Martial arts teacher uses jiu-jitsu to bridge gaps between communities
SAN FRANCISCO -- A Bay Area teacher draws inspiration from the late legendary martial arts star Bruce Lee, using jiu-jitsu moves to bring communities closer together.
Every hold, takedown, and sparring session is a chance to teach one of his students something new.
"You see them when it clicks and they think oh yeah I can do this," said Adisa Banjoko.
Banjoko teaches Jiu Jitsu to students at the University of San Francisco.
He's a charter school teacher in Richmond by day, and grappling expert by night. It's a passion he wants others to experience.
"If you know the truth, you can defend yourself. You'll be okay with speaking the truth. Bruce Lee gave that to me," said Banjoko.
A San Francisco museum exhibit highlighting the life of legendary martial artist Bruce Lee is drawing enthusiasts from across the country.
It opened earlier this year, but recently added a big-screen experience.
Some of Lee's diehard fans, including Banjoko, recently packed the Great Star Theatre in Chinatown to celebrate Lee's 82nd birthday. Part of the celebration was a special screening of "The Way of the Dragon," the first major film Lee directed, wrote, and starred in shortly before his death in 1973.
Banjoko is a long-time fan who's using his skills to bring communities closer with every move, inspired by the iconic actor and trailblazer.
"Bruce Lee symbolizes the person who was at that turning point for social, ethnic and cultural and civic relations in America," said Justin Hoover of the Chinese Historical Society of America.
A diverse panel of film makers, hip-hop artists, collectors, and martial artists influenced by Lee in one way or another discuss the current state of race relations and how Lee called out Hollywood bigotry, when many stayed silent.
It's a deeper dialogue acknowledging some of the current tension within communities, with a focus on how to bridge inevitable gaps, something his fans say Bruce would have feverishly fought to fix.
"It's really about being able to expand and when you do you learn more about yourself. That's what it's all about," said artist Malik Seneferu.
"To shift that lens into contemporary issues that deal with with a new generation of Chinese American immigrants with a more unified community that's looking to bridging cultures not just Chinese for Chinese, but Chinese who connect with African Americans and connecting with other people of color," said Hoover.
Those connections drive Banjoko to share lessons learned to a new generation of students born decades after Bruce Lee's death.
"I really appreciated when people took just a few extra seconds to make sure I could understand anything -- math, English science, right? Just a few extra seconds. And so when I'm teaching anything I always have for every individual student several minutes banked for them to find their ability to do this art," said Banjoko.
It's an art he has grown to love, and part of paying it forward as a tribute to one of his heroes.
Banjoko helped produce a short documentary on Lee that's part of the Chinese Historical Society of America's current exhibit "We are Bruce Lee- Under the Sky, One Family."
