What did Dillon Brooks learn on an offseason trip to China?

Over the summer, Dillon Brooks took a trip to China. It was not only a vacation but also a self-improvement trip for the Phoenix Suns’ forward coming off his best individual season.

Brooks had one goal: learn how to “center” himself. But while he was there, he also took the time to learn some kung fu, going to the Wudang Mountains to train with UFC fighter Li Jingliang.

“If anybody pisses me off, I’ll give them a dropkick, especially the ones wearing stripes,” Brooks joked about his takeaways from learning kung fu.

Brooks led the NBA with 17 technical fouls last season, and his “fondness” of referees is widely known.

Brooks also clarified his prior comment and said that kung fu, in fact, taught him the opposite.

“I actually learned the opposite of that,” Brooks said. “I learned how to center myself, simplify my life and focus on what I need to focus on.”

Besides the kung fu lessons, Brooks learned new things about an entirely different culture, one he hopes to incorporate into his own daily routine:

“I learned a way of life called Taoism, synergy; they call it the ‘pure way of living,'” Brooks said at Suns media day.

He noted that Taoism is a hard lifestyle to adopt as an NBA player, considering their whole lives are always magnified.

“It’s gonna be tough with all of these cameras, people and going state to state playing basketball games,” Brooks said. “But I can take a little bit and center myself in the hotel room or stay focused while getting ready for a game.”

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