Hip-Hop and Martial Arts Panel June 30th at 3-5 at Oakland Museum of CA

For Immediate Release

Crystal Silva

hhcfteam@hiphopchess.com

Panel on Hip-Hop and Martial Arts at Oakland Museum of CA Sat June 30th

Historians and Martial Artists Gather Discuss the Bruce Lee, Wu Tang Clan and Nonviolence in Hip-Hop

Oakland, CA- Jun. 26, 2018- The Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is proud to announce that their
Founder Adisa, The Bishop will be hosting a panel on the fusion of Hip-Hop and martial arts at the
Oakland Museum of CA located at 1000 Oak St. June 30, 2018 from 3-5 PM.The conversation is
part of the ongoing exhibit RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom at the Oakland Museum of CA
until August 12, 2018.  Panelists include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Master Alan “Gumby” Marques,
Kung Fu- Tai Chi Magazine Publisher and Man At Arms: Art of War co-host on El Rey
Network Gene Ching, International Hip-Hop dance champion and martial artists Profo Won
and rising Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor Von Stricklen.

The panel will look at how the Kung Fu Cinema explosion of of the early 70’s led by
Bruce Lee and Shaw Brothers films inspired artists from Dead Prez and Wu Tang Clan to
Dilated Peoples, Zion I and Kendrick Lamar. The panel will also look at recent influx of martial
arts presence in blockbuster movies like Black Panther and TV shows like Luke Cage.
The conversation will additionally touch on how this cross cultural pollination  sparked vegan, yogic
and other healthy lifestyle trends within Hip-Hop.

MyClickUrban.com will live stream the event for those unable to attend. Conversation Live Host and
Producer James Farr Stated “The voices of Hip-Hop are our temporary griots. I felt compelled to echo
these narratives, not as a scribe, but digitally. By live streaming, we’re able to expand the
#ConversationLive beyond the physical audience. The Conversation Live is presented My Click Urban.

“This conversation is bringing so many amazing communities together” said Adisa Banjoko HHCF
Founder and author of Bobby, Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess.” We are
thankful to the Oakland Museum of CA for allowing us to host such a powerful panel. Having a
digital partner like MyClickUrban helps us reach so many fans of the fusion. This panel is going to
be electric.” Mr. Banjoko created the idea for RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom and served
as the Guest Curator for the exhibit.

The HHCF currently runs a youth summer camp teaching  in San Jose at the Gardner Center located
at 520 W. Virginia St.

For more on HHCF visit www.hiphopchess.com today and follow them on Instagram
@realhiphopchess.

What Are You Willing to Sacrifice in Chess and Life?

Scene where Larry Fishburne's character "Vinny" plays a young Josh Waitzkin in Searching for Bobby Fischer


You're dealing with a king not a kong out here/ You're a pawn, but we can get along out here!

- Jidenna, Chief Don't Run

These days mainstream TV has been pushing a lot of chess on the screen. Television shows like Fresh Off The Boat, Luke Cage and The Get Down all made chess references in the last two seasons. My boy Mike Relm even called me to tell me the movie Get Out had some references to chess and mma in it.

While a lot of popular players inside chess like to talk about the likeness of chess to life, very few of them are able to share consistent connections. It also hard to do it effectively and consistently. We all know it makes sense to make better decisions in our life. We all want to. Many of us struggle to. However, looking at the life of chess players like Paul Morphy or Bobby Fischer (who both went insane) or others like Mikhail Tal (who was an amazing thinker but was not the best at taking care of his health) make it hard to argue that playing chess alone ensures a good life ahead.

Nevertheless, American chess icon Josh Waitzkin's’ The Art of Learning is one of the best testaments to the relationship between life and chess. It makes looking at the way one can incorporate chess themes in your life digestible. This is important. Especially for someone like me, who is not a world class chess player.

The Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is one of the only organizations dedicated to the chess and life strategies theme. We were founded on the idea to keep the connections between life and chess easy to understand and share with casual players.

One of my favorite examples of chess and life is found in the classic game from 1858 by American chess legend Paul Morphy in his game against Count Isouard and The Duke of New Brunswick called “The Opera House Massacre.” It was played in Paris at an Opera House. The Count and The Duke took turns moving the black pieces.

Move 12 for black is a pivotal point in the game. I always ask my kids (almost all of them beginners) who is stronger between white and black. I often get the response that black is stronger. My thought is that black is a better defender of their king, but they have zero active attacks going on. Meanwhile, white has more pieces active in the battlefield. In chess as in boxing, good defense is important, but it is equally important to making sure you have deliberate attacks happening as often as possible.

Moves 16 shows white running the queen to the back rank.  It looks like checkmate at a glance. That is only because many beginners forget to use their knights laterally. They tend to only move them forward and back. These two images are so crucial tactically and philosophically for us in HHCF. We talk about the importance of two things:

1) Morphy had clarity of vision. He saw the truth in the positions he played. One of the biggest problems in life is trusting yourself. Before many of us make a decision, we ask a friend or two “Is this a good idea?” Sometimes they agree, other times they don’t. Other times the response from friends is mixed. Very few of us can laser in on what we see and act from a place of inner conviction. Chess helps us teach ourselves to trust in the reality of what we see. It helps us form a habit of taking the best actions based off of that clarity of vision. One of the best ways to really make a habit of knowing if it IS what it looks like it is- is to play chess.

2) Sacrifice. The word sacrifice is defined as “destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else.”  Sacrifice  is something you must give up or risk- for a greater good (we hope). We have to recognize though that anything you sacrifice is only worth it, if you win! So then let’s ask, “Where are the sacrifices we need to make to achieve our life goals?” Ask anybody (but especially kids) what they want to be, or do, and you get a lot of passionate responses.

Right now, there is a kid on a football team. Let us call him Rashad. If  is truly a top tier player he is spending a ton of time in the gym, studying his playbook, studying film, working hard to make sure his grades are up to par so there is no question about his eligibility. The entire time that is happening Rashad is missing out on school parties, on trips to the amusement park, on online shenanigans etc. Over the course of his high school journey, there are many social events he misses out on.

However, in senior year we see he gets a full football scholarship to a top tier university. Everyone at the school is so excited.  Very few of his fellow students, friends or family realize the years of sacrifice it took to get that opportunity to come to life. “Rashad is so lucky!” they say. Never considering all the years of study and effort it took to get “lucky”.

The question for my class (and my question for you today) is what is the queen sacrifice in your life right now? The queen is powerful, dynamic and brings terror to her opponents on sight. No person lightly gives her away. One only sacrifices her, if they are clear that victory is sure. Training yourself to be willing to let go of the queen is so hard. Few of us can do it. I wrestle with it often. But it must be done.

As on the board, so in life. Next time you are thinking or talking about anything major that you want to accomplish. Think about the last three big things you did to actualize that goal. If it is diet related, don’t lie to yourself about the cookies you snuck in last night. If it is financial, don’t forgive yourself for for spending money you could have saved on shoes.

Look for the hard sacrifices you need to make. Look at your personal goals and work to consistently make the sacrifices needed. If you are not making the sacrifices you may be unclear on what you want and why. Look into that. If you are afraid to give everything to get what you want then don’t complain. Until you are ready to put it all on the line you will never reach the level you say you seek. Enjoy your games.

Watch the entire Opera House Massacre played out here: https://www.chess.com/blog/Boogalicious/morphys-opera-house-game

HHCF Drops Street Games Shirt (built to play chess on!!) for Holiday Players

Always on the quest for innovation, HHCF has made a Street Games shirt for the holidays. You can play on the shirt. So, wherever you go, you are ready to play. 

http://www.hiphopchess.com/shop

Notes from the Field: My Kennedy Center Keynote + I met Grandmaster Flash!

Adisa The Bishop at the Kennedy Center explaining how Bruce Lee, Bobby Fischer and kids from the Bronx changed America forever. 

I had an amazing trip to DC to the Words Beats and Life Teach In. It was in many ways a test of focus and will. Essentially, I got on a plane Thursday at midnight, and touched down on Friday about 11 AM. Right before I got on the plane, I learned that our Southeast Regional Director (Vince Bayyan) and our HHCF Durham Chapter Leader (D'Juan Owens) were not going to be able to make it due to situations beyond their control. 

When I landed, I learned the jiu-jitsu mats were not gonna be there. On the flight the turbulence was so bad. It was prayer worthy. Not just prayers. The kind where you start straight up having rambling conversations you think are heart to heart engagements with The Creator. 

"How bad was it?!" you ask. 

It was SO bad, that someone pooped on the plane twice during the mayhem at thirty-thousand feet. I repeat, twice. 

Despite this, I was totally at peace. In the past I might have wondered if the following were all bad omens. I wrote a whole new lecture just for Words Beats and Life. In the past I might have undercut myself and chosen to do one of my past lectures. 

But I was at peace. 

Upon landing my ride to the Words Beats and Life event at the Kennedy Center. It is an amazing building and I started to get goosebumps as I walked in. Not long after I got there I saw Christie Z Pabon from the Hip-Hop promotions company Tools of War. I also saw Nico Ball of the Terere Kids Project in Brazil. They teach kids in the favelas of Brazil jiu-jitsu and help give them a better chance at life. 

I hung out with them as I waited for my time to speak. At that point I had been up many hours, but I didn't care. I was in a great mood and the crowd was amazing. All the people from Words Beats and Life were kind and supportive. It was organized well from top to bottom. I have to give Asad Jafri and Mazi Mutafa a serious nod for having their crew on point. 

When it came time to speak, I just went up and gave it my all. I tried to Periscope it, but the signal was bad...It did not work!!! I just focused on my talk. It was very surreal. I didn't think of it as a presentation, but more of a conversation with friends. I illustrated the history of martial arts and chess centered around Hip-Hop dance and DJ culture.We looked at clips of Bruce Lee and I talked about how he inspired so many African Americans to learn martial arts, use it as a tool for nonviolence and explore ideas like Buddhism and vegan living. I showed how that history how it had a ripple effect in shows like The Get Down and Luke Cage. The crowd loved it. I had intended to do a whole series of jiu-jitsu positions to show how they align with chess. But with D'Juan gone all that was outta the window. 

I had a last second idea to have Nico Ball come up and show a jiu-jitsu wrist escape that all young women could use. Also an arm drag to a choke from standing. This allowed me to show how position and knowledge are greater than strength when it comes to self defense. We didn't even need any mats. I went on to share how important it was for women to take jiu-jitsu, judo and take self defense seriously. 

In my conclusion I got into the important role Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts play in sparking executive function in the brain. When I was done, I got a great round of applause. It was a vindication of the highest order. I was so scared. Only my wife and my man J-Live had heard my presentation before I did it. They both said it would work. They were right. 

As I hung out at the place. Grandmaster Flash walked in. I hurried to the back to introduce myself. When I got back there, he was in a bad mood. He was coming down from having an intense discussion with someone. I walked in the room mid convo and it was awkward for me. 

I didn't introduce myself because I felt confused about the best way to introduce myself. Flash was sitting a couch in the back. I was standing in the doorway. 

Grandmaster Flash and Adisa The Bishop (trying to fix his face)

He looked over at me as I was spaced out looking at the ceiling. 

"Fix your face" he barked. "Is something wrong? You look mad?"

The old me would have been mad. I might have started yelling. I am a westsider by birth and I mighta got all riled up. In this moment though, I was not trippin'. 

Without missing a beat I said. "My face is like this because I'm in awe of being in the presence of a legend. If you mistake my face to be anything else, you will truly be misunderstanding my joy. I just talked about how your character and Shaolin Fantastic are just like Po and Kwai Chang Cain in the TV show Kung Fu. My name is Adisa. Nice to meet you." I walked over and shook his hand. 

You could see Flash was still coming down from his anger. He studied me. 

"What do you do?"

"I am the Founder of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation" I said with a smile. 

Half playing and half perturbed he said "That does not tell me anything. I asked what do you do?!" with a half smirk he leaned toward me. His eyes probed mine for weakness. This dude is a true New York'er. 

"I teach kids chess, jiu-jitsu and Hip-Hop to keep them off the streets."

He raised his chin as he thought, then said "That sounds pretty cool. I think I like that idea."

Then he let me interview him. I cannot tell you everything he said. I told him I'd hold onto it. I can say it was deep. He does have deep respect for chess GM Geller. He loves Kung-Fu films. We took a quick photo then he was off to do his Q&A and get his award. 

What he took to the stage was amazing. He shared a formula he created back in 1969 to DJ parties. It was a blueprint for juggling breaks (a way to play a specific part of any record over and over). It blew my mind and I have to say I was more than impressed. 

A lot of Hip-Hop pioneers are too arrogant or angry about the past. They tend to not share a lot. Flash was the total opposite. He truly is a genius. In the truest sense of the word. I was in awe of his passion and clarity. 

My conversations with him helped me reframe my outline for the sequel to Bobby, Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess. I created an outline for two more books as I was writing my new one. But being with him made me think deeper about what I was trying to say, and what elements of the history were missing. 

It was an honor and I learned so much going to Words Beats and Life WBL Fest. I hope to do more in DC and more with them in the future. From there I got back on a plane about 7 PM and got shaken through more turbulence. Eventually, I got back to my wife and kids. It was amazing. Despite not getting any sleep for about 24 hrs,, it was something I will never forget. 

In reflecting about my mellow mood through the escalating drama I have to credit my consistent meditation practice. I think it helped me stay in a peaceful zone. That, and I had mentally decided that like the comic book character Itto Ogami, nothing would stop me from getting there and doing my best. And nothing did. 

More to share soon. Thanks so much for your support and taking the time to read this. 

PEACE! 

Adisa Banjoko to Keynote at the Prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington DC Nov. 4th.

HHCF Founder Adisa Banjoko will be speaking at The Kennedy Center in Washinton DC Nov. 4th!!! He will be debuting new insights on connections between chess, martial arts, Hip-Hop and cognitive function. There will also be deep connections made between the rise of Bobby Fischer and Bruce Lee and the impact it had on Hip-Hop (seen through the lens of Luke Cage and The Get Down) !  If you are a fan of STEAM and STEM in education please make sure you are there. Get your tickets now https://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/PRWBL

This event will be LIVE STREAMED on Periscope!!! To view the presentation follow @hiphopchess on Twitter & Persicope in your phone.