Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important whether he chooses to be so or not.
– Nathaniel Hawthorne
Our greatest voids determine our highest values. In other words, whatever we perceive is most missing from our life becomes our priority.
As the five-year-old child of Chinese immigrant parents, Ron’s world suddenly shifted from that of a supportive family to an environment of extreme bigotry.
Born and schooled in Sydney in the late 1950s, young Ron experienced the resultant reality of “The White Australia Policy” which encouraged English people to migrate to Australia by subsidising their travel. English people could catch a boat to Australia for ten pounds, or twenty dollars. Why? The government wanted to populate Australia with caucasians rather than the Asian ‘hoards’ to the north. In the 70’s, Ron’s theatrical agent at the time even called him “The Yellow Peril”, which was the derogatory name Australians gave to Asians.
At school, Ron was ridiculed and bullied. Fights and name-calling were a daily occurrence. He was born in Australia, his parents were born in Australia, yet he was victimised because he looked different. As a result, Ron felt totally and utterly disempowered. Personal power was his ‘void’ and, therefore, also his highest value.
Over time, Ron learned that for every perception of a negative, there is a corresponding positive perception, an ultimate benefit. What was the benefit of years of racial abuse? During the search for his own answer, Ron studied eight different forms of martial arts and went on to teach thousands of people to increase their personal and inner strength using these same principles.