Sports or martial arts are about more than just physical activity. They teach people discipline, require them to respect those around them—be it a rival or a teammate—and shape the core values people tend to live by.

For this Kung Fu student, it was their teacher—their Sifu—who taught them the importance of respecting others and standing up for what’s right. He led them by example by standing up for said student when someone tried to offend them, all the while using malicious compliance instead of Kung Fu moves.

Scroll down to find the full story below, where you will also find our interview with the OP themselves, who was kind enough to answer a few of Bored Panda’s questions about the situation.

Kung Fu focuses a great deal on showing respect for the art and the people involved

Image credits: Kyle Taylor / flickr (not the actual photo)

This Kung Fu student’s Sifu made sure they were treated with the respect they deserved

Image credits: aowsakornprapat / envatoelements (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Garakta-Studio / envatoelements (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Silver-Syndicate

Kung Fu is a complex practice dating back thousands of years

Image credits: Kurayba / flickr (not the actual photo)

For many people, it might be difficult to stop themselves after saying Kung Fu and not to add the word ‘Panda’, thanks to the animated comedy film from 2008. However, the intricate art form itself dates waaay before the cinematic masterpiece loved by many.

Developed in China, Kung Fu is a complex system of combat and self-defense, the origins of which can be traced back to roughly A.D. 220-65. According to the British Kung Fu Association, the term itself—also known as ‘Gung Fu’—literally means ‘achievement through great effort’, as ‘kung’ stands for achievement or merit and ‘fu’ can be translated as man.

Though, according to the BBC, Kung Fu isn’t actually called this way in China. In its country of origin, the martial art is typically referred to as ‘wushu’, from ‘wu’, meaning “going into battle with a weapon on your shoulder” and shu, standing for “exquisite skills”. But despite what the name suggests, combat isn’t the main focus of Kung Fu; the core values that it fosters are respect, humility, and compassion.

Talking about the values their Sifu instilled in his students, the OP emphasized that he taught them a lot. “There was a lot of written material we had to learn by heart and write down every time we tested for a new rank,” they told Bored Panda. “There’s a lot to the material we learned and practiced, but to summarize it: ‘you always treat your fellow man as your own, we are all human and deserve to be respected as such, you protect the weak, help the good, and do whatever you can to make yourself and others feel welcome. You never stop learning, and humble yourself to learn from others.’

“We had a very diverse school with people from all walks of life you can imagine, but the moment they came into the Kwoon, they were family as long as they treated others the same. We all took these teachings into our lives, and we all strived to have humility and understanding within our art.”

The redditor shared that they trained with their Sifu for nearly a decade between ages 10 and 19, and took to heart everything he taught them. “He had taken me under his wing and gave me an inspirational figure to look up to. I believe many of us felt that way. We had an amazing relationship, and to this day, I still look at him as the father I never had.”

Members of Kung Fu clubs often become performers of the Lion Head Dance

Image credits: University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu / flickr (not the actual photo)

In addition to fostering the traditional values that Kung Fu entails, the OP’s school also had the tradition of performing the Lion Head Dance, a staple of the Chinese New Year celebration. As pointed out by the British Kung Fu Association, such performances—carried out to ward off evil and bring good fortune—are often linked to kung fu clubs as they are quite physically demanding and require high agility. In addition to that, the Lion Head Dance incorporates kung fu-derived stances, kicks and other movements, which practitioners usually have mastered.

According to the aforementioned source, the front part of the lion costume, its head, can get surprisingly heavy, which makes it rather difficult to navigate. However, being the ‘tail’ of the dragon is arguably not that much easier, as it requires the dancer to be bent for lengthy periods of time. It can also call for becoming a platform, which the person in the head of the dragon might need to stand on.

Needless to say, the dance is a challenging task to master and to perform, but, according to the association, Kung Fu clubs take great pride in being able to do it. It’s arguably safe to assume that the OP felt proud to do it, too, especially after their Sifu suggested that they lead the performance being the Head of the Lion. However, the owner of the restaurant wasn’t too happy about it and he let the performers know.

“Honestly, in the moment of it happening, I didn’t know how to react,” the OP recalled. “That was the first and only time I had to face discrimination within my practice, and I felt bad that my Sifu had to be the one to take the brunt of it happening. However, after the fact, it upset me that gender discrimination is still happening to women. We were there to have fun and spread love and happiness to people, and yet someone still found a way to bring in negativity and make a problem out of something that had nothing but loving and welcoming intentions.

“It makes me sad that this still happens today, because in the end, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man, woman, trans, nonbinary, or otherwise, gender discrimination will still happen because some people just can’t accept the concept of having a difference but still being equal,” they added.

The OP said they have never faced discrimination in their school of Kung Fu

The OP shared with Bored Panda that they never encountered discrimination in their school of Kung Fu, and never witnessed it happening to others. They admitted that people would ask questions, but they believed it was normal, so they welcomed said questions and discussed the topic without fear of being judged.

“However, outside of the school, it was very different. Even as a woman, I was told that learning to ‘fight’ was a boys’ sport and ‘unladylike’. As a trans man, I faced judgmental comments in both my work and personal life. The Internet is horrible about it, but having to face it in reality is ten times worse. You feel like you can’t win because either way you’re being told that you’re wrong for just existing. But my Kwoon felt like home, because the moment I stepped in, I wasn’t a female, I wasn’t a trans male, I was just me, just a normal person coming to class,” the Kung Fu student said.

“It’s sad when a place that teaches you how to fight is the most peaceful and accepting place on the planet, while the places that preach respect are more commonly the most dishonorable of them all,” they added. “I wish more places were like my Kwoon, because in that school we were all treated as human, and that’s what humanity should strive to achieve.

“Nobody has to be perfect, but we should all work towards being better. The philosophy has been uttered a million times, but nowadays is when we really need to start practicing it: money doesn’t matter, material objects don’t matter, what someone is doesn’t matter, how they look doesn’t matter, their status—either above or below your own—doesn’t matter. How we treat each other, that’s what truly matters.”

Fellow netizens shared their thoughts in the comments, they didn’t hold back praise for the Sifu

Some redditors weren’t too happy with the situation, though

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