Learn kung fu in China!

Here's a superb addition to the list of books to read before/during/after a trip to China:



American Shaolin
Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China by Matthew Polly

When we were in Beijing, we saw a fantastic kung fu show. The hour-long show had martial artists doing flying leaps, kicks, backflips, weapon demonstrations, wood breaking, brick breaking, and even some "flying." The whole show was loosely tied together by the story of a young boy who is brought to a shaolin temple by his mother. He overcomes many obstacles and later becomes the most powerful monk in the temple. The show had everything: colorful costumes, lights, music, and even a little romance. It was an extravanganza obviously concocted for tourists, complete with souvenir items for sale in the lobby. But we thoroughly enjoyed it anyway, and left it thinking that being a kung fu martial artist is one of the coolest things in the world.

Many people (including me, hehe) think that it would be cool to learn kung fu someday, but few actually do it. Or maybe some take a few classes in a local martial arts studio, and that's it. In 1992, Matthew Polly, then a tall, lanky 21-year old from Kansas, decided to take a leave from his studies in Princeton to seek out the Shaolin Temple in China and learn kung fu from the masters. He actually goes and fulfills the secret dream of many boys who've watched Jet Li movies too many times.

What he finds is unexpected: the original Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, China still stands, but it has been converted into a tourist site, complete with entrance ticket and tacky souvenir shops. He eventually discovers that to learn kung fu, he has to enroll in one of the kung fu schools around the area and pay a steep tuition ($1,300 a month for classes, board and lodging!) to be able to learn under the masters.

It was hardly the isolated monastery he was dreaming of. The martial arts students' favorite past time during their free hours was playing Street Fighter II in an arcade or watching kung fu movies in a multiplex. The monks regularly performed for tourists who came to the area, generating income for the school. The best monks had ambitions of becoming big movie stars, or emigrating to the US. They were not the serene, meditating, removed-from-the-material-world monks that he expected.

After his illusions are shattered, Matthew finds that beneath the tourist trap and greedy administrators, the art of kung fu was still alive and well, and there were excellent teachers and students (and even a janitor) who could teach and inspire him. He stays for two years, and learns a lot more than kung-fu. He gets immersed in the Chinese culture, learning the worst curses, the tricky art of negotiation, how to win in drinking games, how to woo (and not to woo) a woman, and how to face down the people who liked challenging a laowai (a foreigner) for fun. He also meets a few colorful characters and oddballs..including a gay Buddhist monk who liked singing Barbara Streisand, a weird new age soul-searching backpacker who claims Bruce Lee moves as his own, and a monk with an extraordinary talent: an iron crotch.

Matthew is a funny, insightful and entertaining writer. He's not entirely a clueless foreigner: he studied Chinese culture and martial arts for a few years in college and knows how to speak Chinese. His major in religion also makes his spiritual perspective a little more enlightened. For those who may be contemplating of running away to a Shaolin temple in China, (Ferdz di ba naisip mo yun? hehehe) this book is a sobering dose of reality: you need money. But it is also inspiring. Matthew starts out as an awkward, confused kid who grows into a strong and cunning fighter. His admiration for the monks and martial artists he befriends shines through. In the end he is able to prove his passion and dedication, and earns the respect of the monks as well.

See more in Matthew Polly's website (he even has pictures of the Iron Crotch Monk to prove it) www.mattpolly.com