Jet Li’s Fearless
I just recently rented the movie “Huo Yuan Jia” (a.k.a. Jet Li’s Fearless). I had seen it in the theaters when it came out, but seeing it again reminded me of how much I really enjoyed some of the dialog in the movie, and how I resonate with the views of Huo Yuan Jia in this film. This film is based on the true story of Huo Yuan Jia (1869-1910). It tells the story of his life and how he was he came to understand his own particular discipline of martial arts, called wushu. The film shows how he made the ultimate sacrifice for what he believed in, and how he left the world with the legacy of the Jin wu Sports Federation. This federation is still strong today, over a century later.
It’s ironic to me how this movie is named “Fearless” when in freestyle footbag (Hacky Sack), the term “Fearless” is used in reference to a move or string of moves that are five adds or less. There are only a handful of people in the world (probably less than 75) that can do more than five fearless tricks in a row.
The following is a brief excerpt from the English subtitles in the film. To briefly set the scene, Huo Yuan Jia (Jet Li) from China is having tea with Tanaka from Japan. This scene takes place the day before the two are about to compete in a major martial arts competition. The competition took place back in 1910, and was more than just a fight – it was a matter of national pride. The seemingly simple conversation about tea flowers turns into a metaphor about a philosophy of life in general:
Tanaka: Mr. Huo, according to what you say, you don’t really know the
nature of tea.Huo: It’s not that I don’t know. I don’t really want to know. Because I don’t care about evaluating teas. Tea is tea.
Tanaka: But each tea has its own character and properties.
Huo: What is the purpose of grading? These many teas are grown in nature, all of them.
Is there a discernible difference?Tanaka: Yes, once you learn this, you can tell the difference between
teas.Huo: What you say may be right, but the way I see it is, the tea doesn’t judge itself. It’s people that judge its grading. Different people choose different things. As for me, as far as I’m concerned, I just don’t want to make any choice.
Tanaka: - Is that so?
Huo: - Drining tea is a mood, really. If you are in a good mood, the grade of tea doesn’t matter.
Tanaka: I never looked at it like that. I understand that there are many wushu fighting styles. Are you saying that no style is greater than another?
Huo: That’s what I’m saying.
Tanaka: If that is true, I want to ask you, if wushu does not differ in any way, why do we fight each other?
Huo: I believe for all the styles of wushu, there is no single one that is superior. All of those who practice different styles of wushu, they would naturally have a different level of skill. Through competition, we can discover ourselves.
Tanaka: What you just said makes me have more respect for you.
