Many times, Fairfax criminal defense lawyer Jon Katz has quoted this great passage from the Kung Fu television pilot with David Carradine (1972): “Perceive the way of nature and no force of man can harm you. Do not meet a wave head on: avoid it. You do not have to stop force: it is easier to redirect it. Learn more ways to preserve rather than destroy. Avoid rather than check. Check rather than hurt. Hurt rather than maim. Maim rather than kill. For all life is precious nor can any be replaced.” This is an ideal way to master courtroom battle and to handle any conflict.
When I learned that Kung Fu's creators Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander are still alive, I started looking for them to invite them onto my Beat the Prosecution podcast. Hitting deadends in finding their email addresses, I revisited Kung Fu chronicler Herbie J Pilato, who blew me away in accepting my interview invitation within hours.
The Kung Fu stand-alone pilot (Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon) blew away the nearly-nine year old me in multiple ways through multiple layers. Here I was learning both the concept and way to pursue a path other than brute force, whether through studying, verbal combat, sports or physical fighting. That is not to say that I was a quick learner, but that the path was now visible and open to me.
By now, it all comes together. The wu wei of acting in harmony with the universe's natural flow. The path of zero, with no chasing while fully engaging with the opponent. The cleaning with self identity through Ho'oponopono. Finding internal peace no matter what is happening around me and beyond.
Kung Fu's initial creator Ed Spielman did not spearhead this story from an armchair, but instead studied Mandarin at Brooklyn College, and conducted research for instance in New York's Chinatown while also being influenced by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Herbie says" "The show’s writers gathered information from Confucius, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, Zen Buddhism, and the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, all of which share a similar theme: Gentleness, peace and compassion are of the utmost importance if one is to have a spiritually-sound and happy existence."
Herbie sent me his great recent extensive Retro Fan Magazine article "Kung Fu and the Eternal Spring of 'Grasshopper'- A Look Back at TV's Classic Eastern Western."
This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text).
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