Hello,
I am a fifth Degree blackbelt in a Southern Shaolin Kung Fu system called Wuzuquan (Wu-Zu-chen) or translated Five Ancestor Fist. I have been studying it since my first year of college at Ole Miss in 1990. For those of you who do not know about the Martial Arts World, 5th degree is Master Rank. So, Yes, I am a Master of Kung Fu.
Now, Martial Arts is not your average path of life hobbies or even careers. Last I checked and googled statistics, for 2016, 3.58 million people in the US practice Martial Arts. 323 million people are in the US. That’s 10 percent of the people in the US. That’s a large number. However, do not be fooled. Many of those numbers are boosted by kids programs where the child only stays for a minimum of 2-3 years at the most. Very few go on to commit themselves to life-long study.
My Sifu, John Graham Sr, has a saying, out of 100 students, you might get 20 blackbelts. Out of those 20, 15 will move on to 2nd degree. Out of those fifteen, 6 might move to 3rd degree. Out of those 6, 3 will move to 4th Degree. Out of those 3, maybe 2, but most likely 1 will reach Master Rank. It typically takes 22-25 years to reach Master Rank. It’s a numbers game. I reached the rank after 27 years. It’s a matter of persistence. But there’s more to it than just my persistence.
You see, I’m also Bipolar. I had my first episode in 1999, and since then, have been hospitalized at least 4 times. Through all that, I stuck to the kung fu as a means of survival. I used the training as a way to focus my mind and kick out all the (literal) voices in my head. I have been on a number of medications, and as of 2011, found the combination that works the best for me. This is, for most Bipolars, a hard thing to accomplish because most Bipolars do not want to take medication at all. I know I didn’t when I first broke out in my first episode. I thought I could handle things fine once I felt like I had been stable for a while. So I would stop taking the meds. Slowly, my work performance would deteriorate, and I would begin to obsess and become paranoid. Then I would spend money I didn’t have. The world would become solely about me and I wouldn’t be able to think of others at all. In my worst moments, which would last days on end, my mind would make up fictions out of whole cloth, and believe those fictions as if they were reality. I would lose complete confidence in my ability to tell what was real and what wasn’t.
So…I’ve been stable since 2011. I interacted with a Bipolar group, DBSA, here in Memphis, but found myself very frustrated that no one was positive and wanting to be hopeful. While I was on Disability, I hated it. It felt like I was a second-class citizen, relegated to the invisible population that lived on the poverty line as beggars dependent on the government for our very livelihoods. When you are there, you aren’t expected to contribute to society. You aren’t encouraged to chase your dreams. You aren’t told to flourish and grow. Meanwhile, because of my interactions with my Sifu, I was being told to dream, flourish, contribute, and grow. I spoke and speak with him on a daily basis, as he is my primary anti-body against negativity and depression. He is my barometer, along with other close friends who can tell when I start slipping.
I think, what Bipolar people need today, is a hero. That’s what Truthsayer Chronicles is about. The main character of Truthmonk is going to become Bipolar in the course of his growing up. Not only will he be battling the forces of evil and oppression, but also depression and self-hatred. The characters of my series are going to be realistic, despite the Fantasy setting.
So I hope you will join me on this journey, as I chronicle my own life and the development of the Truthsayer Chronicles into a Christian Fantasy series.
Be real.
Todd Doyle
Truthsayer's Chronicles 