Editorial

"Orientalism" is a term derived from Edward Said’s historic book Orientalism (1978) describing not an accurate representation of Asian culture, but rather an exaggerated and often incorrect fantasy of the fictional "Orient" as seen from a Western perspective and skewed by self-serving intentions.

We are going to break down the true meaning of cultural appropriation, orientalism, Japonism, and give fans an authentic Asian perspective on why cultural misappropriation in BJJ / MMA designed products can be potentially offensive to Asians and should not be practiced.

Bruce Lee (played by rising Hong Kong Kung Fu star Philip Ng), the legendary martial arts icon who changed the world, is depicted as a one-dimensional, asexual, awkward loser who is jealous of the white guy in "Birth of the Dragon", a new biographical film.

A biographical film about BRUCE LEE. Wow. What a disaster.

Martial arts is dead.

It has become common and mainstream for kids and adults alike these days to train in combat sports such as MMA and modernized martial arts like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, rather than the more traditional forms of martial arts such as Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Karate, Judo, and so on and so forth.

While there is certainly nothing wrong in training MMA and BJJ (in fact we highly recommend them for their effectiveness in real fighting), the high degree of focus on sports competition and winning at all costs in MMA and BJJ - often come at a price when it comes to developing and cultivating individual morals, values, and ethics - perhaps more so than others.

In the WME-IMG era of UFC / MMA combat sports landscape - disrespectful trash-talking and WWE-style "Attitude Era" antics have skyrocketed to another level (and hit a new moral low).

While we can fully appreciate the entertainment factor, spectacle, showmanship, and charismatic fun of competitive trash talk from one competitor to another - there is a difference between things said and done for entertainment and crass thug-like behaviour.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has now become fully synonymous with the latter.

Being the birthplace of Asian martial arts (as the Chinese phrase goes: "all martial arts come from Shaolin" - albeit with influences from India), China (a.k.a. The Middle Kingdom) possesses over five thousand years of history, and is the central origin of all Asian people and culture that can be traced back to the ancient times. While they won't openly admit it, neighbouring nations such as Japan, Korea, and all of South East Asia owe their historical and cultural roots to China, in one way or another.

Why is it then, in a society of more than 2 billion ethnic Chinese people scattered across the globe combined, we have not had any successful Chinese fighters (so far)? Why is it that Japan, a tiny island comprised of only about 125 million people, has produced some of the sport's most legendary MMA fighters, and Korea is taking the lead in pushing the next wave of successful Asian fighters, while China (and its neighbouring Chinese populations in and of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau) is still the odd country out of the party? Why have Chinese fighters failed to find success at prize fighting and what is it that makes Chinese people "different" than other Asian fighters?