We lost a good one #107

Good morning folks, today I had planned to share some updates with you in regards to my daily routine until it was overshadowed by the murder of one of Iran’s most accomplished wrestlers by the name of Navid Afkari (read here).

It was incredibly disturbing to find that a 27 year old man was hung to death just Saturday and his two older brothers sentenced to life imprisonment. All due to a 2018 protest to inflated oil prices in a country that is the second largest oil producer.

This an incredibly tragic loss for the wrestling and martial arts community. It’s not the first time the Iranian government has shown no regard for human rights as we saw in the kidnapping of Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian. In contrast, his life was spared. We also can’t forget the name that is known to every Iranian, Gholam Reza Takhti, the most accomplished wrestler to this day who a majority speculate was killed for political reasons.

What does that say about the freedom granted by the Constitution permitting gatherings to celebrate criminals while we turn our backs on our true heroes in blue? To imagine that a world exists where torture and execution is normal is something I find to be unbelievable, tragic and vile. While we can never fully remove evil from the world, we can all do our part to become stronger and serve our community better, that is the only option for a Martial Artist. Live by a code of honor and control what you can control to serve those around you.