How I plan to accomplish #38 on my Bucket List "Take Kung Fu"
*disclaimer, I haven't actually done this, it's only a story*
Despite everything you hear about China, it's actually quite beautiful. You know other than the oppressive communist regime, eating dogs for food and the fact that there's about a gazillion people living here. There's beautiful mountains, strangely shaped rice fields, strange and beautiful culture and of course the Great Wall (which was built on the backs of millions of slaves but that was a long time ago, you know?) But I think the thing that most impresses me about China and always has, is the martial arts.
The story of me taking martial arts begins when I was about eight when I took karate at a summer camp at mini university. I loved it, loved the movement and the dance and the feeling of power and flexibility it gave me. I really got seriously into it when I moved back to Winnipeg from San Diego to a new school where I knew no one. Taekwondo became my life and I was really good at it. I advanced at a rapid pace, becoming a black belt in only two years time. I had visions of nationals and then eventually the Olympics but something happened in my twelfth grade year. I found a boyfriend and friends that I loved to hang out with and just have fun. Discipline went out the window and I was finally the wild teenager I always wanted to be. So as suddenly as taekwondo came into my life it was gone, lost in the flurry of school sports and friends and love.
I was heading back from riding my bike on the Great Wall (which ended up being harder than I expected because there's actually a bunch of stairs everywhere. killer.) and I remembered the feeling as I watched seven boys, aged maybe fourteen, flying about and screaming. They were good and I stopped to watch them for a time, forgetting my tired limbs and sun burn (it was hot!) and remembering. And feeling an old stirring within me. I had always wanted to take kung fu, wushu if I had any choice in the matter but where I had lived all the kung fu schools were down town in dangerous areas and all the classes were at night. So I'd forgotten. But as I tore myself away from the boys' deadly dance I knew the longing again. And I was in China so why not?
It's actually harder to find a kung fu master who will take a white, female tourist who hardly speaks chinese (although she really wants to learn and is really trying). They turn me away. I'm too old, I can't afford them, I won't be here long, I couldn't handle it. But they can't take the longing away from me and I've always been teniacious. I go everywhere, to every school that offers wushu and then to every school that offers dragon. After a long day of disapointment I decided to make my way back to my hotel. After losing a whole day of sightseeing I'll be behind in my shedual. I'm beyond caring though.
"Hey you, you wan to learn kung fu? You come, you come!"
I wonder that in this culture, is it normal for small china men to just leap out at people and start screaming? He didn't seem to see how much he startled me and I decided to follow. what's the worst that could happen? I followed him down one of the tight, creepy back alleys and was thinking the worst thing that could happen was me ending up dead in China and no one ever finding my body. My mom had tried to convince me not to come to China but I'd laughed. She'd have that smug look on her face even as she balled her eyes out over my disapearance.
But we'd arrived. It looked like a run down buliding on the outside but on the inside there was a large gym, though it was in slight disary. The small man introduced himself and asked me if I'd do him the honour of being his first and only student. This reminded me strangely of the Karate Kid with Jackie Chan and I was flattered.
But first he'd better show me if he actually knew any kung fu.
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