What Can a Black Belt Learn From Kung Fu Panda?

Before we start, I am not an experienced movie analyst. Just a blogger. As a result, there may be spoilers in this article. If you haven't watched these movies, you should probably go watch them before reading further. They're great.

Admit it, that's a pretty cute stock image of a panda.

Kung Fu Panda is a great movie. What’s more, it’s a great movie series. It's got all the best parts; good characters, good plot line, and an amazing sense of humor. Most importantly though, it’s a great lesson in character development. Every single movie in the franchise has so far played a part in Po's character development. That's why I love the movies so much. They really show the importance of character development. What's better, this can work as a great example of what a black belt can learn from this franchise.*

To be honest, I could probably go on for a while about all the things one can learn from Kung Fu Panda movies. For the sake of everyone's sanity, however, I'm going to keep it to one or two thoughts per movie. If you want to know more (or perhaps have something you want to tell me), feel free to contact me directly at taekwondotutors@gmail.com!

Kung Fu Panda (the first one)

The first movie is amazing. It's somehow both comical and profound. Why? Because it's all about starting one's journey and self determination. After a freak accident, Po joins this community of martial artists and his life completely flips around. He's faced with challenges he never thought he'd even have the opportunity to do, but does he give up? Hardly. Instead of giving up, he tries, and tries, and tries again.

This is what the black belt journey is. It's all about trying. Black belts start learning as white belts. Did they get every technique right the first time, every time? Hardly. In fact, they've probably failed so many times, they've lost count. What makes them black belts isn't their perfection. It's their determination to never give up.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (the one with the goat lady)

Okay, the second movie is a favorite. The first movie was amazing and I thought it couldn't be beaten by the sequel. Then I watched the sequel. I'm not going to lie, I cried. I'm obviously not going to try and spoil anything, but I definitely should have brought tissues.

This movie can be used to teach students many things, but I think it is a perfect way to teach people that you can still be a martial artist and feel emotions. In fact, I'd say learning to control oneself and manage emotions was probably one of the most important things I learned in training. Taekwondo, and good martial arts training in general, isn't just about punching, kicking, and strengthening one's muscles; it's also about strengthening one's character, and growing as a person.

Kung Fu Panda 3 (The one with the panda)

Connected to his character development from the second movie, in which Poe finds inner peace, he also comes to some sense of self-fulfillment in the third movie when he finds his community of fellow pandas. Rather than being surrounded by pigs, geese, and rabbits, Po is surrounded by other pandas. He doesn't just find pandas who look like him though; he finds pandas who eat as much as him, sleep as much as him, and sigh as much as him.

This is part of being a black belt. Finding a community and becoming a part of that community. Po does that quite successfully. He could pretend like he knows better than the new panda community that he's found, but instead he chooses to learn from them. Even though their habits might seem absurd to him. As an example, they laugh when he starts eating with chopsticks. Instead of getting upset, Po asks them how they do it, and they point out that his hands are a much better and efficient tool. One thing every black belt should learn; we can always learn something from others!

Kung Fu Panda 4 (The most recent one with the... well, you'll know it when you see it.)

Last is the most recent one, the fourth movie. Kung Fu Panda 4 was amazing. It was very good. I would argue that it is about deception. Deception and self-improvement. As an example, the young fox that Po befriends deceives him more than once, and yet he still makes her the next dragon warrior!

Why? Arguably, that is because of his development of self-confidence. If you remember the first movie, Po is much less confident, always averting his eyes, cowering, and goofing off. But in Kung Fu Panda 4? He is quite the opposite. He's wise, self-aware, and patient. Arguably, these are qualities that black belts, and really all martial artists, should strive for. After all, martial arts are about self-control and thinking of others. One of the best ways to maintain self-control physically, is to be self aware mentally. Essentially, check yourself before you wreck yourself.

So there you go! There is my brief musings on the Kung Fu Panda franchise. Yes, I'm quite a fan. Now that you've watched the videos and read my review of it, what do you think? Contact me if you want to share!

*Just to make it clear, I do not condone nor encourage any of Po's actions. I am not saying anyone should ever throw themselves into the spirit world or redirect explosives, for example. Those are actions done in a movie by an animated character. Obviously, they cannot (or should not) be done in real life. This post is for entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered as any form of instruction or endorsement of action. This is just opinion, and any actions (and injuries related to those actions) you may take in relation to this post are entirely your own.