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Many times, Fairfax criminal defense lawyer Jon Katz has quoted this great passage from the Kung Fu television pilot with David Carradine (1972): “Perceive the way of nature and no force of man can harm you. Do not meet a wave head on: avoid it. You do not have to stop force: it is easier to redirect it. Learn more ways to preserve rather than destroy. Avoid rather than check. Check rather than hurt. Hurt rather than maim. Maim rather than kill. For all life is precious nor can any be replaced.” This is an ideal way to master courtroom battle and to handle any conflict.

When I learned that Kung Fu's creators Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander are still alive, I started looking for them to invite them onto my Beat the Prosecution podcast. Hitting deadends in finding their email addresses, I revisited Kung Fu chronicler Herbie J Pilato, who blew me away in accepting my interview invitation within hours.

The Kung Fu stand-alone pilot (Kung Fu: The Way of the Tiger, the Sign of the Dragon) blew away the nearly-nine year old me in multiple ways through multiple layers. Here I was learning both the concept and way to pursue a path other than brute force, whether through studying, verbal combat, sports or physical fighting. That is not to say that I was a quick learner, but that the path was now visible and open to me.

By now, it all comes together. The wu wei of acting in harmony with the universe's natural flow. The path of zero, with no chasing while fully engaging with the opponent. The cleaning with self identity through Ho'oponopono. Finding internal peace no matter what is happening around me and beyond.

Kung Fu's initial creator Ed Spielman did not spearhead this story from an armchair, but instead studied Mandarin at Brooklyn College, and conducted research for instance in New York's Chinatown while also being influenced by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Herbie says" "The show’s writers gathered information from Confucius, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, Zen Buddhism, and the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, all of which share a similar theme: Gentleness, peace and compassion are of the utmost importance if one is to have a spiritually-sound and happy existence."

Herbie sent me his great recent extensive Retro Fan Magazine article "Kung Fu and the Eternal Spring of 'Grasshopper'- A Look Back at TV's Classic Eastern Western."

This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text).

If you like what you hear on our Beat the Prosecution podcast, please take a moment to post a review at our Apple podcasts page (with stars only, or else also with a comment) at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beat-the-prosecution/id1721413675

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Psychodrama plays a major role at the Trial Lawyers College that Fairfax criminal defense lawyer Jonathan Katz attended for a full month in 1995. Psychodrama was founded by Jacob L Moreno and taught and pursued in depth by him and his wife Zerka.

Jon Katz is delighted in this Beat the Prosecution episode to be joined by J.L. Moreno's son Jonathan, and Jon Katz's fellow criminal defense attorney Christopher Flohr, also a TLC alum and a proponent of psychodrama.

Here, Jonathan Moreno addresses the roots of psychodrama in working with actors, and proceeding to its use in mental health settings. Interspersed are great anecdotes about J.L. Moreno's apt quip to Sigmund Freud, his friendship with Peter Lorre, and his connection to Martin Buber.

Read Jonathan Moreno's Impromp­tu Man: J.L. Moreno and the Ori­gins of Psy­chodra­ma Encounter Cul­ture and the Social Network. Hear my 2024 talk with J.L. Moreno's student Don Clarkson and Chris Flohr. Visit Jonathan Moreno's biographical page at the University of Pennsylvania website. Visit Chris Flohr's website.

This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text).

If you like what you hear on our Beat the Prosecution podcast, please take a moment to post a review at our Apple podcasts page (with stars only, or else also with a comment) at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beat-the-prosecution/id1721413675

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Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz's go-to lawyers for referrals for District of Columbia criminal defense are Michael Bruckheim and Sweta Patel at Bruckheim & Patel. Sweta and Mike regularly refer potential Virginia criminal and DWI defense clients to Jon Katz. Jon's confidence in Michael and Sweta arises from their consistently strong defense work, caring for their clients, and powerfully optimistic zeal.

In this Beat the Prosecution podcast episode, you will hear Jon, Sweta and Mike talk in unvarnished terms about the strengths and weaknesses of the criminal justice system, and how to pursue criminal defendants' best defense no matter the hurdles on that path. Mike Bruckheim is our second former prosecutor guest, with previous guest Tony Serra having prosecuted for a short period before switching to criminal defense. Not all prosecutors automatically take to the transplant from prosecution to defense, but Mike has done great with that transition.

The positive energy of Sweta and Mike is like a great contagion. Prosecutors, police and others in the courthouse can try all they want to beat down on criminal defense lawyers, but what matters in the end is not any bluster, but what happens on the wrestling mat of the courtroom. What this conversation boils down to is winning with powerfully optimistic zeal.

This episode is on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv-Ow12-4Qs

This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text).

If you like what you hear on our Beat the Prosecution podcast, please take a moment to post a review at our Apple podcasts page (with stars only, or else also with a comment) at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beat-the-prosecution/id1721413675