a black brother i.e. Afro-American (some would now say with Chinese characteristics) and proud of it.

They say I was born a chilly winters day on the south side of Chicago to parents I never knew. Somebody found me wrapped up in a blanket starving and half dead when I was just a day or two old sandwiched between some garbage bins in a dirty alleyway.

Hey I did not die I just grew up angry.

Childhood was a series of different adopted parents, foster homes, cops and bad company. I ran away so many times they called me 'Free Billy' because I never stood still. I never got credit for nothing good just blame and beatings. Petty crime was a way of life .. you had to survive I guess.

Somehow I survived and grew to be big and strong because I just love sports especially boxing and the gym. When I was 18, I was already 6ft 4in and a chiseled 100+ KILOS AND MEANER THAN A JUNK YARD DOG to put it graphically. Boxing was my way of communicating with the world. There were a lot of flattened noses and egos for those who took me on in the street as well as in the ring.

My coach told me I had all it takes to turn pro, but I found it hard to stop hitting someone if I did not respect him and so I was told I was a dangerous fighter.

College

Football was my other calling and I won a football scholarship to a real fine college and there met my sweetheart Shirley Tang. Shirley was Chinese and she had beautiful almond eyes and skin soft as flower petals. When she spoke her voice sounded so melodious it seems she was singing and that smile she had when we were together just melted my anger like a snow flake on a hot summers day.

We were about to graduate when we found out that Shirley was expecting our baby. So I got me a ring and down I went on bended knee and she agreed to be my wife.

Mystery and Tragedy

We agreed that she return to China to invite her parents over for our graduation ceremony while I got down to prepare for the hosting of her parents and plan for our wedding. Shirley never made it back to the USA. Her parents violently objected to her marrying me because of my COLOR.

What followed was 2 years of my life spent trying to locate Shirley and our child which I assumed was born but I never got to see and trying to get her parents to tell me Shirley's fate .What I did not know was that her parents had sent her away . I settled in HK with a job that allowed me to constantly travel to China to search for Shirley and my child.

I grew desperate by the day until I finally found out that Shirley had died soon after she had an illegal street abortion because she was not allowed to have our baby.

My World is Dead

There was only ANGER, HATRED and REVENGE in my heart. I felt INTENSE ANIMOSITY towards Shirley's parents and the ENTIRE CHINESE RACE for their rejection of me and the death of both my wife to be and my innocent unborn child. POISON ran through my veins and I was happy to start fights or get involved in arguments at the slightest provocation and it was more fun kicking ass when the other guys were Chinese, Japanese, Korean or whatever as they looked the same to me.

They must have watched too many movies with fancy moves but I kicked their butt every time. If I was not held back there would have been a lot of dead guys. Trust me, boxing works, it gave you superior fitness, conditioning and the ability to take blows and fight on. I would land 3 combinations before they could get into their guard. Each time they try to kick me my right cross or left jab would crack their jaw bone or crush their ribs like a runaway 10 ton truck running into a motorbike.

I ate up my Asian opponents like DIM SUM.. ok I had a huge size advantage and superior strength and boy did I remind them of that. To me Kung Fu or any of those Asian martial arts whether in combat or in philosophy was pure BULLDUST.. just all dressed up but NO SUBSTANCE.

Challenging the Sifu

One day I walked into a Kung Fu class in HK and saw this Sifu teaching and he was smallish and soft spoken. I said I did not believe in Kung Fu anymore than I believe in the tooth fairy or Santa Claus. Before I gave him a chance to speak I threw a razor sharp right hand to his face that would have sent anyone on his back.

Next thing I knew I was on my back and I was not able to get up. This little Chinese guy (Sifu) hit me somewhere that made me feel like I was jelly. I could not talk, breathe or move... I barely felt alive. Before I knew it, I was being revived and nursed by him.. it was a humbling experience and my introduction to Sifu Gary . I was later told that I experienced a form of FA JING (explosive power manifestation) that only the very elite in Kung Fu could direct with such precision.

The Kung Fu Journey of Discovery Begins

A week after the challenge to Sifu, I joined up his Bak Mei class and initially it seemed really weird as Sifu spents a lot of time teaching Ethics, Culture and History because he said; " A TRAINED BODY WITHOUT A TRAINED MIND IS SELF DESTRUCTIVE . A TRAINED BODY LED BY A TRAINED MIND CAN THEN BEGIN THE QUEST FOR ELEVATING ONES SPIRIT WHICH IS THE REAL PURPOSE OF KUNG FU " .

Sifu taught me that for all my strength and power I was one dimensional in that I lacked harmony and balance.

Each time I attacked or blocked, ducked or weaved my intent or 'yi' was according to Sifu obvious and lopsided .. each time I made contact with Sifu he was multi-dimensional and completely fluid and unpredictable and engaged me at several points of my body simultaneously that always unbalanced me or sent me looking for shadows.

Before I trained with Sifu Gary I used to think footwork was for mobility but then I slowly learnt that STANCEWORK is the foundation for combat in the global sense.. yes mobility.. but also power, speed and to control my opponent the stance is the most basic and effective requirement.

To improve me, Sifu taught me many exercises that helped me to relax and keep my breathing gentle and unlaboured. Just as importantly he made me understand the philosophical basis for Kung Fu .ie the quest for harmony

Progression Towards Conciliation and Finding Balance and Harmony

Sifu told me that to progress I had to transform my hungry, angry and aggressive soul. I was always telling him that the Chinese might be real smart guys but they were too conservative and homogenous culturally for my liking and of course he knew what I meant from my personal life experience.

Majority of the guys in my HK Kung Fu class were expats.. with only a few Chinese and most of these Chinese guys were able to speak English or watched NBA so I found them tolerable. Besides, I don't think HK Chinese is representative of the Chinese race because HK had been a colony for 150yrs.

One of the first things I learnt from my Sifu was the Bak Mei salutation formed by the right palm sitting on the left fist. The 5 fingers of the right palm reminded us that the art originated from the land of the 5 lakes, 5 mountains (China) and THE LEFT FIST WITH THE 4 KNUCKLES SAYS THAT WITHIN THE 4 SEAS (THE WORLD) ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS.

Anyway one day Sifu explained to me that China was rarely ever in History from time immemorial to now the mono-cultural, monolithic race that I and most people assume.

Han Chinese and More

The Chinese that the public speaks of are Han Chinese and are so called after the Han dynasty but the history of China is the confluence of many cultures and civilizations and their wonderful contributions.

From the founding emperor of the first recognized unified China (which was a conquest of 6 distinct states by Qin), Qin Shi Huang Di right down to the father of Post Dynastic China.. Sun Zhong San .. the non homogeneity, dynamic diversity was ever present not to mention the plurality of strongly held views.

Emperor Qin was of mixed heritage and his prime minister and many senior advisers were not even Chinese or at best of mixed Chinese blood. So the first dynasty of Qin was a multicultural product and not just an expansion of the original Qin state.

President Sun was a western trained doctor who was a Christian and held many values and ideals that were very foreign to many Chinese. His patriotism and vision of a better and more outward looking and democratic China helped propel hundreds of millions of Chinese into the 20th century and cemented his place in the hearts of the Chinese as a seminal figure in modern Chinese history.

These were radical people who were pivotal to Chinese history yet their values and actions bore little semblance to the prevailing mass culture. ..they were leaders and the distinctiveness of their values and originality of vision is what helped transform a war torn collection of mini -states to an enduring civilization first among equals.

The China of today boasts dozens of ethnic groupings, hundreds of languages and diverse religious, philosophical beliefs, all with their colorful history and distinctiveness.

Guess what? Sifu showed me that some of the most admired men in Chinese history who were also great martial artists did not look the least bit Chinese, i.e. Red faced Lord Kwan Kung and his sworn brother the fearsome Black faced General Zhang Fei of the 3 kingdom period whose martial prowess and upright characters act as lightning rods of inspiration for Chinese communities the world over.

Then there was Lord justice Bao whose black face showed neither partiality nor fear and his upholding of justice is much admires even or some say especially today.

Who can forget the Indian sage Damo (Boddhidharma) one of the patriarchs of Shaolin Kung Fu and a significant contributor to Qi Gong folklore via his Tendon stretching and Marrow washing techniques.

I was beginning to relate to Chinese history and culture a little more.

Trip to Guang Zhou that Changed My Life

I had been a student with Sifu for about a year and one of the great things about our class was that we did field trips. This time Sifu took us to Guangzhou and its Pearl River delta hinterland where supposedly Kung Fu flourished in the last few centuries because of the existence of many important tournaments and the proliferation of hundreds of Kung Fu clubs with many eminent masters.

(I suspect the lure of abundant restaurants with their great variety of food was pretty important too.)

We stayed at the historic White Swan Hotel (the first j.v. 5 star in China) and had a break of dawn performance before some eminent masters who were Sifu's buddies at a place called Shamien. Sifu told us that on that very ground once stood signs that read "NO DOGS AND CHINESE ALLOWED" and only foreign dignitaries lived there.

Today Chinese and foreigners can walk or train hand in hand at Shamien as we proved that day. Then one elderly master (Sifu Chen) also performed a broadsword form.. so powerfully the sword moved like the PROVERBIAL FLYING TIGER. Sifu Chen split a coin in mid-air with a twirl of his blade.. that was TRULY AWESOME.

I was amazed that Sifu Chen who was in his late sixties was so strong, skilled and healthy. Yet for all his accomplishments he was humble and kindly. Sifu told me that Sifu Chen had no children of his own and was looking for a successor. Sifu Gary then spoke very highly about how he has seen me progress as a person and my dedication to training Bak Mei and learning Chinese history and philosophy under him. He then also related my personal life story to Sifu Chen.

The upshot of all that was that I eventually went through a tea ceremony and became Sifu Chen's ADOPTED SON and am today his succesor of a famed broadsword lineage that goes back over 150yrs. My ancestral masters were among the top security guards for many royal and famous households.

I am of course humbled that being totally unrelated and a non-Chinese that I can be the 8th generation successor to the tradition. My Chinese name is now Chen Hei Fu or Chen the black tiger. I am still coming to grips with this huge responsibility and honour.. I also feel more at peace. I eventually moved to Guangzhou to live with my adopted father.

The Jigsaw Completed

It did not take me long to settle into life in Guangzhou much to my delight.. my rudimentary Cantonese and Putonghua were on the improve and I secured a good job with a multi-national logistics coy. And away from the office ... life was Broadsword/Bak Mei, language, culture lessons and the fabulous Cantonese cuisine ranked as one of the big 5 regional cuisines of China.

One day Sifu Gary came visiting and took me aside and asked me if I wanted to help out at an orphanage outside Guangzhou on the way to Foshan. Apparently Sifu often took students from non Chinese backgrounds and friends from overseas to do outreach work there and as a way of getting to see another side of humanity.

There I immediately felt a strong bond with the kids and they were of all ages from infants to teenagers. Hearing their individual stories and seeing their lack of access to so many things we all take for granted brought a flood of tears to my eyes.

I began to return there on a regular basis to help teach English and Physical fitness which included Kung Fu routines. I found the kids responded really well to me. Eventually there was to be a really happy and unexpected turn to this part of my life.

I met a volunteer worker by the name of Wei Ning who herself was the child of an orphaned father. Wei Ning was everything a man can ask for and more.....sweet of disposition, mild of manner, with phoenix shaped eyes and a perfectly formed light frame as one can only find in Chinese novels.. and she was very bright . Had a degree in education from Beijing Normal University and a diploma in Japanese from the famed Beijing Foreign Language Institute to match.

Well we got married and now have 2 great looking kids (8yr old Jade and 6yr old Tiger ). They sing beautifully in Putonghua and English and even some Japanese and hip hop like their dad. Tiger has started Kung Fu training and he is a natural.. of course and Jade will start soon .. man am I proud of them.

Morale of the Story

Fate does not always deal us a kind hand but EVEN IN OUR DEEPEST DARKEST HOUR WE SHOULD NOT LASH OUT IN ANGER NOR LOSE HOPE because there are always people who want to care for us and who really live by the code that ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS..let us GIVE EACH OTHER A CHANCE TO SHOW OUR GENTLER AND KINDER SIDE IRRESPECTIVE OF WHAT WE LOOK LIKE OR OUR BELIEFS.

P.S...I am still trying to master the coin splitting skill.. and Sifu Gary has promised to teach me the secret of the Fa Jing technique that he used on me.. but as he said when I am ready.. all good things happen but we have to be patient.

Remember this boys and girls .. "THERE ARE NO STRANGERS OUT THERE JUST BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT WE HAVE YET TO MEET"

Billy Chen Hei Fu

THE BLACK TIGER