Top 10 Heroes

I have had so many heroes in my life. I was recently thinking about those who have influenced me the most. I had a long list, but these are my top 10:

Sun WuKong
The Monkey King! I admire Sun Wukong because he is more than what initially meets the eye. To the world he is nothing but a foolish monkey. However, he is actually super intelligent, strong, and quite compassionate. I like how his appearance is deceiving. It is a good lesson not to judge on appearance alone.

In college all my Chinese friends used to call me: WuKong…Maybe because I look kinda weird…but also because I practice Martial Arts…haha

Miyamoto Musashi
oh man! Nothing gets me more hyped then Musashi! As a kid, I read everything he ever wrote. I visited his hometown and followed as much of his trail as possible on my first trip to Japan. I think I have read just about everything on this guy that has ever been written. I even wrote a final paper on him in college.

There is so much mystery surrounding Musashi. I don’t agree with everything he wrote, but I do think he was a genius, and I can truly appreciate the way he lived. He was a warrior.

Batman
Many people like Batman because he is Batman. Or because he is rich, or super intelligent, or just simply written very well. I fell in love with the character of Bruce Wayne. Batman is cool, but what I like the most is watching Bruce Wayne become Batman. The training he put himself through, and his reasons. While many superheroes at the time were dressing in flashy costumes or showing off in front a lot of people, Batman has always been the character that preferred the shadows. As a superhero, he just makes sense to me. And when everything is said and done, he is just like you and me. Nothing “super” special about him. He just works hard.

The highlight of every Saturday morning for me was watching Batman Beyond ^_^

James Bond
Who wouldn’t want to be James Bond?? Nice car, beautiful girl, always comes out on top! He was so cool. GoldenEye was one of my favorite movies growing up. Everything about James Bond movies excites me! There are very few movies I will go see without even watching a trailer, but the Bond series is one of them. Guaranteed to entertain! I like Pierce Brosnan a lot as Bond, as he was the original for me, but Daniel Craig is doing quite well too!

Indiana Jones
The face of Adventure! I like his style. He was rough, street smart, but also intelligent. I loved all of his adventures so much! When I played outside as a kid, I always pretended to be Indiana Jones on another quest for something lost or ancient. Many games of "Hot Lava" were played, and my freerunning/parkour career began...haha...

Indian Jones has a recklessness about him that James Bond does not. It's classic! Just making things up as he goes. I can relate to that a lot. His movies are genre defining. Superb.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I think! The TMNT were my first experience with the Martial Arts. It was sooooooooo long ago, but that feeling has stuck with me. The story is really weird, and far from perfect, but the lessons taught throughout the show were important to me: Honor, courage, respect. These are the foundations in my mind for the martial arts. I always liked Leo the best ^_^

Michael Jackson
I remember watching him perform for the Superbowl a long time ago. When his performance started, he literally just stood on stage for over a minute, without moving. The crowd went WILD.

After a minute and a half, he simply looked the other way, and the crowd went into an uproar. It was amazing! He created so much joy and excitement in people. I loved it! I loved his style! His personality seems just so sincere. He inspired me a lot.

Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan movies helped shape my view of the martial arts. They transitioned me from a "destroy" to an "entertain" mentality. The martial arts can be defined so many different ways, by so many different people. And so many people dislike Jackie Chan. I don’t know what he is like in person, but he has done a lot of good in the world. Especially my world. He made me want to use my martial arts to make people smile.

I loved his movies when I was a kid.

Robin Hood
I watched any thing and everything that had Robin Hood on it as a kid. Robin hood was my first taste of philosophy. Is it right to do something “wrong” in order to accomplish something “right”. My first encounter with Robin Hood was through the cartoon version of him as a fox. Loved it! I got a bow and arrow later in life and fell in love with Archery. I am a huge fan of people who always try to do what is right.

TinTin
I spent hours reading the old TinTin comics. TinTin was so cool. I love superheroes, but TinTin wasn’t like them. He was real. He made mistakes, got shot, knocked out, but every time, he came out on top. I love his sense of adventure, and his good spirit. People often fall in love with “bad boys”, but it’s not my style. TinTin was someone I could look up to with a soft, caring heart. Very cool.

Honorable Mentions:

Vash the Stampede

King Arthur

Himura Kenshin

So that is my list! If you haven’t heard of any of these people, I highly recommend watching their movies, reading their books, or listening to their music ^_^ I’m sure this list is not complete, but these were my initial thoughts on a particularly long plane ride from Brazil to Hong Kong …haha

Who are your favorite heroes? Feel free to let me know on FACEBOOK any time : )

-Chris
10 MAY 2015