Bullying Victim to Spiritual Martial Arts Instructor: Interview with Sifu Love

School can be a challenging time in our lives, but being a queer man of colour made it particularly difficult for Sifu Love. Initially being bullied for having a stutter and then becoming overweight, school became even more of a challenge when Sifu came out as gay. These painful circumstances led to his struggles with low self-esteem. His discovery of Martial Arts helped him develop
his own identity and gave him the courage to be who he wanted to be in this world.

“It was very hard for me to learn to love myself when I was in an environment telling me that I had no reason to love myself. Martial Arts has been a discipline of self-love for me.”

He had always enjoyed the artistry of movement. Still, his first martial arts experiences emphasised violence and gaining strength to hurt your opponent, and this did not appeal to Sifu. Growing up in California with a vast fascination for life and the world, an early desire to travel found him exploring many new places, the first of which was China. There, he learned about many different Martial Arts practices, including Kung Fu.

Kung Fu is the Chinese Martial Arts practice that Sifu fell in love with. He found it to be a true art form and it presented him with a new way to express the thoughts and feelings he was experiencing. Sifu spoke to us about his 15 years of experience with various styles of Chinese Martial Arts and Spiritual Psychology and how he draws from both disciplines in creating an integrated approach to wellbeing.

The way we relate to and integrate our Mind, Body, and Spirit has been an ongoing interest for Sifu and he has a Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology. Together with his Martial Arts, Sifu helps people find the connections between the mental aspects of themselves and the emotions, feelings, and thoughts they hold in their bodies. Kung Fu is a very bodycentred art, whereas Psychology focuses on the Science of the mind. Believing that psychology is not just a science but an art, Sifu uncovers the separation between the mental focus of psychology and the physical aspect of the body. His practices aim to unite the two.

“The idea of spiritualised martial arts practices creates this artistic form in which people can introspect, but it also gives them a chance to tune into their body and centre the body in the discussion around mental health.”

The positive changes that Kung Fu brought into his life have been immense. He overcame anxiety by becoming more connected to his breath, which connected him to his body. In this way, he could identify and control his anxiety and become calmer. Secondly, he learnt how to express his emotions through physical expression. Growing up in a community where it was customary to internalise and bottle up emotions, Sifu had never learnt how to express what he was feeling. He learnt to use Martial Arts movements to identify and express himself. Thirdly, martial arts has helped him trust in his intuition and enabled him to receive guidance from Spirit. Learning to overcome these obstacles now allows Sifu to share his knowledge with others.

“A lot of my ideas are very different, and they’re brand new, so there is a sense of loneliness that comes from that. And it’s through the practice I find communion with Spirit, with my intuition, that gives me the confidence to continue doing whatever it is I feel called to do. It’s giving me a sense of confidence and a stronger expression of my Spiritual abilities.”

Sifu has shared these tips to help people get in touch with their bodies:

Immerse yourself in nature with no distractions. It gives your body the space and time to communicate with you. This is part of sensitisation training which helps people become more sensitive and self-aware.
Pay attention to the depth of your breath. Practice taking deeper breaths and consciously breathing, feeling how the breath enters and leaves your body.
Journal about your hopes, dreams, and fears. What comes to you in reverie or daydream is often a message from our intuition. It is trying to show us areas where we need to focus. Writing down your thoughts gives them value and says that I am willing to pay attention to my soul.
Observe the social media that attracts you. Often, the types of characters and stories you like give you an insight into your soul by showing you how you feel. It’s another way to slow down and tune in to what’s happening inside you.

Sifu operates weekly online individual and group sessions where he teaches Spiritual Kung Fu as a way for people to gain a more profound sense of themselves and their sensitivity. The goal of these classes is to help people feel more powerful and confident when going out into the world. His individualised programs primarily help “queer people of colour” navigate through the social challenges they face, increase awareness of the body and improve mental health.

“My Fierce Truth is that I am imperfect and that everything that I teach comes out of a necessity I needed for myself… the practices are because of my imperfections and because of that it allows people to heal, and change, and grow”.