Meeting a Diamond Professor.

Human connection can be such a magical experience. I can say that after the passing of my Father and a good friend, Human connection is one aspect of life that I value more now than ever. Great friendships, people I meet in passing, and just sometimes a conversation in a store with a clerk have left more of a mark on me than any pair of jeans, sports car or drink of alcohol ever would.

With some exceptions, after about 3 years of training in any particular club, you will meet the people who have stuck around and in that crowd, you will catch a few Gems..once in a while, you may even be blessed to meet a diamond.

Undoubtedly in the past 15 years, I have met some of these gems, even a few select diamonds to say the least. The first diamond of a human being I met in my Martial Arts journey was Professor James Hundon.

 I first heard of Professor James Hundon when our JKD club decided that it was time to host a Master from the U.S. in August of 2015. It was a difficult time for me, as my beloved Father had passed only 4 months before, but as life came back to normalcy, teachers started to appear when I least expected them to.

When my teacher Jay Cooper says something or someone is a big deal, it is not to be taken lightly. Jay spoke of Professor Hundon with the regard of a Priest speaking of the Pope, Here is clip of what Professor Hundon is capable of (shot in 2015) taken at our annual California retreat:

More than his smooth movement, Professor Hundon was a product of the roaring and rough 1970's. The first Grandmaster I had met that not only appreciated Boxing, but could box like Jack Johnson and hits like an anvil. 

In conversation,  Professor Hundon spoke to you as an approachable friend. He never once spoke of himself in any high regard yet he is a 9th Dan in Small Circle Jujitsu under the legendary Wally Jay, and was an accomplished Serrada practitioner on top of Boxing. His personal experiences were far more interesting to me than his training accolades. 

 Professor Hundon is down to earth, kind and very real. He is one of man who genuinely gets up everyday and has one main goal, to pass on the lessons of the man he thought of as his second Father, Professor Wally Jay. Hundon's energy exudes one word: TEACHER.

At the time we had spoken, he had recently separated from his spouse. We spoke of Fatherhood, and he mentioned that he had 4 children with his two now ex-wifes. I had to pry (which I am good at by the way!) to find out that his son (named James Hundon Jr) played for the Chicago Bears as a wide receiver.  He mentioned that "different mothers" created a sense of difference with the way his kids turned out which I found both interesting and educational. When I asked him if he was a strict Father to his children, He referred to himself as  "structured Father" that taught his kids respect above all else.  I later learned that he worked at General Motors for many years and mentioned that GM was very supportive of his teaching and training schedule.

Yet, you could see the fire in Professor Hundon's eyes from years past. I heard stories about his early days in the US in the 70's as a Black man facing racism that I could honestly not comprehend. This is the difference between some of the paper instructors I have met in the past, and men who had actually fought. Men who had walked the walk, and had been in battles that others could only talk about. 

Professor Hundon called Canada his "second home". He is pictured below on the far left, along side myself, Sifu Jay and Instructor Tim Richards from Tao of Peace in San Francisco. The lowest picture is the Professor and I at his most recent seminar (the photo on the right is Prof Hundon casually putting me into a finger lock that hurt more than you can imagine!). I honestly Cannot wait to see this Diamond again!