At a recent screening of the mixed-martial arts movie “Warrior,” a crowd from Norcross' Campus Church hooted and cheered over the appearance of a couple of T-shirts in one scene.
As actors Joel Edgerton and Frank Grillo, who play a fighter and his coach, walk into the film’s big cage-match scene, they are wearing black T-shirts with “Soul of a Lion” and “Simply Believe” written in large white letters on them.
“Warrior” may not be a religious movie, but the shirts are subtle nods to Christian themes – such as the Lion of Judah from the Book of Revelation – that run through the film. The reference was not lost on this crowd.
“We went crazy when we saw that,” said Joel Geniesse, president and founder of Warriors for Christ, a ministry that teaches mixed martial arts with a biblical bent. “I think Brendan [Edgerton] found faith in God in the least likely place: an MMA studio.”
That could just as easily summarize Geniesse’s own story. The 36-year-old father of three has morphed two of the most influential elements of his life, Christian faith and martial arts, into one discipline.
Geniesse has been studying martial arts since he was 5. A black belt in Tae Kwon Do and four consecutive years’ worth of North Carolina Championship titles in martial arts sparring are among his achievements.
When he was in his early 20s, a life devoted to Christianity helped him overcome some early life struggles, including his parents' divorce when he was 9, his involvement in a gang and the loss of his brother in a violent death.
But he wasn’t sold on the traditional routes toward a life devoted to faith.
“I didn’t like the idea of handing out tracts and inviting people who don’t even know you to come to church," Geniesse said. "I wanted to just do something I was passionate about.”
When a friend introduced him to the idea of Christian martial arts, Geniesse said it didn’t make much sense until he started paying closer attention to biblical passages about fighting, including Genesis 32:21-31, where Jacob wrestles with God all night, who wins the battle by using a paralyzing grip similar to a Japanese-style pressure point. “I think God likes martial artists,” he said, smiling.
During classes last week at Campus Church, the group circled up as instructor Greg Kendall led students in a prayer asking God to “open our minds and keep us safe as we practice. We pray there will be no injuries.”
The mental discipline of most martial arts is derived from Buddhism or other eastern religions. But in this class, students are learning spiritual strength through Genesis, Matthew and 1 Corinthians verses. They practice a system Geniesse created called Hsieh Wu Shu, which is Chinese for “The Way of Unified Martial Arts.” It borrows from eight different martial arts styles and took Geniesse several years to perfect.
In 2007, he earned the title “Soke,” an honorable designation that his students use to address him. It’s Japanese for “head of the house” and was given to him in 2007 by the International Fellowship of Christian Martial Arts for founding a martial arts system.
“We pulled the best from every discipline,” said Lisa Bethay, a student and administrative coordinator for the group. “Tae Kwon Do has the best kicks. Judo has the best take-downs and throws. Some of our blocking techniques come from fencing. It’s a true mixed-martial art.”
Geniesse said the core of the methodology is meant to provide physical discipline to support Christians on their spiritual journey.
“I am convinced that many Christians feel that once they are saved, living a Christ-like life should come naturally,” he said. “When it doesn’t, they get discouraged and lose faith.”
During difficult poses, for example, Geniesse encourages his students to rely on God and often reads them Bible verses to help them through the discomfort.
Although the class is open to anyone, regardless of their religious affiliation, the idea is to use MMA as a vehicle for conversion. Indeed, Warriors for Christ claims that several students, one who Geniesse said was formerly an atheist, have joined Campus Church.
“The reality is that we are more likely to get an 18-year-old male to join our martial arts program than we are to get them to come to church,” he said. “Once we build a relationship and the walls are broken down, then they will consider church."
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