Guest Column
by Sifu Anita Kay
Fu For You Fall 2025
I have been part of WKFA since I was six. Kung Fu was everything to me. I was hooked from the first class. My brothers and I found community and a second family here, and it became a pivotal part of our lives. When you’re a kid and you’re part of something for all your formative years, you never think that anything could keep you from it or that anything will change.
I was 18 when I earned my black sash. I am 36 now. Things are different. I now have a husband, two small children, and a career as a teacher. I also had brain radiation. I lost half of my vision, my ability to read, write, count, and forgot several members of my family. Things changed.
I taught myself how to read, write, and count again, and gradually rebuilt most of my cognitive abilities. I even took up some new hobbies to prove to myself that I could move beyond how I was post-injury. There was still something missing; I wanted to come back to Kung Fu.
Sifu Anita testing for her Black Sash in 2007. She tested alongside Sifu Daryl and Sifu Craig. This was the first grading after Sigung Dave took the reins of WKFA.
I knew I couldn’t just come back and have everything the way it was. This scared me. So many emotions, fears, and self-imposed insecurities obscured my path forward. What pushed me was my daughter. She had started in the Little Ninja program, and came in like a tiny bulldozer, fearless, determined, and ready to give it her all regardless of others’ perceptions. It never ceases to amaze me how some of the greatest life lessons can come from the smallest of us. She reminded me of what WKFA can do for a person. How each of us is respected as being unique. Our paths are ours to forge, and not to be compared to someone else’s. We are also pushed to continue along that path, helping us grow and move beyond our own self-imposed limitations.
But wait, I am a Sifu. I should be better than this. What if I find even more things I can’t do because of my brain injury? Flip the script; what if there are things you discover you can do. The fear of not living up to my rank was all consuming. Ironically, it was the very thing that was getting in my way. Once I flipped the script, it all changed. Sure, I totally lost my balance and smacked into someone in line, but I also threw a jump turn side kick without hitting my partner in that same class. Sure, I can’t see the target I have to hit on my blind side, but my partner will always be willing to move it for me. I am not alone.
You are not alone either. We all have insecurities that poison our self-image. I promise, no one thinks you can’t do it. You have more people in your corner than you think. Make yourself one of them.