Photo by: Dream Ear Productions Copyright 2020
Peace to the planet Earth! I have missed you! Sorry for such a long delay in posting. A lot of stuff changed for HHCF, but for the good. The truth is, I fell ill in 2020 with a bacterial infection in my stomach.. It was bad. I had to get two blood transfusions and was literally a day away from dying when I was called to the hospital. Had I gone to work that day, or put off going in I would not be writing you now.
I contracted a separate infection of the potentially fatal MRSA staph a few months later. I had to go to the hospital again because it was on my face and with it came a horrible case of impetigo- but I recovered. The process was strange because the infection took a lot of my energy. Nevertheless I beat it.
In the meantime, I was posting on our instagram @realhiphopchess and teaching at the UFC Gym in San Bruno plus teaching at Zaytuna College as head instructor of jiu-jitsu and chess. I began working on a book called A Dead Man's Diary. It's about how my near death experience impacted my personal philosophy about life. I went through some dark days.
In truth, I had gotten a bit depressed, and unclear on who I was initially. But after that I became supremely focused and motivated. I had to use all of the tools from HHCF (which worked thankfully), plus my jiu-jitsu, plus my closest friends and family members, plus therapy and taking a class on stoic philosophy to make sense of what I had endured. Plus a lot of reading new things..
In the course of it all I lost my personal love for chess. Everything about the game seemed lifeless to me. I was playing and losing. But the losses were not resonating. I didn't care. I was not seeing dynamic forces engaging on the board. My chessvision had been altered. I traveled a bit. While in UK I played a game and for the first time the entire board felt wholly dead. For the first time the board was not radiating with life. It was just glass and stones. The positions were irrelevant.
I realized at that point that the game had not changed. I had changed. Keep in mind the entire time this is happening- I'm STILL TEACHING. I'm at juvenile halls, high schools and colleges. I realized chess was not the issue. I was. So, I've went on a deeper journey inside my mind. I understand now why the game became dead to me. Within weeks my love for the game had returned. The board and pieces were breathing again and full of life. As I unlearned to relearn new opportunities arose in the space of education and mentoring. Everything I went through started to make sense.
In the meantime I focused on the Bishop Chronicles Podcast at www.bishopchronicles.com . It now has more than 100 episodes! (thanks to Mike Relm and the good people over at www.PharcydeTV.com! Visit the site right now to heard incredible interviews and conversations about the fusion of Hip-Hop news, chess, martial arts and health and fitness trends. I'm talking about valuable stuff to keep your body in good shape and your mind sharp. In every episode there is a section showing you how to use chess, jiu-jitsu and Hip-Hop to improve yourself. But mostly, it's just be being silly with my friends. This is like NPR meets VICE. That is the vibe.
1. How Niccolo Machiavelli impacted the strategies of Tupac Shakur.
2. I have in depth conversations with entrepreneurial rappers like Mista FAB.
3. I even talked to MMA legend Ralph Gracie about the current state of the UFC.
4. There was a super deep talk with Stanford Philosophy Professor Greg Watkins,
5. Simon Purkis, CEO of Purling London (maker of cool designer chessboards selling for 10K!).
6. Tribute show remembering the life of rapper Juice Wrld and a look at why our kids are depressed.
You can subscribe to iTunes, Spotify, Mixcloud and Libsyn to get the full rundown of the shows. It is always funny and informative (appropriate for teens and up).
In 2020 the goal is not to merely feel better. We intend to help you actually be better. New folks on the team, new events and new knowledge from the #hiphopchess army will be coming at you soon.
The HHCF Official Page is down right now. It is being revamped. Look for its relaunch and big announcements coming soon. Super soon.
Long story short: I missed you, but I'm back- let's go be great.
For more on HHCF please follow us on Instagram @realhiphopchess (the impostors are out- begun the clone wars have) LOL.
To learn more about Bishop Chronicles follow us on Instagram @bishopchronicles !
If you would like to contact me directly about HHCF inquiries or speaking engagements email me at abanjoko@gmail.com! (serious inquiries only)....
