I always separated these two words, loyalty and fidelity. The way I grew up loyalty was honorable, and noble. It was something you were to your boyz, your team, your martial arts school, army unit, and your family. Fidelity, on the other hand, was only talked about in relation to romantic couples. I was filled with the notion that loyalty is great and fidelity isn’t. Loyalty is macho, yet fidelity isn’t. You have to be loyal to be a great man; fidelity is optional. Loyalty was mandatory in my circle growing up, fidelity was discouraged.
There are a few reasons I felt this topic was important to discuss: one reason is because I talk about a lot of my accomplishments and strengths. This was definitely one of my mistakes and weaknesses. Another reason I feel it is important to talk about because I feel that there are people who look up to me, and I feel it is a very important lesson. I feel men, especially martial artists and even professional fighters, want to be on the macho side, and they think it’s okay to cheat and be disloyal to their romantic partner. I want to say there is nothing as macho as a man who can be completely loyal and loving to his mate. If I could talk to any young man who I was mentoring, one of the most important pieces of advice I would give would be to be completely “loyal” in every aspect of their life.
Listen to my “podcast” on Loyalty