Santanu's Podcast

Professor Rashid talks about his background and his philosophy of martial arts. He threads that into what it can mean in today's world where we are living through the COVID-19 pandemic, and the societal change we are experiencing from the murder of George Floyd.

In this episode, I get to talk with my podcasting co-host from Kung-Fu Konversations, Ariel! We discuss the impact coronavirus, aka COVID-19's impact is having on the world of martial arts. What does it mean especially for Jiu Jitsu schools? Is there more to martial arts than the "Man vs. Man" aspect to it?

I talk about the history of the health and solo training history of Kung-Fu. I also talk about my experience with learning martial arts through distance learning, and how that uniquely positions me as a leader of learning martial arts this way, in the age of Coronavirus. With COVID-19 in the air, we have to practice social distancing, but we can still learn and train Kung-Fu, through my livestreams!

LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED, DUE TO THE SENSITIVE NATURE OF SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED. In this episode, I interview Ji Mi Yu, who was an internet celebrity in the Asian American community. She candidly describes the horrors of being an internet celebrity. These horrors have had a traumatic effect on her, that she, to this day is still trying to recover from.  This interview is her first public appearance since she went offline 10 years ago. Ji Mi Yu is rebuilding herself, but she's now armed with the knowledge and experience of the ugliness of social media and the online world. She stays true to her original mission: to advocate for animal rights, and promote art and creativity as a way to heal oneself and others.

So, I've been going through a process of becoming aware of stuff I get addicted to, and recently, it has been the news. I talk about the relationship we have with media today, and what we can do about it. I even share my story on how media shaped my experience as a martial artist!

When you're capable of a lot, you end up taking on a lot. Affan, a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, talks about how he deals with stress. For Asian Americans who are dealing with a lot of stress, before you do something you might regret, consider picking up a 20-sided die!

I had a great conversation with Khansa at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, about the process of realizing that STEM was not our passion. If you're Asian American, and you are in STEM, but you are really doubting that you want to be in that field, listen up! Hope is not lost!

Felicia Jia, a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, sits down with me, and shares her story of a challenge she had, and how she dealt with it. The goal here is to give other Asian Americans a sense of hope and empowerment, when they face complex, and unexpected situations regarding what they want out of life.

This is the pilot episode of my personal podcast! I talk about the importance of doing what is uncomfortable, and also, how to coach others to do so, as well.