by Joshua Curtis
Daily Lobo
Kung fu instructor Jamal Morris kicks academia out the door and uses life experiences to teach his students the ancient martial art.
Hardship is necessary to learn kung fu and have a happy life, he said.
"Kung fu means to refine," he said. "The more assaults you have daily on your physical being and mental and spiritual, the better you are equipped."
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Morris' class, which includes novices and experienced students, is held in Johnson Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Morris, a Brooklyn native, said he does not approach his class as strictly an academic experience, but part of a lifestyle - a lifestyle he has led for 40 years.
He went to college in North Carolina where he taught karate while he was a student.
After he graduated, he worked for the federal government in Fayetteville, N.C. He used vacation time to travel the world and study with masters and grand masters in martial arts.
"The kung fu back then (the late 1970s) was more pure - not bastardized, not synthesized with anything else," he said. "It was very encapsulated."
Student Ryan Smith said Morris encourages his students to constantly improve.
"He really cares about the students, and he wants us to do our best and never wants us to stay where we are at - always get stronger," Smith said.
Student Chrissy Rendon said she started taking the class because her boyfriend was taking it, and her mom wanted her to learn self-defense.
"Now I take it because it really kicks my ass," she said. "I love athletics, and now it has become much deeper. I use kung fu in everything. He talks about only through hard work do you get rewards. So, I just do that with school."
Morris teaches kung fu in the physical education program. He gained experience by traveling in China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Africa after college.
His students say Morris, who has published 13 books on martial arts, is modest about his background.
Rendon said she is grateful to have an instructor with so much practical knowledge.
"I know he has a lot of experience. I am very lucky to have him as a teacher," she said. "He told us that learning kung fu is like gambling because you don't know if you are going to get a good teacher."
Morris knows Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and some Arabic and German.
When he went to the Philippines, he said his knowledge of Spanish was enough to help him understand Tagalog, the native language.
"You can't go to other peoples' countries and say to them, 'Do you speak English?'" he said. "Culturally, it is an exchange, and I think people appreciate you when you speak at least a little bit of their language."
Morris has many parables and maxims from the countries he traveled to and the masters he learned from. He said one of his favorite sayings was told to him by his teacher, Chin Daywey.
"The sooner you die, the longer you're dead," he said. "The sooner you start to live, the longer you live."
Morris used to wake up in a bad mood when he lived in Brooklyn, but nobody cared, so he changed his lifestyle and decided to live a happy life.
"You have to learn to live,"
he said.
