We expect bad people to do bad things, but how can people we like or admire end up doing terrible things? We like to think of ourselves as good people and we reassure ourselves that faced with evil, we would hold to our virtues enabling us to resist and fight back. Thus, when others go to the “dark side,” we assume that they were actually bad people led astray by appeals to their evil nature and vices.

Unfortunately, the insidious nature of evil is that if it wants you, it does not always come brandishing a pitchfork, with eyes blazing, and belching brimstone to threaten you into submission. It does not always appeal to your vices.

Instead, the worst forms of evil may not appear evil at all. They may appear as a good natured but mischievous leprechaun promising you a pot of gold. Like the Pied Piper, they may appear playing a melody that entrances you and leads you astray. They may appear as a smiling friend who appeals to your virtues. They approach you with assurances of the good you can do and promise to make your dreams come true. Evil can manipulate you and turn your virtues into vices. It’s twisted logic will convince you that in the name of loyalty, you must betray others. In the name of justice, you must commit crimes. In the name of equality, you must discriminate. In the name of peace, you must attack. In the name of truth, you must spread lies. In the name of love, you must spread hate. In the name of protection, you must destroy.

By the time you begin to suspect that you have been a tool of evil, you may have already done a lot of harm. Your first instinct will be to commit more strongly to your actions as you try to convince yourself that you are doing good. You will try to maintain your self-image by justifying what you have done and thereby justifying doing more.

All who follow evil are not necessarily evil themselves. They are often full of good intentions that led them down a path they never intended to follow. Once they recognize the path they are on, it is often difficult to turn around. Evil judges itself on what it can get others to do for it, not what it can do for others, and that is why Evil takes its greatest pleasure in getting good people to do bad things.

As martial artists, we train to be warriors, but few people understand what that means. On a superficial level, people think of warriors as people who train to fight, to defeat enemies and to win battles. On a deeper level, warriors have a much higher purpose. To understand that purpose, we can analyze the Chinese term Wu Shu (武术).

In traditional terms, wu shu referred to the “art of war” or “martial art” in Chinese. The character for Wu (武) contains the characters Zhi (止) or stop, and Ge (戈) , a type of dagger-axe used in battle. Therefore, the term wu shu can be seen as saying that martial art is the art of stopping war. This should be the highest purpose of a true warrior – to prevent or end conflict and to promote harmony and peace.

Unfortunately, some warriors only know war. They may be adrenaline junkies who only feel alive when facing death. They only feel purpose when fighting, so in times of peace, they will stir up conflict. In battle, they prolong conflict and see victory only in the total destruction of their opponent. They are often motivated by hate and anger or seeking personal glory. They prefer to destroy rather than to build. These people are warmongers, not true warriors.

The true warrior is motivated by love. Love of country, love of family, love of peace, love of humanity. They seek to create – to build up rather than to tear down. They train not just to be a better fighter, but to be a better person.  Although they seek to avoid conflict, they are not weak. Rather, they are strong enough to resist the call of ego and self-interest and instead seek to promote a greater good. They work quietly, steadfastly and often in the background. They do what needs to be done simply because it needs to be done, not for glory or personal gain. They risk their own safety to preserve the safety of others.

At Jing Ying Institute, we want to help people be warriors, not just fighters. We want to help people as they strive to be the best version of themselves they can be!

Thanks to the many local businesses and individuals who donated to and attended Jing Ying Institute’s Annual Silent Auction for SPAN, Inc., we raised more than $5,000 and over 500 pounds of non-perishables for SPAN’s food pantry.

SPAN stands for Serving People Across Neighborhoods, and they “provide food and financial assistance to qualified individuals and families to help them through a critical or emergency situation such as utility turn-offs, court-ordered evictions and prescription/medical assistance.” Their support reaches people in need throughout Anne Arundel County. (www.spanhelps.org)

Our fundraising spanned several months so that we could raise as much money and food as possible. The silent auction was held in December, a “last-chance” silent auction ran until the end of January, and food donations were made until the end of February.

One of Jing Ying Institute’s younger kung fu students, Andrew Gleason, surprised the school with his own special donation. For his birthday party, Andrew asked his friends for canned goods instead of presents so he could “do his part to help out.” We were so impressed with his initiative and generosity, we honored him with a special certificate of achievement.

During this time, we had lots of special events at the school that included door prizes and giveaways. The winners included JoAnne,  the happy recipient of a giant Christmas stocking. The jam-packed stocking was donated by Idea Weaver Promotions, Inc., one of the wonderful local businesses that donates each year to our fundraisers. JoAnne is a teacher and plans on giving the stocking to a deserving student. Talk about paying-it-forward!