Some of my earliest memories are of going to the gun range with my father. He was a career military man and shooting was his passion throughout his whole life. He taught me to shoot as a young boy and I enjoyed it a lot. Later on in my life, after I was married and had kids, my focus was on my martial arts and I did not pick up a gun for almost 20 years. I never thought much about it really, as I had my Kung Fu weapons to master and that took up all my time and money.

Last year on a trip to visit my Mom and Dad, I took my 10 year old son shooting with my Dad. I taught my son to shoot a .22 magnum rifle while my Dad watched and made some comments himself. You could see his chest well up in pride as my son hit the target time and time again. This was a special moment for all three of us. When we returned home, Dad shipped the gun to CA and my son and I continued to go to the range. Later my Dad sent me a hand gun that I started to teach my son to shoot as well.

After his death last week, I had to go through his gun collection preparing all the pieces for liquidation. I saved a few of them for myself and my son so we can remember the Man and what he loved. As I was going through this process I thought of my son, some time in the future, doing the same thing for all my Kung Fu weapons. I thought that I was glad he was learning the martial arts as he would know all about the weapons just as I know about my Dad’s guns. Then, it hit me! What my Dad had taught me all those years was a martial art – the modern martial art of shooting. Funny, all this time I considered this his hobby. Now it is also my son’s and my hobby and an extension of my Martial Art.