Michael Jai White

White was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved as a teen to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he graduated from Central High School in 1985.\n', ' He is an accomplished martial artist, holding black belts in eight different styles: Shōtōkan, Taekwondo, Kobudō, Tang Soo Do, Wushu and Kyokushin, with a specific focus in Kyokushin (although his style incorporates aspects of many different martial arts forms). White started training in the martial arts at the age of seven in Jujutsu and then shōtōkan moving to other styles later.\n', ' White is a former teacher. He cites his history in education as the reason why, despite his personal love for the music genre on "a lot of levels", he cannot "in good [conscience]" have a positive opinion on hip hop or "excuse some of [its] pervasive and destructive elements", mainly due to his experience with youngsters who had difficulty seeing the difference between it and real life.\n', '