American Shaolin by Matt Polly

[GeneChing]

Matt Polly returned to Shaolin after a long absence and documented it in this web article (http://slate.msn.com/id/2091701/entry/0/). Check it out.

Who is Matt Polly? I did an article about Matt back in our May June 2001 issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=136) titled Shaolin's Hidden Tiger. Matt is a disciple of Yongxin and one of the real pioneers to open Shaolin. In fact, he was the one that took both me and my martial brother Dr. Rich Russell (founder of www.russbo.com) on our very first trip to Shaolin. Imagine what the Shaolin resource landscape for the west would be without us. And we all owe it to Matt.

[Shaolinlueb]

I liked the article Gene. I wish it was a little longer.

I need to get my off my butt and get my passport so i can go to Shaolin.

[norther practitioner]

Thanks for the link...:D

[GeneChing]

Matt's working on a book about his Shaolin experience. You'll just have to wait...

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by GeneChing
Matt's working on a book about his Shaolin experience. You'll just have to wait...

I'll be eagerly waiting :D

[GeneChing]

Man, and all I get is "friends" credit. After I wrote that nice article about Matt and all.

The picture (half way down the page) (http://slate.msn.com/id/2091701/entry/2091725/#ContinueArticle) is from 1996. I'm on the far right. Dieter Wagner (aka Xingda, aka kungfu****) is on the far left. That shot was taken right after our disciple ceremony. Matt acted as our traditional 'go-between" for the ceremony, which was held in the private chambers of that monk, Shi Yanpu, in the back of the temple.

[David Jamieson]

Gene~

I know this is kind of a silly question, but why is Matthew Polly's name ringing a bell with me??? Was he the guy who did the movie with Pan Qing Fu? Iron and Silk?

Arrgh, I can't remember where I've heard his name before!
Anyway, good go on the book.

cheers

[Brad]

I remember him from an old Shaolin forum a few years ago... He's written a number of articles too.

[David Jamieson]

Brad you talking about the shaolin.nl site from holland?

Maybe that's where it was.

cheers

[cerebus]

Actually Mark Salzman wrote "Iron & Silk". I have an interview with Matthew Polly from KF Magazine in which he describes his experiences at Shaolin (including fighting a bare knuckle challenge match & competing in tournaments). Sounds like quite a dude.:D

[GeneChing]

Like I mentioned above, I did an article about Matt for our magazine in2001. But Matt also interviewed Jet Li for Playboy a few years back, so that's probably where you know him...

[David Jamieson]

lol! Playboy? heh heh, can't honestly say I've read Hef's mag in nigh more than 20years!

Apparently I need to get more porn in my life.;)

cheers

[MasterKiller]

If you want more porn just read some of "moderator" Chen Zhen's posts. :rolleyes:

[Shaolinlueb]

or email me and i can send you a bunch of vcd's ;) :o

[GeneChing]

...one of the best Jet Li inteviews I've read, and I've read quite a few (Jet 2001 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=143), Jet 2000 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=114), Jet 1998 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=82)). Plus the centerfold was a TKD practitioner. Her pose against the punching bag in that spread, well, if only it were one of these (http://store.yahoo.com/martialartsmart/10-865.html).

[Brad]

Brad you talking about the shaolin.nl site from holland?
Yeah, that's the one!

[GeneChing]

I've heard from my old friend Matt Polly - apparently he's managed to sell his screenplay, based on his experiences at Shaolin Temple as one of the first Americans to spend a lot of time there. He's scheduled to appear on the CBS Late, Late Show this Wednesday, April 13th. Check it out if you're up late. :cool:

[David Jamieson]

gene is schooling us in how to search the archives to find the relevant topic in which to post. :D

2 years back Gene?

kudos to you man. lol

[GeneChing]

Here's the listing for the Late Late Show (http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/guest/). You'll see Matt there now, but it'll probably change next week...

[Shaolinlueb]

what time is the late late show on 1am? ugh. :(

[GeneChing]

If Tamo could stare at a rock for nine years, you can stay up past midnite, can't you? Just keep your nacho sauce bubblin' and it's all good... ;)

[Shaolinlueb]

gene i am a busy man and lueb needs his sleep. :D if i knew how to work the vcr i would record it ;) okay okay who am i kidding ill stay up :D

[GeneChing]

Ferguson wasn't kidding when he said that Matt's mom sent them baked goods. She did that for us too when I published that article on him. She sent this frosting candy snack thing - it was sooo sweet.

Anyway, it was killing me to see my buddy Matt last night. I felt he didn't get his story off fast enough for Ferguson and wound up sounding a bit off. What did you think (if you stayed up that late)? It's hard for me to be unbiased since I know Matt's story all too well and it's a big story that just can't be delivered in a short late night interview...

[Brad]

It was a pretty entertaining interview, but you could tell they cut it short :p Would've been nice if they could've show some kind of visual aid of some kind (photos or something).

[GeneChing]

Matt originally wanted to demonstrate his iron forearm with some breaking - he actually contacted me about where to get good breaking staffs (I said a lumberyard). Then he was talking about having Ferguson hold a bag and Matt would kick it. I don't know how well he kept up with his training, but in his day, Matt had a fearsome sidekick that he could shoot out repeatedly, like a jack hammer. Plus he's quite tall, 6' 3" so that made him rather formidable.

My TV reception for CBS is really bad. I could see he had some Chinese characters on his jacket but I couldn't make them out. Could anyone?

[norther practitioner]

Sorry, don't read chinese, but I thought he did good, not great, especially given the circumstance...

The story about the challenge thing kinda sounded hokey, but believable, I think he could have delivered a little better, but in the same right, a lot of people would have choked hard in that circumstance (being on TV).

[GeneChing]

There's a much better version of that challenge in that article I wrote on Matt in the May June 2001 issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=136). That host cut him short and was obviously looking for a specific ass kicking story. Matt was a bit more confessional in the article... ;)

[Shaolinlueb]

ooops i missed it. sorry gene, i was beat and passed out.

[norther practitioner]

ooops i missed it. sorry gene, i was beat and passed out.
Bad lueb....


more redbull....

[Shaolinlueb]

Bad lueb....


more redbull....


na no caffine. ;)

[MatthewPolly]

Sorry this a bit late for this thread, but I wanted to thank my friend and Shaolin brother, Gene Ching, for moderating this discussion and publicizing "The Late, Late Show" interview. It's always nice to get a chance to help spread the reputation and fame of Shaolin, even for a humble disciple like me, who needs to work a bit on shortening his anecdotes for TV.

To answer a couple of questions that came up: I did post on Shaolin.nl several years ago. Mark Salzman wrote "Iron and Silk." My first book will be "American Shaolin," which hopefully will be out in a year or so. The Chinese characters on the leather jacket I wore on the show were "zai fang shi." They don't mean anything. The best bet is that they are someone's name. Who? No one knows.

Ferguson did cut me off at points, but that was the plan: I was supposed to tell the anecdotes, and he'd control the length of each. As to how the interview went, the producers were happy enough to invite me back. But I think the person who posted, "good, but not great" was right on the money. I was trying to simply not choke. Hopefully, my timing will get better with practice.

I appreciate all of you taking the time to watch and comment.

Best,
Matthew Polly

PS Keep listening to Gene: he's a wise soul and has done a wonderful job promoting the true spirit of Shaolin over the last decade.

[norther practitioner]

Welcome to the forum Matt...

that was me who said that, but I did put in under the circumstances....

Hell, I would have prob. choked. Congrats on getting invited back. Keep us updated on your book.

[GeneChing]

Keep listening to Gene: he's a wise soul Wow, have you been drinking again? ;)
Thanks for the props, bro, and welcome to our forums. :cool:

[GeneChing]

Well, I was shocked to see my old shixiong Matt writing BB's *new* Shaolin Path column in the May 06 issue. That's the column that BB Hall of Fame member Steve DeMasco has been writing for the past issue or so. It was pretty high profile for them because DeMasco does videos and books for BB. I shot an email off to Matt and he was as shocked as I was. Apparently no one told him that he was published in BB. What's more, he submitted that article over a decade ago! :eek: Matt was pretty annoyed at the whole thing, especially with his book American Shaolin (not to be confused with DeMasco's book An American's Journey to Shaolin Temple) is in production. He said he'd contact BB about it. I got to confess I'm pretty amused by it all and I just couldn't resist sharing it here. ;)

[Banjos_dad]

gene, i just can not pick up that rag anymore. i am sorry. even with underwear tongs.

i still have half a shelf of BBs from the Shorin-ryu days... there IS some good content, but you have to browse thru so much else that I don't even look any more. sounds kind of close minded but how many 6 year old blackbelts do i really want to learn about? & 16 year old grandmasters etc. kara ho cough..

too bad because i do miss reading articles by Robert Chu, Doc Fai Wong, Dave Lowry... Gene had a good article with photos from inside Shaolin, with the story about the Red Turbans and Jinnaluo (sp?) etc. And Robert Chu never wrote a bad article imo, and i'm not even remotely a wing chunner.

i hate to be negative. lol that they published M Polly's article without notification and ten years after submission, if i read that right. lol
but that's okay...as you all know, as we speak another 7 year old brown belt is getting ready to test for 1st black lmao. Outside of fever from illness, i don't think a kid that young is capable of even breaking a sweat. they are hell on oven-baked 3/8" pine planks, though.

[Banjos_dad]

well i did buy the one with the Chen Xiaowang on the cover though, the way i would buy a National Enquirer, if Shi Deyang was on the cover. :p

[GeneChing]

Want to know what becomes of Shaolin disciples after they leave the temple? Check out my Shaolin Shixiong's latest article on Slate.com: Caipirinha Nights: An American in Rio (http://www.slate.com/id/2147712/entry/2147708/). No, it doesn't have anything to do with Shaolin really, although there's some mention of BJJ on page 5. Other than that, there's sex and liquor, so it's a pretty entertaining read. Enjoy!

[GeneChing]

...it'll heat up in the beginning of 2007. Trust me. Here's a tip to get you Shaolin forum peeps in on it early - check out Matt's website (http://www.mattpolly.com/index.htm). All will become very clear soon.

[kungfudork]

hmmmm.....sounds interesting!

[GeneChing]

Good to see your still out here! Matt's book, American Shaolin, is scheduled for release by Gotham books (part of Penguin) in February 2007. I've read the galley - it's a great read. A lot of the stories you and I have heard already, KFD, but I'm sure you'll still enjoy it. I think most everyone here will enjoy it.

[Fat Cat]

I have read a draft of American Shaolin and it was excellent. It is extremely funny in parts as well as having some really touching insights about Chinese culture.

[GeneChing]

Matt has redone his website and has posted some preliminary dates for his book tour (http://mattpolly.com/polly-events.htm). Check it out. If he comes to your area, it's worth checking out. I'm sure if you drop my name and say 'turn left and spit' he'll sign a book for you. ;)

[MatthewPolly]

First, I want to thank my Shaolin brother, Gene Ching, for keeping this thread alive. It is been my great honor to know him since he first visited the Shaolin Temple.

Many moons ago, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple asked me to write something to help promote Shaolin culture in the West. I am happy and relieved to say that last week it finally happened with the official launch of American Shaolin. I couldn't have done it without Gene's steadfast help. He read the manuscript three times, helping me to avoid numerous errors.

I will be travelling around the country on a book tour in March. It'd be great to see some of you. Gene and I will be meeting in San Francisco, and there will be a live performance by a Shaolin monk. If you are interested you can find details here (http://www.mattpolly.com/polly-events.htm).

I will also be checking this forum frequently. So if you have any questions about the book, I'd be happy to answer them.

Amituofo,
Matthew Polly

[lunghushan]

Still trying to figure out how you could have been 6'3" and 98 lbs... were you an anorexic male model or something? LOL

[MonkeyKingUSA]

I found the book at my local Border's and started reading it today. It is very interesting. :)

[GeneChing]

There's a ghastly pic of Matt in his shorts as a young skinny kid as evidence. That's probably not going to help sell the book, but if Matt's honest if enough to show an embarrassing pic like that, well, his writing makes up for it. ;)

[Shaolindynasty]

Wow, just read a preview from the book and ordered a copy. Cool stuff. You can read the preview here

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9781592402625&displayonly=EXC&z=y#EXC

[GeneChing]

I just heard from the program staff for On Point (http://www.onpointradio.org/) (NPR radio). Matt is scheduled to be interviewed tomorrow at 11 EST. See the website above for local listings.

[jason.]

I have the book and am half way through, it is pretty good!

[lunghushan]

There's a ghastly pic of Matt in his shorts as a young skinny kid as evidence. That's probably not going to help sell the book, but if Matt's honest if enough to show an embarrassing pic like that, well, his writing makes up for it. ;)

Yeah, I found that pic before, but I just don't understand how somebody can weigh so little and be so tall.

I worked with one guy who was from China who kept complaining he couldn't put any weight on. He ate like a bird when we went to lunch -- ate really slow and never finished his food.

But he kept on complaining how he couldn't gain any weight. I was like, "Pizza and Beer, man ... Pizza and Beer." I think he was just anorexic.

The book looks good BTW.

[jason.]

I would recomend reading it for sure, it made me laugh out loud a few times, the story is good and matt seems to be really honest about his experiances as well.

I would also recomend " a monk from brooklyn" as well.

[MonkeyKingUSA]

I am just starting Book 3, Chapter 2 of the book. It is a very well-written and honest look at his life at Shaolin. Mr. Polly doesn't seem to hold back. He shows the good, the bad and the ugly of Shaolin and its place in China. I am having a very hard time putting it down. :)

[jason.]

I am just starting Book 3, Chapter 2 of the book. It is a very well-written and honest look at his life at Shaolin. Mr. Polly doesn't seem to hold back. He shows the good, the bad and the ugly of Shaolin and its place in China. I am having a very hard time putting it down. :)

Yeah I def. agree!

[MatthewPolly]

Yes, it's true I was never 98-lbs at 6'3". I would have been dead. It's a figure of speech. I was 145-lbs. But trust me that was plenty skinny on that frame. One of the Chinese newspapers that covered my fight referred to me as a lamp post. And that was a pretty accurate simile.

[Shaolin Wookie]

There's a ghastly pic of Matt in his shorts as a young skinny kid as evidence. That's probably not going to help sell the book, but if Matt's honest if enough to show an embarrassing pic like that, well, his writing makes up for it. ;)

Reminds me of the movie Iron and Silk, where Salzman's wearing these hiked-up blue jean booty shorts practicing his fu with Pang......:D

Still....his legs were friggin' monstrously ripped.....I wonder if he was showing them off.

But if he was, why the Daisy Dukes, man? Why?

[MatthewPolly]

For those of you who have noted that ghastly pic of me as a scrawny, painfully awkward teen... well, it's true. I was. Personally, I didn't want to put the picture in the book because I found it embarrassing, but friends convinced me that if I was going to be completely honest I needed some visual evidence.

I'm happy to read that a number of you have enjoyed the book. The abbot of the Shaolin Temple asked me to write something about the real lives of the modern monks to help promote the Temple in the West. I felt that the only way I could do it properly was to tell the story from eyes, so readers who had no experience of Shaolin could encounter the place first hand. The result was to put me front and center, but it has always been my view that the Shaolin monks are the real protagonists and heroes of this story. I hope you all will see why I found them so amazing.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to post them here. I will be checking this post regularly. Gene is a Shaolin brother and has done much to help me and more importantly the Shaolin Temple for many years.

All the best,
Matthew Polly

[hvillarruel]

Great book Matthew!.

I finished mine the last week here in Mexico. Come on Matthew I just want to keep reading more books from you at shaolin.

Good work!
:cool:

[MonkeyKingUSA]

I finished the book today. All I can say is WOW! It was very hard to put down. I read it during my breaks at work and at home.
Did I hear there was going to be a movie?
I hope Matt has had better luck getting laid in America than he did in China. :D

Matt,
Thanks for a very enjoyable read. It was worth every penny!
Richard A. Tolson

[MatthewPolly]

Richard,
Thank you for your kind words. I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed the book. It was a long process to get it written and published. A labor of love.

Hopefully, others will find it as rewarding. Whether or not Fox finally decides to make the movie depends to a large degree on how the book sells.

Best regards,
Matthew Polly

PS Ha! Yes, my luck has been a bit better since my return.

[Shaolindynasty]

Just finished the book. It was wildly entertaining

[Shaolin Wookie]

Reading it right now......

So, if the movie gets made....who's gonna play the young skin and bones MAtt Polly?

Calista Flockheart?

[Shaolin Wookie]

If you're smart, you'll bully your Fox agents until they get Tony Jaa to play you....:D

Seriously, though, how cool would that be?

[MatthewPolly]

Tony Jaa would be totally cool. I'm not sure, however, how well he could portray a skinny white kid from Kansas. But the knee attacks would be spectacular.

Personally, I like Topher Grace from "That 70s Show." But the studio doesn't ask me what I think.

So glad everyone is enjoying the book. I hope you'll spread the word. It's be awesome if the general public discovered why the Shaolin Temple and its monks are so amazing.

Best,
Matthew Polly
www.mattpolly.com

[Shaolin Wookie]

I read a snippet on your website, which Gene linked us to one time. It was catching writing, so I pre-ordered a copy of the book.

Nicely done, man.

[Shaolin Wookie]

Tony Jaa would be totally cool. I'm not sure, however, how well he could portray a skinny white kid from Kansas.


Two words, special effects.

If we can get Keanu Reeves doing kung fu, I'm sure Industrial Light and Magic could turn Tony Jaa into a midwestern skinny white kid.

Or didn't you see that movie Soul Man?

http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Man-C-Thomas-Howell/dp/B00005RYL5/sr=1-1/qid=1172340441/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7364002-9873640?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

[Mas Judt]

Really enjoyed the book. Thought the political comentary on the Bush's really drove home your isolation and naiveness, presenting a very clear picture of how fresh your perspective was.

But really, I s@cked down the book in one two-hour flight. It was an engaging, fun, breezy read... this book will make a great 'entry level' reading for those I meet that don't get how wonderful the world really is and how different cultures can make the world a more interesting place.

[GeneChing]

I'll be at the two this weekend:
March 4 (Sunday) 4:00 p.m. Book Passage (http://www.tigerclawfoundation.org/www.bookpassage.com/event_detailed.php?id=413), 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA
March 5 (Monday) 7:00 p.m. Cody's Books (http://www.codysbooks.com/calendar/mar07Calendar.jsp), 2 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA

Looking forward to seeing Matt again. Hope to see some of you all too!

[Shaolindynasty]

Any in Chicago?

[GeneChing]

His whole tour is online. The link is on Matt's sig above.

[LFJ]

it looks like the closest is back home in topeka kansas.

[GeneChing]

It was also great to spend time in two surviving independent bookstores. There was a nice turnout for his reading and he was well received. I brought Shi Yan Fei of U.S. O-Mei (http://www.usaomei.com) to both readings, and he did a short demo of baduanjin and qixing tanglang. Gotta support my Shaolin shixiong Matt.

It's rare that a martial arts book crosses over into pop literature. There's occassional works by martial celebs, like Norris, Carridine or even Shamrock's book, but this is different since it's not coming from a spotlit perspective. I think the last, and perhaps only, example was Mark Saltzman's Iron and Silk. I really encourage you all to support American Shaolin, not only because it's an outstanding read, but also to help encourage the publication of more books like this. It can only benefit the advancement of the martial arts.

[LFJ]

hey, look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXaKYxQWN4A

who's that tall guy back there by the picture? :D

[GeneChing]

That's footage from Matt's book launch. We have a small news item in our next issue, currently at print, about this.

[Shaolin Wookie]

Matt has a great sense of humor. I laughed so hard when he was talking about walking hand-in-hand with Dequing, his "Grecian dream", the sixth evolution guy (is he net-accessible?), and the Iron Dong escapade.

Very tongue-in-cheek, and not afraid to make himself the butt of a joke.

He reminds me of myself at a much older age.

Good luck in the future, Matt. Any plans for further books? (any subject/genre)

Also.....are they going to try and get any real monks into the movie....like Deqing, Coach Cheng, or your iron forearm teacher? Or.....that hot chick Deqing turned down? That would be cool......for them, especially, since many of them wanted their shot at hollywood. Who knows? Could be a big break.....they're much older now, I know....but a cameo would still be cool, right?

[PangQuan]

Was at the best bookstore in the world this weekend looking for a new book. (Powell's Books)

well as usual i found myself drawn back to the martial arts section to see if anything was there i hadnt seen the last 500 time i checked.

well there was.

i almost didnt buy it, now im kind of glad i did. its a good read for hearing the mans experience at the very least.

American Shaolin.

Im only on page 83 but so far a pretty good read, entertaining for sure.

so you dont have to search for what its about.

Matthew Polly wrote about his experience of becoming the first American to be accepted as a disciple of Shaolin temple.

if you like stuff like this, the guy does a great job of spinning his tale.

[PangQuan]

kinda shocking to see Monk Deqing in quotes regarding a challeng match saying;

"I will fight him," "I will beat him to death"

And then Coach Yan saying "fcuk his mother," "He came into our house and challened us. Tai bu gei women mianzi! This fight has no rules, I want you to beat him to the ground. You hear me? To the ground"

its a fun book so far :D

[PangQuan]

page 235 and i dont think my fingers can turn the pages fast enough!

such a great read.

for anyone interested in chinese culture, martial arts, and shaolin, this is a must read title.


Very inspirational Mr. Polly.

Thanks

[MatthewPolly]

hey, look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXaKYxQWN4A

who's that tall guy back there by the picture? :D

I believe that would be me.

[MatthewPolly]

page 235 and i dont think my fingers can turn the pages fast enough!

such a great read.

for anyone interested in chinese culture, martial arts, and shaolin, this is a must read title.


Very inspirational Mr. Polly.

Thanks

Thank you for reading it and for your kind words. It means a great deal to me. I'm very happy you enjoyed it.

[MatthewPolly]

kinda shocking to see Monk Deqing in quotes regarding a challeng match saying;

"I will fight him," "I will beat him to death"

And then Coach Yan saying "fcuk his mother," "He came into our house and challened us. Tai bu gei women mianzi! This fight has no rules, I want you to beat him to the ground. You hear me? To the ground"

its a fun book so far :D

A number of people have asked me about the courseness of the monks' language. I never thought much of it, because my mouth is a bit trashy itself. The Chinese call it tu hua ("earthy language"), and it was expected that rural Chinese spoke in such a rough manner. Since most of the Shaolin monks came from peasant families, they naturally spoke this way.

Also, they were quite angry to have someone come into Shaolin and offer an open challenge. It was like someone spitting in your face. But at first, it does seem rather shocking. The Shaolin monks were young and did have a bit of a temper.

[MatthewPolly]

Any in Chicago?

I'll be speaking at an event in Chicago later in the summer. The dates are not confirmed yet, but I hope to also do a reading at one of the bookstores. I'll let you know the details when I have them.

[GeneChing]

Enter now for a chance to win an autographed copy of Matthew Polly's American Shaolin. See KungFuMagazine.com/ (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/) for details. Contest ends on June 4th, 2007, so enter now. Good luck everyone!

[MatthewPolly]

Gene,
This contest and the ad look awesome. Thank you.

Matthew

[MasterKiller]

I only want to win if he signs it "Gene's Shaolin Brother Matt Polly."

[GeneChing]

...IF you win...:rolleyes:

[RisingCrane]

Matt,
I live in Bedford, England and I found a copy of your book in our local newsagents (WHsmiths)!
I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the book, it was very entertaining!
The same time you were in Shaolin, I was in Canton studying kung fu and you really captured the atmosphere of China at that time. I think we were lucky to go when we did because China has changed so much and the whole experience is very different now.
Thanks for bringing back some good memories and sharing some great experiences!
David.

[Team503]

Matt,

I hope that you see this post - I read your book after receiving it for a birthday present from a friend. I had been talking about going to China and training at Shaolin for years, but have never actually done it. To read your account was inspirational, and my Study In China fund has suddenly started growing.

You wrote a story that a lot of us, I think, identify with. Thank you incredibly much for sharing your experiences and your thoughts with the rest of the world. Rest assured that I will buy many more copies of your book to give to my martial arts brothers and sisters, as well as my friends and family.

Thanks again!

Alex, in Austin, Texas.

[charp choi]

Interesting thread. will have to order the book from amazon.
There seem to be a few doing the rounds at the mo. I remember reading Antonio Graceffos articles on here a while back.
I hope this doesn't start a flood of books by westerners going to shaolin cos the place will be inundated with second rate crap and the best one's will be harder to find.

What will be next?

Tale's of abuse from the shaolin temple? :

"A Monk Called It" :confused:

"Shaolin Shagger" :eek:

"A Man Named Baldy" :D

"Monk(ey) Business" :( sorry run out of puns!

[GeneChing]

Check out Matt's most recent article for Slate: Bangkok Vice: Buddhas, Boxers, and Bar Girls (http://www.slate.com/id/2163104/entry/2163105/).

And for those of you who still haven't picked up a copy of Matt's book AMERICAN SHAOLIN, our autographed copy sweepstakes is still going. Click back to our home pag (http://www.kungfumagazine.com)e to enter. It's less than a month until the drawing!

[charp choi]

Just finished the book. very interesting and insightful.
Thanks you Matt for your time and effort.
I enjoyed reading it immensely.:)

[GeneChing]

Many entries are having trouble with the question. The main reason we put that in there is to eliminate spambots. You have no idea how many people answer the question with "mother's maiden name". Anyway, here's a little clue if you promise to keep it as our little secret. The answer is three. ;)

[GeneChing]

Enter to win (http://www.kungfumagazine.net/). Good luck everyone!

[phoenixrising]

Hi Matt,

I just finished reading your book. Didn't want to put down until I was done. I'll preface my comments by saying that I've read more books than anyone I know.

I really enjoyed it. I found it highly engaging and compelling and enjoyed the literary quality of it. The best part of it, for me, was your willingness to be candid and honest, regardless of the light that it portrayed you in. By revealing all of your inadequacies you elevated the book to something universal that allowed the reader to identify with you.

I am curious as to your training after returning from Shaolin. Did you pursue your training with New York's Shaolin monks? What kind of training have you done since and did you get another teacher?

[GeneChing]

The winners were announced three weeks ago (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46986). I forgot to update that here.

[hasayfu]

Hi Matthew,

Just finished reading this book and wanted to jump on the band wagon and give you big kudos. It's well written and offers insights that are seldom spoken of. I especially liked the performance dialogue. Having been behind the scenes of various performance for Shaolin Kung Fu Chan, it hit too close to home. LOL

I hope the screen version is as enjoyable. I've been recommending the book to many people. My wife is currently reading it and she hates reading english books.

Keep the faith. I'm also interested in what your training has been since you left. Care to share?

[sun dragon]

Hey Matt,
Great story.
Have you thought about doing a trip to the shaolin temple for students ?

[GeneChing]

sun dragon, Matt led two tours to Shaolin Temple in '95 & '96. I'm proud to say I survived both of them. He touched on it in my article The Shaolin Avant Garde: Three New Books Bring Fresh Perspectives on Shaolin Temple in our Jan Feb 007 issue (the Shaolin Special) (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=687). You'll have to check that out. :cool:

[ngokfei]

Hey Matt

Was just given your book but haven't read it yet.

From my sister-inlaw's description "its full of BS and porn".:eek:

COOL!!!:D

Don't know what she's talking about. Seems like she had bought it for my 10 year old Nephew who is a Shaolin Nut.

can't wait to settle down on the couch.......;)

[boshea]

Hey Matt

Was just given your book but haven't read it yet.

From my sister-inlaw's description "its full of BS and porn".:eek:

COOL!!!:D

Don't know what she's talking about. Seems like she had bought it for my 10 year old Nephew who is a Shaolin Nut.

can't wait to settle down on the couch.......;)

LOL, that's pretty funny. Your sister-in-law should probably stick to Mark Saltzman's books for your 10 your old nephew.

Matt Polly's book is very blunt and honest. Some people may think that some of the things he says are rude or disrespectful; he is definitely not "PC". But I don't think he is disrespectful. He just doesn't sugar coat anything, including himself. I think if you are an adult and you have a good sense of humor, you will like it. It s a very funny book.

[ngokfei]

well I just flipped through the book a bit and I get what you are saying.

I can presume from alot of his "revelations" that he is not well received at Shaolin well these days.

Correction, this would be so if he gave copies of this book to those individuals he made the un flattering comments about.

Seems like alot of dirty laundry being aired.

What's this about sex in a bathroom:eek:

[sun dragon]

sun dragon, Matt led two tours to Shaolin Temple in '95 & '96. I'm proud to say I survived both of them. He touched on it in my article The Shaolin Avant Garde: Three New Books Bring Fresh Perspectives on Shaolin Temple in our Jan Feb 007 issue (the Shaolin Special) (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=687). You'll have to check that out. :cool:

Could not bring up the article GeneChing. How long was the shaolin tour? Did you study at the temple? How many classes did you get?
Is he planing on doing another shaolin tour?

[GeneChing]

You have to buy the back issue. (http://www.martialartsmart.net/kf200138.html) ;)

Matt is not planning to lead another tour to Shaolin. If you want read about my experience at Shaolin, I've written extensively about it through out our back issues, here on the forum and in the e-zine. I even made a DVD (http://www.martialartsmart.net/dvd-gc001.html). Here's a good starting place - Shaolin Trips - Episode One: Open Two Doors (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=469).

[Blacktiger]

Am heading to Shaolin in 2 weeks as well as a few other spots on a bit of a kung fu fest and picked up Matt's book as a nice little teaser to my trip.

Love the way he writes - honest and funny

:D

[boshea]

Am heading to Shaolin in 2 weeks as well as a few other spots on a bit of a kung fu fest and picked up Matt's book as a nice little teaser to my trip.

Love the way he writes - honest and funny

:D

Awesome. Is something going on in Shaolin at that time? In early September 2001 I went to Shaolin for the International festival, which I had heard is held every two years. A quick search online doesn't turn up any information on it though. Is that going to be happening this September, and are you going?

Have a good trip.

[Blacktiger]

Not sure about any festivals that may be on.

Having said this our master is known for throwing students into random demos with 5 mins notice so who knows.

My master is taking a small group of us up, one of his students runs the wushu guan or something and we will be in his hands.

This will make things alot easier for us Shaolin virgins :)

[boshea]

Not sure about any festivals that may be on.

Having said this our master is known for throwing students into random demos with 5 mins notice so who knows.

My master is taking a small group of us up, one of his students runs the wushu guan or something and we will be in his hands.

This will make things alot easier for us Shaolin virgins :)

No matter what, it's going to be a crazy experience (in a good way!)

I envy you because there is no way to re-live a first experience like that, and I have very fond memories of it. You guys are going to have a blast.

Safe travels.

[Blacktiger]

Thanks for the good wishes:D

[Shaolin68]

Just wanted to log in and give kudos for the book "American Shaolin".

I must've finished the book in two days, reading obsessively at any opportunity. Some parts were hilarious; the story of the Iron Crotch performance had me literally in tears. It was one of those great stories that will stick with me for a long time.

But above that, I found the insights into China to be on point. I went to China two years ago, and had I read the book beforehand it would've saved me some cultural confusion. I'd strongly suggest the book to anyone who hasn't gone yet but plans to.

At least two other people have ordered the book after I recommended it to them. If the author should check in here again soon, know that your work is appreciated.

[MightyB]

Ok, I know it's not in Martialartsmart.com, but it is a great read. I think we have a romanticized image of what cma'ers are supposed to be- this book just gives an excellent first hand look into what CMA looked like in China in the early 90's.

It's American Shaolin by Matthew Polly- oh yeah- he likes San Da :eek: and they have a more liberal view of how to study CMA at the temple so it'll scare the heck out of a lot of you.


---

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

Define more liberal?

[MightyB]

I guess it would be that it seems that they work hard on a variety of things- it's a little more all encompassing- which is probably the only good thing that came out of the PRC cultural revolution that nearly killed TCMA in China.

When they found that Kung fu was good- they brought it back- I'm not talking about modern wushu- that's for tourists and the olympics- but they apparently brought back a lot of traditional stuff. They seem to study a variety of forms across many different "styles". The only prereq is that they want their people to work hard on whatever it is they're working on. They can learn a variety of forms and weapons based on their body type. They can also do San Da and not be accused of not doing kung fu ;)

I really can't do the book justice, it's not a "how to" book or anything- it's a great glimpse into the temple and China.

The neat thing is that you get the sense of the monks as regular people.

[Lucas]

didnt we go into this book in the media section?

it was a great read though.

[Oso]

lol, he gets props from the Real Ultimate power dude on the back cover

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1592402623/ref=sib_dp_pt/105-6330124-9636416#reader-link

thanks, MB I'll pick this up and save it for my trip to Jamaica. :p:cool::p

[Blacktiger]

Hi guys

Just got back from Shaolin a few days ago.

Was reading the book while we were up there and just finished it yesterday.

It was great.

One thing though.....

I was flicking through the photo section in the book and discovered that we had eaten at a dinner banquet with "Deputy Leader Jiao"...very funny, the table had a motorised lazy susan with a miniture scale model of the temple and mountains etc..this was one of the banquet rooms in the Wushu Guan restaurant.

At the dinner we were telling him about the book (or our master was who was translating) but he was not sure if he had heard of it...we were going to go and grab the book to show him but there had been far to much rice wine consumed. We thought it was him.. then when we got back to our room to check and we confirmed it the book had an even bigger impact on us :D

Our master taught up there in 1982 and Master Jiao was one of his students.

Oh I wish I was back there and out of this office :D

[boshea]

Hi guys

Just got back from Shaolin a few days ago.

Was reading the book while we were up there and just finished it yesterday.

It was great.

One thing though.....

I was flicking through the photo section in the book and discovered that we had eaten at a dinner banquet with "Deputy Leader Jiao"...very funny, the table had a motorised lazy susan with a miniture scale model of the temple and mountains etc..this was one of the banquet rooms in the Wushu Guan restaurant.

At the dinner we were telling him about the book (or our master was who was translating) but he was not sure if he had heard of it...we were going to go and grab the book to show him but there had been far to much rice wine consumed. We thought it was him.. then when we got back to our room to check and we confirmed it the book had an even bigger impact on us :D

Our master taught up there in 1982 and Master Jiao was one of his students.

Oh I wish I was back there and out of this office :D

Wow, sorry for the very slow response. Glad you had a great trip! I love when random coincidences like that happen. Why, I had a similar random coincidence running into someone at the Wushu Guan too... ;)

[Blacktiger]

It was great fun -cant wait to go back for my next trip!!

[GeneChing]

...it was so funny, I nearly fell out of my chair. I'm now referring to my Shaolin shixiong as Uncle Tom Laowai. :p

Follow the link and read the comments. Matt chimes in and more hilarity ensues. Ultimately, Andy recommends the book.


January 30, 2008
Book Review: American Shaolin (http://shanghaiist.com/2008/01/30/book_review_ame.php)
by Andy Best

Every now and again, time and space just seem to line up in an incredible display of fate/coincidence (delete as appropriate). For months now, we have been trying to get to grips with the strange brand of Uncle Tom-ism on display in the Shanghai ex-pativerse. It has so many unique facets that it appears to defy summary or clear explanation. Then along came Matthew Polly who wrote American Shaolin, a book that sets it all out with the purpose and prose of a Plato’s Republic. Albeit unintentionally.

The book details Polly’s trip to China in 1992. Told as a series of anecdotes, he flies in to Beijing without a plan, makes his way to the Shaolin Temple and stays there for 18 months to learn kung fu. At the time, Polly was a highly motivated and intelligent Princeton student who’d studied Mandarin to a decent level before leaving for China. The story covers his first year, which ended with him being entered into a tournament in Zhengzhou City.

Polly is intelligent and open minded. He can speak Chinese and knows what is happening around him. He uses words like orientalism and peppers the story with measured observations and jokes about uptight neo-cons back home. He is both a likeable and capable storyteller and the book is an easy and entertaining read. It is for all these reasons that, when read on a macro level, the book is a tragedy on an oedipal eye-gouging level.

Within the first two months he finds out that Shaolin as it was ended in 1912 and attempts to restart it were literally bombed through the warlords period, pacific war, civil war and revolutions. The ‘kung fu’ he is learning is stylized dance taken from Modern Wushu and the iron body skills are individually trained circus routines. Yet he decides to stay and join the town’s kick boxing club.

Thereafter he learns kickboxing in rural Henan for USD1400 per month. That’s right. One anecdote has him proudly negotiate it down to USD600 per month. Still twenty times over the average family income in that area at the time and at least double that again over what other students pay. Everyone calls him laowai to his face and constantly refer to his ‘tall nose’. He is used as a punch bag for most of his training. "Why are laowai so bad at kungfu?" He takes bullies out for banquets and kowtows in the old style to a master who will never teach him – because he ‘understands’ guanxi.

By the time other “laowai” start turning up in Shaolin, Polly laughs at their strangeness and prides himself on being more ‘in’ than them. Oh, those crazy laowai. The most brutal picture of this is when he helps fellow American John Lee get attention at the hospital by reprising his “crazy monkey foreigner kung fu” routine that amused his Chinese friends so much. As for the kung fu itself, Polly is painfully naïve. He spends a whole chapter befriending a mysterious caretaker who eventually relents and teaches him “Iron Arm” kung fu. This turns out to be bashing your forearms into a tree in a pattern, then using Chinese medicine to treat it. This is a common warm up/conditioning routine found openly in all traditional kung fu classes from Hong Kong to American Chinatowns.

Finally, when facing his first skilled opponent he is beaten to a pulp while the crowd chant ‘kill the foreigner’. If only he’d taken good advice to go to Taiwan or Hong Kong in the first place. Or better still, if he was going to do kick boxing, a Muay Thai camp in Thailand. Instead he decides to pay outrageous amounts of money to learn plain kick boxing in a third-rate school (he names the better schools in China) while being used as the butt of all around him’s ignorance – all because of the name Shaolin and the strange driving desire to prove that he ‘understands’ his oppressors. Polly himself often refers to better schools and a more open life in Beijing and Shanghai, even Wuhan, but instead is proud to represent Shaolin in the tourney – despite all but one of his teachers and classmates refusing to march with him and making him enter as the Princeton Team, USA.

Polly recalls all of this with cheerful nostalgia. We all get into situations in life, at home and abroad, where people with power over us abuse it. Sometimes we have to make do, but we don’t have to like it. We certainly don’t have to happily reproduce that behaviour. Despite his intelligence and open attitude towards China, Polly seems happy to give examples of “Chinese” behaviour while also stressing the individual personalities of the people he meets. His mind remains blissfully conflict free while talking about stereotypes and struggles while himself using generalizations and the word “laowai” on every second page.

And therein lies the book’s unintentional insight into the mind of the Uncle Tom Laowai. Read the book. It is one of the great philosophical novels of our time.

American Shaolin by Matthew Polly (Gotham Books) can be found in Garden Books, on the corner of Changle Lu and Shanxi Nan Lu.

[Shaolinlueb]

I met matt polly tonight actually. bought a copy of the book and he signed it. i mentioned knowing you gene. he talked for an hour or so about it to a group. he was in the area because his fiance is from the area.

i cant wait to dive in and read it.

[GeneChing]

I wish you had told me you were going to cross paths. I'd have set up some sort of prank for him through you. Maybe the Baron could have challenged his Shaolin KF skillz or something.

Hope you enjoy the book. It just got released in paperback.

[Shaolinlueb]

a prank could have been fun. lol. yeah i bought the hardcover edition. i didnt want to talk his ear off a lot of other people wanted to ask him questions. i couldnt think of anything to ask, i am reading the book now.

[sk girl]

Hi guys

Just got back from Shaolin a few days ago.

Was reading the book while we were up there and just finished it yesterday.

It was great.

One thing though.....

I was flicking through the photo section in the book and discovered that we had eaten at a dinner banquet with "Deputy Leader Jiao"...very funny, the table had a motorised lazy susan with a miniture scale model of the temple and mountains etc..this was one of the banquet rooms in the Wushu Guan restaurant.

At the dinner we were telling him about the book (or our master was who was translating) but he was not sure if he had heard of it...we were going to go and grab the book to show him but there had been far to much rice wine consumed. We thought it was him.. then when we got back to our room to check and we confirmed it the book had an even bigger impact on us :D

Our master taught up there in 1982 and Master Jiao was one of his students.

Oh I wish I was back there and out of this office :D


How did you arrange for you to get there and your training? Is there a web site?
How much was it?
Did you train at the Shaolin Temple?

Any info would be great Thanks.

[Shaolin87]

Awesome book, read it in about 3 days, and couldnt get enough of it. Then I met him a few weeks after, and it was great at his signing/meet. :)

[Blacktiger]

How did you arrange for you to get there and your training? Is there a web site?
How much was it?
Did you train at the Shaolin Temple?

Any info would be great Thanks.

Sorry have taken time to respond - sent you a PM :D

[latta]

Cool guy.....

[donbdc]

Will there be a book tour. Any plans to be around the D.C. area.
What a wonderful book!
Thanks for sharing the experience.
Don Berry

[Chan Da-Wei]

Having been to China twice I found this a very entertaining read. If you travel to the small towns and villages in-land you can still get the same kinda experiences. My wife is from a 'small' town called Jianli about 4 hours drive from Wuhan and when I went there 2 years ago, I was the first foreigner many locals had seen in person.

[shaolinboxer]

You should check out this book on shaolin that was just released:

The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion and the Chinese Martial Arts (Hardcover)
by Meir Shahar

It may seem a bit pricey, but it's text book quality and gives the clearest picture of the state of shaolin from now back to the root of it's history. The origins of shaolin legend, the use of the staff as a primary weapon, the behavior code of the different types of monks (I had to smile during that part, since one present day monk in particular is used as an example), the creation of fist forms and the historical Damo are all discussed.

Shahar states that the primary goal of the work is to discuss the history of shaolin prior to 1900, but he discusses the present state of the monastery ($5 million in annual ticket sales...not bad) and some of the current monks are called upon as references.

The literature available in english on Shaolin is improving greatly. Buy it up so it keeps coming!

[GeneChing]

We have a separate thread on Shahar's work (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49464) already. :cool:

[shaolinboxer]

lol. too cool, daddy-o.

guess I should glance here more often. the aiki world keeps me busy, but I still rock the CMA

[Chief_Suicide]

I found the book at Borders and couldn't put it down. I'm finally finished reading it and I really enjoyed the book. I have a wife, kids, bills and etc, like most people; so I won't be going off to China, but it is nice to live through others experiences.

I just finished Iron and Silk as well because I saw it influenced him in his decision to go to China. Iron and Silk is a great book as well.

[mkriii]

Gene~

I know this is kind of a silly question, but why is Matthew Polly's name ringing a bell with me??? Was he the guy who did the movie with Pan Qing Fu? Iron and Silk?

Arrgh, I can't remember where I've heard his name before!
Anyway, good go on the book.

cheers

No, that was Mark Salsburg (sp?) your thinking of in the movie "Iron and Silk". I have that movie at home.

[iron_silk]

The correct name of the author (and star of the movie) is Mark Salzman.

As you can tell from my forum name I was a big fan of the movie and even bigger fan of the book.

The book Iron & Silk is quite a wonderful read and educational.

[mkriii]

The correct name of the author (and star of the movie) is Mark Salzman.

As you can tell from my forum name I was a big fan of the movie and even bigger fan of the book.

The book Iron & Silk is quite a wonderful read and educational.

Well I was close on the name, but yeah it was a great movie. You must first eat bitter before you can taste sweet. :D

[LFJ]

the book was an interesting account of how china was and largely still is today. enjoyably written, comedic. i liked it. never heard of the movie though. :)

[GeneChing]

...I remember having a discussion of Salzman's Iron and Silk with Matt. We both felt it was groundbreaking and well written. I find the comparison between Salzman and Polly is inevitable and unfair. Salzman has a more romantic vision of China, something that was really exaggerated in the film version (a minor romance in the book into a major plot device in the film). Polly has a more gritty view. Compare his romantic misadventures (one can't but wonder how they might translate into a film). We discussed Salzman seven years ago here. (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=569) I've just ttt-ed that thread with an update. ;)

[BrokenTitanium]

I must say that this one good book to read. It even makes reference of Mr. Gene Ching in it.

[godzillakungfu]

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26966&highlight=Matt+Polly

Yes, good book.

[ktkungfu]

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26966&highlight=Matt+Polly

Yes, good book.


Awesome book!

Make it a movie Matt!!!!

[Timrock]

Just wanted to say good luck to Matt in his upcoming fight.

"Another interesting story is that of Matt Polly. Author of American Shaolin, martial arts enthusiast and practitioner, his travels have led him across the world and back. He spent two years training under Shaolin Monks in China. Now he wants to test his skill in the ring at Future Stars."

http://tuffnuff.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=218&Itemid=1

[Lucas]

Yes definately, good luck!

[Chief_Suicide]

Matthew Polly, the author of American Shaolin wins his first and 'only' MMA fight.

Evidently he trained at Xtreme Couture for six months as part of his study for a new book on MMA he has coming out next year. Turns out he won the fight.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/23/coutures-son-victorious-best-selling-author/

I've like kung fu all my life, but reading his book about his trip to China kicked it off for me all over again. I admire a guy who takes the time to get in the thick of things himself.

[solo1]

American Shaolin is one of the best books Ive read in a while and I read alot of stuff. Literally couldnt put it down, he has a remarkable writing style.

[Chief_Suicide]

http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55076

I posted it in the MMA section, I didn't think about posting it here. oops!

[GeneChing]

Plus I just gotta cut&paste this here. This is awesome - I knew Matt was going to do this but had lost track of when. Anyone got vid?

Couture’s son victorious, as is best-selling author (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/23/coutures-son-victorious-best-selling-author/)
Six months of training in Las Vegas gave Matt Polly confidence, skills to walk away a winner in his first, ‘and only,’ MMA fight
By Andy Samuelson (contact)
Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 | 1 a.m.

Future Stars of MMA results

* 155 lb Main Event:Ryan Couture (Xtreme Couture) def. Jimmy Spicuzza (Excel Defense/Team Mica) via submission (armbar) 1:22, Round One
* 135 lb Title Fight:Jimmy Jones (Xtreme Couture) def. Chris Brady (Legend) via disqualification (kicking downed opponent)
* 145 lb Title Fight:Justin Linn (Tapout R&D) def. Chris Holdsworth (Cobra Kai) via submission (triangle choke) 1:58, Round One


The biggest storyline Saturday night at the Tuff-N-Uff event at the Orleans was Ryan Couture winning the main event against Palo Verde grad Jimmy Spicuzza.

But what the couple of thousand fans crammed inside the Mardi Gras ballroom didn’t know, was the best story of the amateur show was that the middle-aged, pudgy, semi-awkward looking fighter being cornered by UFC legend Randy Couture was actually best-selling author Matthew Polly.

“They basically took me from pudgy and over the hill and beat me into enough shape to win one here,” said the smiling writer-turned-fighter, who won his mixed martial arts debut with a victory over fellow rookie David Cexton when the 24-year-old stationed at Nellis could not continue after the second round.

While the performance wasn’t the prettiest display of the night, it certainly was impressive considering the 38-year-old Polly — known for his national best seller “American Shaolin,” a two-year journey he spent with Shaolin monks in China — had to leave his wife, Marla, alone just a month after being married in March to train exclusively at Xtreme Couture for six months to create his newest literary project.

“I was talking to my editor about various projects (after the book came out in 2005) and was thinking of something easier like investigating gardening or something,” said Polly, who has also penned articles for Playboy, Esquire and Slate. “He was like, no. So I said, how about monasteries, that would be interesting. ‘No.’

“Then I told him this UFC thing is huge with young guys and frat boys that don’t know anything about martial arts. He was like. that’s it. ‘Do I have to get in the ring, I asked?'

‘Yeah.’

So there was the New York author surveying the surreal experience against the better-physiqued Cexton.

“I was really nervous. I actually went and hid in one of the bathroom stalls to try and calm down,” Polly said of his routine before the fight. “My first thought when I got out there is, I got Joey Varner (Xtreme Couture trainer), Robert Drysdale (world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert) and Randy Couture walking in with me, I was like, I can’t shame them. I can’t go out there and get knocked out in five seconds with them in my corner.

“Then it was weird. There was a calm right as the music started. I can do this. I can do this.”

Well, maybe if Polly could find his corner and take his eye off the big screen.

“It was so smoky in there I got lost going to my corner. That was my first panic,” he said. “Then I honest to God got caught myself looking at myself on the big screen and said, ‘Can they see the backfat?’”

But after sizing up his opponent prior to the fight and taking a couple of shots early in the first round, the 6-foot-3 Polly settled down, recited the lessons and game plan his coaches had taught him and countered Cexton’s strikes.

“After awhile, I noticed I was hitting him two to one with strikes and felt like I could kinda see the discouragement on his face — like he didn’t want to be here,” said Polly, who said the working title for his book that will likely be published in a year is “Full Contact Writer.”

Either Polly’s assessment was correct or Cexton, who left the arena immediately afterward for medical attention, physically could not continue after the second round.

Polly gave a subdued “Rocky”-style celebration, pumping his arms in the air as Randy Couture slapped him on the back in his corner.

“Anybody worth their salt is gonna give anybody willing to step into that ring, whether they are a talented athlete or not, that respect,” said the five-time UFC champ who earlier Saturday afternoon helped raise some $60,000 for injured troops with his “Operation All In” poker tournament at the Golden Nugget.

“He’s earned that for sure. He’s got a ton of heart. He did the work and played the part.”

So, too, did the younger Couture (3-1), who bounced back from the first setback of his career in March to record the victory over Spicuzza after locking in a first-round armbar.

“I definitely was on my heels and reeling, trying to figure out where I was at. I did get rocked in that last fight, too,” said Couture, who lost a unanimous decision to Elisey Yarovoy in his home state of Washington.

“Same idea. I got rocked, grabbed the clinch and taken down looking for an armbar. This time, I locked in on tight enough to finish.”

Couture — who said he likely would fight one more time as an amateur before weighing his options near the end of the year — was equally excited to see Polly’s standout performance.

“When he told us all he was fighting we were like, ‘Really? The old, unathletic-looking guy,’” the younger Couture said with a big laugh.

“But then in the workouts he showed he has a little more athleticism than he appeared to. And he was really dedicated in there several hours a day just busting his butt and doing everything you're supposed to do. To see him go out there and execute the game plan like he did and see everything go off without a hitch was really cool.”

But cool enough that Polly thinks he’ll call it quits while he’s ahead?

“You know, there’s a lot of people that think it’s easy to get in there and fight or easy to write. ‘I went to English school, I can write a book,’” Polly said.

“I never approached it that way. All the amateurs at Xtreme Couture are probably twice is good as I am. But just training with them made me good enough to think I could just stand in the ring.

“The fight life is a tough life. I don’t know how these guys do it. And I thought Journalism was hard.”

[GeneChing]

I gotta hand it to Shixiong Matt. Stepping into the ring at his age (and weight :p)

Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:25 pm EDT
Author puts aside 'backfat' worries to post his first MMA win (http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Author-puts-aside-backfat-worries-to-post-his-?urn=mma,184709)
By Steve Cofield

There's always ineresting stories at the many amateur events around the country. Fighters trying to live out their dreams with the hope of one day reaching heights like Randy Couture. Matthew Polly took that first step on Saturday night. Fighting out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Polly posted a win in his first MMA fight during an amateur card at The Orleans Hotel. On to bigger and better things, right? Not even close. Polly is one and done. His MMA fight was all done to benefit a book he's writing about MMA:

“I was talking to my editor about various projects and was thinking of something easier like investigating gardening or something,” said Polly, who has penned articles for Playboy, Esquire and Slate. "Then I told him this UFC thing is huge with young guys and frat boys that don’t know anything about martial arts. He was like. that’s it. ‘Do I have to get in the ring, I asked?"

The answer was yes, so Polly left his wife of one month, moved to Las Vegas and trained for the last six months at Xtreme Couture. Polly told the Las Vegas Sun what it was like to approach the ring for a fight:

"I was really nervous. My first thought when I got out there is, I got Joey Varner (Xtreme Couture trainer), Robert Drysdale (world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert) and Randy Couture walking in with me, I was like, 'I can’t shame them. I can’t go out there and get knocked out in five seconds with them in my corner.' Then it was weird. There was a calm right as the music started. I can do this. I can do this."

Only one other thing made Polly cringe as he climbed through the ropes:

"It was so smoky in there I got lost going to my corner. That was my first panic. Then I honest to God got caught myself looking at myself on the big screen and said, ‘Can they see the backfat?’"

The dreaded backfat. I'm sure Georges St. Pierre worries about that too. Imagine a soothing Greg Jackson speech in the corner about channeling the power of the backfat. Probably doesn't happen often.

Polly is now done with fighting. It's time to write a book. His last book "American Shaolin" was a bestseller. He traveled to China and spent two years with the Shaolin Monks.

[GeneChing]

Still hoping to find some vid. Anyone?

Write stuff: Author wins amateur fight (http://www.lvrj.com/sports/54703867.html)
Polly trains, competes for sake of a good story
By ADAM HILL
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Some mixed martial artists step into the ring hoping to gain the fortune and fame that come with reaching stardom in the sport.

Others see it as a way to stoke the competitive fire that still burns inside, or simply to prove something to themselves.

Matthew Polly did it just for the story.

The best-selling author of the 2007 book "American Shaolin" earned a victory in an amateur fight on the Tuff-N-Uff card at the Orleans on Saturday night when his opponent could not continue after the second round.

The bout was the culmination of six months of training, mostly at Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. Polly plans to pen his second book, tentatively titled "Full Contact Writer," about the experience.

After his first book, which documented the two years he spent studying kung fu and Chinese culture at the Shaolin Temple in China, Polly was looking for a new challenge for his sop****re effort.

"I was talking to my editor about various projects. I was thinking of something easier, like I could go investigate gardening or something, and he was like 'No, no.' I said, 'How about monasteries,' and he said 'No,' " Polly recounted. "I said, 'Well, this UFC thing seems huge with young guys and frat boys who don't know anything about martial arts,' and he's like, 'That's it.' I was like, 'Do I have to get in the ring?' "

Polly knew the answer that was coming.

He did some training in New York, where he lives, but it wasn't enough.

"(I thought) if I want to fight, I really need to change my entire life. I need to go to one gym, somewhere else, and only live there and only do this," he said. "I had just gotten married, and I told my wife a month (later) that I needed to go to Las Vegas and train at Xtreme Couture."

He planned on training there for eight weeks, but one of his trainers told him he still wasn't ready. So he extended his stay and spent three hours per day training and the rest of his time watching "bad TV" and sleeping "a lot" in preparation for the fight.

"They basically took me from a kind of pudgy, 38-year-old man, middle of the hill, to kind of beat me into enough shape to win one here," Polly said.

To be fair, his opponent had no experience either. David Cexton is a 24-year old based at Nellis Air Force Base and has no established camp behind him.

Still, one of Polly's trainers said the author stuck to the script.

"He did a good job. He went out and followed the game plan," said Shawn Tompkins, a trainer at Xtreme Couture. "He was consistent in the stuff he learned. At this level, it's just about getting in there and manning up."

That doesn't mean Polly, a Princeton alum and Rhodes scholar who has also worked for several magazines and Web sites, will be taking any more fights.

"This is as far as I'm going," he said. "The fighting life's a tough life. I don't know how these guys do it. And I thought journalism was hard."

[Lucas]

Congrats!

I cant find any vid, im hoping something will surface soon.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I am sure he has the rights to it and is holding back untill the book is ready, publicity and all that.

[Timrock]

You can watch the event on this sight http://www.ibnsports.com/ just click the on demand tab the events called Tuff-N-Uff - The Future Stars of MMA at The Orleans in Las Vegas and will cost you 3.99.

[Chief_Suicide]

http://www.youtube.com/user/TuffNUffTV#play/uploads/0/1F4fmu1ssFc

It is on TuffnNuff's youtube channel.

Watching it now.

[GeneChing]

Polly like a leopard stalking his prey!!
:cool:

Nino?

[Oso]

nice to see a pasty white guy in the ring :D

[Old Noob]

Absolutely awesome commentary by the color guys. LMAO! Sweet stuff from Matt. So, do we think the other guy was actually injured in some way or was just sick of getting punched?

[shaolinboxer]

that was lol awesome. can't wait for the book.

[Blacktiger]

Thats unreal!!!

Well done for putting yourself out there - respect!

[David Jamieson]

Gene?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F4fmu1ssFc

*edit*

ah, i see it is in the most logical place... the "all things polly" thread.

very good then. :)

anyway, these white collar fights are popping up more and more now.

interesting to watch joe everydude have a go at it.

[sanjuro_ronin]

A civilized fight club, if you will.
:D

[donbdc]

Great stuff,
Loved Polly's book. It seems that w/ slightly flabbier fighter we also get slightly flabbier ring girls! Whats up w/ that? LOL!

Don Berry DC RKC

[GeneChing]

I was telling him how my book (http://www.amazon.com/Shaolin-Trips-Gene-Ching/dp/1424308976/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276188031&sr=1-1) is the 2010 remake of his book. :p

Homepage Feature
American Shaolin previews Karate Kid (http://www.theworld.org/2010/06/10/american-shaolin-previews-karate-kid/)
By The World ⋅ June 10, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Yahoo! Buzz

The movie “The Karate Kid” opens in US theaters tomorrow. The original “Karate Kid” came out in 1984. It was the first of a trilogy of films about a white middle-class teenager on a journey of self discovery through Karate. In the original — the teenager, played by Ralph Macchio, moved from New Jersey to Southern California.

Fast forward to the 2010 version of “The Karate Kid.” Now, it’s an African-American boy, played by Jaden Smith, moving from Detroit to Beijing. And his journey of self-discovery involves Kung Fu, thanks to a martial arts expert played by action superstar Jackie Chan.

But there’s another level to this new movie. It highlights China’s role as an essential American partner and rival, both culturally and economically. Matthew Polly is the author of the bestseller “American Shaolin” and he screened the movie for us. (Audio available after 5PM Eastern)
I'll put this on the Karate Kid (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48261) thread too.

[boshea]

I was telling him how my book (http://www.amazon.com/Shaolin-Trips-Gene-Ching/dp/1424308976/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276188031&sr=1-1) is the 2010 remake of his book. :p


Thanks for the reminder. I've read Matt's book and loved it. Just ordered yours on Amazon, and looking forward to reading it too!

-b

[boshea]

Oh shoot, I just noticed in your sig that you are also selling your book on MartialArtsMart.com (http://www.martialartsmart.com/btc-gc01.html). I would have bought it from there if I'd noticed that, sorry. I just followed the Amazon link in your post.

[GeneChing]

I started a new thread on Matt's next book, Tapped Out, on the MMA forum (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61813). It will be available Nov 17, 2011.

[Blacktiger]

Sounds great!!

[Hebrew Hammer]

Just watched the tuffnuff fight video, bravo, when I first read the other thread and watched his training video, I was underwhelmed by his athleticism. I just expected someone who went to shaolin to be more...shall we say athletic, but its really all about the journey...in the words of the great Jewish Philosopher Borat: "Much Respect". :D

[GeneChing]

TAPPED OUT: An interview with Matthew "American Shaolin" Polly (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1013)

[ShaolinDan]

Finished 'American Shaolin' last night (also started 'Tapped Out'). Really enjoyable read, from a point of view I can really relate to. I knew I was going to love it as soon as I saw the 'Snow Crash' quote that opens the book. Great stuff.

[GeneChing]

What happens when you drop out of Princeton to move to the Shaolin Temple and master Kung Fu? (http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-when-you-drop-out-of-princeton-to-move-to-the-shaolin-temple-and-master-kung-fu-2013-1)
Eric Barker, Barking Up The Wrong Tree | Jan. 22, 2013, 7:58 AM | 45 |

“Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest mother****er in the world. If I moved to a martial arts monastery in China and studied real hard for ten years. If my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live, devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and devoted my life to being bad.”
— Neal Stephenson

My friend Matt Polly is the author of American Shaolin and Tapped Out.

And, yes, at 21 he left Princeton to move to China, find the Shaolin Temple and study Kung Fu.

It’s an incredible story (which he detailed in his first book American Shaolin) and so I decided to interview Matt about risk-taking, the 10000 hour rule of expertise and getting your ass kicked by monks.

The full interview was over 30 minutes long so for brevity’s sake I’m only going to post highlights here.

If you want the full interview (which includes Matt’s second big adventure), I’ll be sending it out with my weekly newsletter on Sunday. Join here.

———————————————

Eric:

When you look back on the whole dropping out of Princeton, going to China and studying at the Shaolin Temple, do you think, “I took a calculated risk”, or “it was something I was passionate about” or “I was nuts when I was a kid!” How do you think about that now?

Matt:

I look at it kind of like it was a different person, like I was nuts. You know how you kind of look at your childhood self and it’s you but it’s not quite you? It does feel a little nuts to me. It’s something nuts that I’m proud of doing and I think that was the important thing.

When I see a lot of my friends who went to the same type of schools, most of them never took a risk. The way they got there was by just taking that next step up the ladder. At a certain point, it felt to me like they didn’t know what the next step was and so they never followed their passion to do anything and there’s a certain emptiness, I think, about that.

On the other side though, taking a risk often puts you outside the system. The whole kind of American capitalist system rewards people who follow the rules. You join a corporation, they give you healthcare. You try to do freelance and do it on your own, well, you’ve got to pay for everything. I do sometimes joke that if I were ever asked to speak to college graduates I would tell them not to follow their passion.

At the end of the day, I think if you take the risk, even if you fail, you’ve taken your shot at it and there’s not that feeling of that you didn’t have your shot, you didn’t take a chance. I think in the end, that’s worth it but I’ll tell you, there are days when I do wonder.

Eric:

First and foremost, let me take a step back. Can you recount for me what happened there? I’m familiar with it but for the sake of the interview, can you give a quick round up of the Shaolin experience?

Matt:

The Shaolin story. I was one of those skinny, scrawny, nerdy kids who got picked on in grade school and middle school. I developed, like a lot of nerdy kids, this kind of fantasy about what it would be like if I were super tough and a super hero and fell in love with kung fu and Bruce Lee and David Carradine. When I got into college, I started studying martial arts and Chinese and Chinese religion but was really fascinated by the fighting styles.

At a certain point, I read the book “Iron and Silk” by Mark Salzman and it tells the story of this Yale graduate who goes to China and learns kung fu. That was the first sort of idea I had that this was possible. I went to my Chinese language teacher who came from mainland China and asked him if this was cool and what I should do if I wanted to study kung fu in China.

He said, in Chinese, “[speaking Chinese]”, which means, “Are you afraid to eat bitter?” I said, “No,” lying to him, and so he said, “If you want to study really real kung fu, then you have to go to the Shaolin Temple.”

This was back in like 1992, before there was much Internet search or anything and there was no records anywhere that I could find of what the Shaolin Temple was but the idea of going to the place where the T.V. show “Kung Fu” was about, where all the Wu Tang Clan talked about, “Enter the Dragon”, Bruce Lee, was a Shaolin Temple monk.

This was like my whole childhood fantasy, the idea that I could live it out. So that’s what inspired me to take the risk and basically drop out and defy my parents and get on a plane and fly to Beijing when I had no idea where the Shaolin Temple was.

I landed there literally with a Fodor’s map, a book, of China and walked around Tiananmen’s Square asking people, “Do you know where the Shaolin Temple was?” [laughter]

I did finally find somebody. Several people thought it had been destroyed or they didn’t know and finally I found this old lady who came from the province where the Shaolin Temple was located. She said, “I know how to get there. Get on a train,” and that’s how I ended up finding the Shaolin Temple, just walking in cold.

It truly was like some sort of old school adventure which, now, with the Internet, people are there blogging about their life at the Shaolin Temple. You can get a Google Maps of it so it’s completely different now. At the time, the Shaolin Temple had one telephone line in the whole village so it was completely cut off from everyone.

Eric:

Yes but there’s a big difference between somebody saying, “I’m flying to the United States today,” versus being Christopher Columbus. You did it first and you did it when it was really hard.

Matt:

There is an aspect of that. At the same time, I had a return ticket so if everything failed, you could still come back. Christopher Columbus, if he didn’t find anything, was going to die. [laughter]

Eric:

It’s funny, it’s such an unbelievable story, man. Give me the quick basics. You were there for how long? What did you learn? What did you take away from it?

Matt:

I spent two years living there. I studied kung fu like seven hours a day. The whole Chinese thing is about eating bitter. That’s their whole training method. They’re not into scientific training, peak performance, up and down. It’s just grind. They had like 30,000 young Chinese kids studying kung fu and the very best got to be Shaolin monks.

When I watched, for example, the Opening Ceremonies to the Beijing Olympics, that was like what China was, to me, the Shaolin Temple was, thousands of people doing the same thing over and over every day in perfect precision.

One of my takeaways was just I discovered how very American I am because the Chinese are extremely nationalistic, so being the foreigner all the time was eye-opening. I was a minority of one there so I learned a lot about what it was like to be an outsider.

Two, kind of strengthened my sense of pride in where I came from but also my concern, just politically speaking, since we’ve talked about this before. I came back very concerned that we needed to up our game because the Chinese were coming to, you know, they had the eye of the tiger.

Then, three, personally, it was a sense of I felt like the lion in the Wizard of Oz looking for his courage. Then afterwards, when things would come up, I was like, “Well, it won’t be as bad as Shaolin, whatever happens.” You do a job interview, whatever happens, it’s not like I’m going to get beat up by a bunch of monks. [laughter]

It gave me kind of baseline of confidence that I could do something completely crazy, go off the map and come back in one piece. That, to me, is the great advantage of risk taking is that even if it fails, you know that you had the courage to do it and that you have the courage to do it again.

continued next post

[GeneChing]

Eric:

What made you come back? Did you originally set any sort of, “I’m going to do this for two years?” Did you ever say to yourself, “I might never come back,” or was there a certain achievement or was it blurry and something happened where you said, “OK. I’m ready to go back now.”

Matt:

Yes, originally what I told my parents just so they wouldn’t arrest me and not let me go was that I was only going to go for a year. Then towards the end of the year, I realized I still didn’t feel like I understood China or the Shaolin Temple or the culture yet so I extended it two years, which, at that point, my parents were furious and they ended up cutting me off.

It was in the middle of the second year where I felt like I kind of got, that I understood the culture, I understood Shaolin. I had also kind of achieved my goal. My goal in learning kung fu, I thought it was originally to be the baddest fighter on Earth and then I learned that’s not possible. There are always tougher guys than you are.

I came to the point where I realized I was tough enough and that I didn’t need to be a world champion of kickboxing. I just needed to be good enough to feel secure if some bully tried to push me around like in grade school. At that point, when I felt like I had achieved that goal, it no longer seemed as necessary to stay there and suffer and eat bitter. And I wanted to come home.

I think a lot of expatriates, you go to China with a lot of goals but it’s a very tough place to be a foreigner and it wears you down over time. I got tired of being the outsider forever and I wanted to come back and actually live in my own country. That’s kind of what changed. By the end of the second year, I was ready to come home.

Eric:

Overall, how do you think that kind of shaped your attitude on risk taking in general?

Matt:

For me, it was a signature moment of my life. If I look back, it was the transformative moment. Some people it’s high school. Some people it’s college. For me it was going to Shaolin Temple. I was a different person when I came back. That, I think, is the most important point about risk taking is you get to find out who you really are when you push yourself outside a comfort zone and discover resources you didn’t know you had.

For me, that’s why I always think, in the end, even though it is risky by definition, it’s worth the risk if it’s something you’re passionate about. There’s no point taking a risk for it’s own sake. If there’s something you really want to do, and it involves risk, that you should, especially when you’re young and you have no commitments to anyone. No one’s going to starve and you don’t have kids.

I thought it was the perfect time and afterwards, I would meet people easy road and I always kind of felt sad about that. You’re not as interesting a person if you don’t challenge yourself like that.

Eric:

Do you think that a challenge like that, do you think it revealed who you were? Do you think it changed who you were or either?

Matt:

No, I see what you’re saying. It’s weird. I think it does both. One of my goals in going was I didn’t like who I was at the time. I wanted to be something different, I had an active sense of wanting to be more courageous than I felt I was at the time.

It’s strange, since I was actively trying to self-improve. I think all challenges reveal something you don’t know about yourself, but if they’re tough enough, they change you in fundamental ways and I was when I left. And not all of it was for the better. I was a little edgier around the corners for awhile and a little more cynical than I was.

One of the things about living in a desperately poor village in the middle of China is you get a real sense of how hard life can really be. Just kind of growing up upper-middle class white in America and going to an elite college, I had a pretty privileged background so I’d never lived in conditions that were that primitive. A lot of the guys I knew, some of them in caves, they didn’t have enough food to eat many days. They’d go hungry.

It kind of flipped me out when I went back and finished my senior year at Princeton, all these people worrying about things that seemed so trivial. “Am I going to get a job at Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs?” [laughter]

“Oh, my 25-page paper is due and I’m a day late, instead of an ‘A’.”

For awhile, I couldn’t readjust to it. What people were worried about at Princeton seemed trivial to me because it is, so it did actually have that kind of effect where I found it hard to re-relate to the things that Americans get really upset about. Because in the context, I had a whole new perspective and context and so it took me awhile to kind of readjust to that.

Eric:

Another thing I’ve kind of explored on the blog a lot is expertise, becoming an expert, studies in “deliberate practice.” That’s pretty central in a lot of ways to what you were dealing with and what you said about the practicing. Can you just talk a little bit about that, just kind of expertise, moving towards perfection, trying to get better, what did you learn about that?

Matt:

There definitely is but Gladwell was this 10,000-hour series, he’s very good at coining something that’s kind of common wisdom. But definitely what you found was the monks, they knew how much time you had to train kung fu to be good at it. There was just a general sense and the idea if you went through the program the way they talked about it and you did everything you were supposed to, it took 3 years to get good at it and it took 10 years to master kung fu. They didn’t consider you to have a mastery of it until you’d done about 10 years worth of work.

Now some guys are a little fast than others. Some people are smarter and pick up things quicker and some people have a kind of inherent talent that others lack. But most of what it takes to be an expert at something is the grind and putting the work in. That’s the thing that was fascinating was that you could watch the beginning students and they all moved up at about the same rate, some a little faster than others, and it was the people who were lazy, didn’t put in the work, who couldn’t achieve expertise in the subject.

That said, the difference between very good and great, there is some sort of intangible at the highest level. The work will get you to very good but the difference between that and greatness is something that is kind of beyond. That’s the mystery. At the very end, I felt like I’d gotten very good at martial arts but I realized I’d never be great at it. There were guys that just had a kind of athletic ability or sensibility about them that I would never achieve.

Eric:

Got you. Has any of that carried over to your writing or to other things you’ve done since?

Matt:

Yes. I really did feel like my sense of what my art in life, that was the thing, the change for me, is I realized that my goal wasn’t to be a master of kung fu, it was to master some art form. Writing, for me, became where I transferred all my passion. While I’m certainly no master at it, it is where I put in the 10,000 hours and the 10 years worth of work and feel a comfort level. Martial arts became more of a hobby and writing became not only my job but where I think my art is.

There's more to come if you sign up for Barker's weekly newsletter

[Shaolindynasty]

Is this interview recent? That book came out at least 5 years ago. I'm surprised its still being promoted. As a side note i loved that book and have read it several times on the train rides back and forth from my home and kungfu school

[GeneChing]

'A timeless adventure' (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-03/19/content_16318387.htm)
Updated: 2013-03-19 05:38
By Zhang Yue ( China Daily)

I was a bit nervous about attending the Capital Literary Festival Beijing as I thought the panel discussion for the anthology Unsavory Elements would be a bit dry and hosted by old-China hands.

I was surprised, then, to find most of them were relatively young and had begun their friendship with China as teenagers.

For instance, American author Kaitlin Solimine walked into the venue with an old Chinese man.

I later learned 72-year-old Chen Guanmiao was Solimine's Chinese godfather, whom she home-stayed with during her first visit to China in 1996.

The bond between the American and the Chen family is intense and she has stayed with the family every year since 1996.

Chen sat in the second row, smiling, though a bit nervous when Solimine read onstage about her China experience.

Most of those attending the one-hour launch and panel discussion of Unsavory Elements were foreigners.

Five writers read excerpts from their stories, in English, while everyone gathered had a good laugh at their experiences, such as buying a huge assignment of T-shirts that were too small.

For Matthew Polly, author of American Shaolin, who learned kung fu at the Shaolin Temple in 1992, he has successfully maintained his kung fu skills as well as Mandarin.

"When I first visited, all my knowledge of Shaolin Temple was based on US TV shows made by Hollywood writers who had never been to China."

"They (the monks) pour you tea and say, 'Drink one'. And I say, 'No sir, you drink first.' And they will say, 'Wow! This foreigner understands politeness!'"

It turned out that he was welcomed by the monks but had to pay the "foreigner tuition price" of $1,300 per month, which forced him to sell T-shirts to make money.

"I visited the temple again in 2003," he says. "Tourism has changed it, obviously. And there are more kung fu schools teaching foreigners," he says, adding that people are much better off and clearly had no problem finding enough to eat, as was the case previously.

Most stories in the anthology derive from 10 or even 20 years ago.

"How does their experience a decade ago help today's expats understand the country?" I asked.

"Foreign people coming to China is a timeless adventure," Tom Carter, editor of Unsavory Elements, answers. "There are certain things that foreigners in China will always be interested in. And as we wrote in the introduction to the book, in China, as more things change, the more they stay the same.

"So learning kung fu at Shaolin, it's more touristy now. But if you want to learn, you still have to hike up Songshan Mountain and find a kung fu school, just like Matthew Polly's experience two decades ago. That is just one of the features that is still timeless in China." I saw from Matt's twitter that he just got back from China. I was wondering why he went back.

[GeneChing]

Matt interviewed noted playwright David Henry Hwang about his latest work based on the life of Bruce Lee, KUNG FU, for us. Read David Henry Hwang's KUNG FU (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1159) by Matt Polly.

[GeneChing]

No kung fu hustle: We don't teach for money, says Shaolin Temple (http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140913000110&cid=1103)
Xinhua and Staff Reporter
2014-09-13
17:05 (GMT+8)

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/newsphoto/2014-09-13/450/C904X0175H_2014%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99%E7%85%A7%E7%89%8 7_N71_copy1.JPG
A demonstration of Shaolin kung fu in Zhengzhou, Henan province, Apr. 21, 2008. (File photo/Xinhua)

An monk at China's famous Shaolin Temple on Friday said the temple has never taught kung fu for money, and an American who made such a claim must have confused the temple with another kung fu school nearby.

Matthew Polly wrote in his memoir American Shaolin that the abbot of Shaolin Temple, Shi Yongxin, accepted him as his first foreign student after taking 1,111 yuan (US$181) as a gift. He claims to have paid an annual tuition fee of US$1,300 to learn kung fu at the Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Center.

The book stirred wide controversy after excerpts of the Chinese version were uploaded online earlier this month. Polly also suggested that some monks at the temple are gay.

Shi Yanchong, a monk at the Shaolin Intangible Asset Management Center, said that to judge from his book, Polly could not tell the difference between the Shaolin Temple and nearby commercial martial arts schools, whose "Shaolin monks" are simply laymen who cheat people out of their money.

"He (Polly) is a foreigner who loves Chinese kung fu but he was probably misled," Shi Yanchong said, adding that monks never work in martial art schools.

"No martial arts halls or centers with the name 'Shaolin Temple' have any connection with the Songshan Shaolin Temple. Songshan Shaolin Temple has never recruited any students, and improper conduct by martial arts schools has nothing to do with the temple," the temple said in a statement.

Located on Songshan Mountain in Dengfeng in central China's Henan province, the 1,500-year-old temple is regarded as the birthplace of Chinese kung fu.
This is one of those things that anyone who has been there for a decent period of time understands. And anyone who hasn't really has no clue. ;)

[GeneChing]

A little bird told me that the rights for American Shaolin have been sold to Wanda (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69324-Wanda-amp-AMC)/Tencent. Matt confirmed. More to come. :cool:

[GeneChing]

Follow
Matthew Polly (https://twitter.com/MatthewEPolly/status/777901802050228227/photo/1)
‏@MatthewEPolly
The Chinese optioned my book, American Shaolin, and seem eager to actually make it into a movie. Fingers crossed.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CsupeyfWEAArSIZ.jpg

9:06 AM - 19 Sep 2016

I can hardly wait to see this.

[GeneChing]

Yesterday’s Crimes: The Brawl That Almost Broke Bruce Lee (http://www.sfweekly.com/news/yesterdays-crimes-news/yesterdays-crimes-the-brawl-that-almost-broke-bruce-lee/)
American Shaolin author Matthew Polly sorts through the fact and fiction surrounding Bruce Lee's Bay Area grudge match in his new book, Bruce Lee: A Life.
Bob Calhoun Mon Jun 11th, 2018 10:01amYesterday's Crimes

http://1ryzas42x65e2oosia40bgli.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/lee.jpg
Bruce Lee punishing a young Jackie Chan in Enter the Dragon. (Courtesy Image)

Bruce Lee was born into a performing family; His mother gave birth to him in the year of the dragon on Nov. 27, 1940 in San Francisco’s Chinatown, while his parents were on tour with a Chinese opera company. His Chinese name, Li Jun Fan (李振藩), included the Chinese character for San Francisco (Fan), and can be translated roughly to “Shake Up and Excite San Francisco.” When Lee finally returned to the city of his birth in his early 20s, the future martial arts superstar did just what his name had prophesized.

Lee took the stage of the Sun Sing Theatre on Grant Avenue between Jackson and Pacific in August 1964. What started with Lee doing the cha-cha with Diana Chang Chung-Wen, “The Mandarin Marilyn Monroe,” soon became one of Chinatown’s most enduring controversies. It all began during a demonstration of the Wing Chun kung fu techniques Lee had honed on the streets of Hong Kong.

“In China, 80 percent of what they teach is nonsense,” Lee proclaimed during his show. “Here in America, it is 90 percent.

“These old tigers,” he continued, criticizing San Francisco’s traditional kung fu masters, “they have no teeth.”

“That’s not kung fu!” a man in the back of the theater shouted, while the Chinatown audience flung lit cigarettes onto the stage to show their disapproval of this young upstart.

Before Lee left the stage, he told the hostile crowd that if they wanted to research his Wing Chun, they could find him at his school in Oakland. To everyone at the Sun Sing that night, it sounded like the “Little Dragon” had just issued an open challenge to all of Chinatown.

“(Lee) was 24,” Matthew Polly, author of the hard-to-put-down new biography Bruce Lee: A Life, explains. “He was trying to make a name for himself, and he was going out there, poking people in the eye trying to get them to change their minds.”

Polly wrote about his experiences studying kung fu at the Shaolin Temple in Henan, China for his first book, American Shaolin (Penguin, 2007). He then trained in mixed martial arts for his follow-up, Tapped Out (Gotham, 2011).

“After writing Tapped Out, I was looking for a project that didn’t involve me getting punched in the face,” Polly says, but he couldn’t stay away from martial arts. When Polly realized the only Bruce Lee biography still in print was from 25 years ago, he was “personally offended.”

“The most important Asian American to ever live, and the most famous, couldn’t get his one biography when Steve McQueen has a half a dozen,” Polly says.

Polly spent seven years researching Bruce Lee: A Life, which had him untangling fact from the urban legends surrounding Lee’s rise to stardom, his mysterious death, and the challenge match that emerged from that appearance at the Sun Sing Theatre.

“Bruce lived a life that was a lot like his kung fu movies,” Polly says, pointing out that Lee accepted challenge matches well into his 30s. “And so whenever somebody wants to tell the story of Bruce, they want to tell it as if it was a kung fu movie, and of course they immediately go to the Wong Jack Man fight.”

Wong Jack Man was not at the Sun Sing on the night of Lee’s performance, but Lee’s critique of the high kicks of Northern Shaolin kung fu got back to him. Like Lee, Wong was a skilled martial artist in his early 20s who had come to America from Hong Kong. Unlike Lee, Wong venerated martial arts traditions.

“In the fight between Bruce and Wong Jack Man you have modernity versus tradition,” Polly says.

After weeks of negotiations, Wong arrived at Bruce Lee’s Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute at 4175 Broadway in Oakland’s auto row on a weeknight in early November 1964. Wong’s pal, David Chin, who had egged on this fight, attempted to negotiate some ground rules, but Lee wasn’t having it.

“You’ve already got your friend killed,” Lee spat in Cantonese.

James Lee, one of Lee’s students, locked the dojo door from the inside and took a seat close to where he kept a loaded revolver in case any more of Wong’s friends showed up. Bruce Lee’s pregnant wife Linda was the only other person there on his side, while Wong and Chin had brought four others with them.

When Wong reached out to shake hands, the tense Bruce Lee threw a powerful shot that crashed into Wong’s orbital bone.

“He really wanted to kill me,” Wong later recalled.

Lee followed up with a blistering series of Wing Chun chain punches. Wong backpedaled, blocking Lee’s shots. Lee kept coming. Wong struck Lee in the neck and drew blood with a studded wrist bracelet he concealed in his long sleeve.

“When Bruce felt the blood on his neck and realized the deception, he went berserk,” Polly writes.

Wong turned around and started to run. Wong stumbled on a raised platform in Lee’s studio leftover from when it was an upholstery shop. Lee got on top of Wong and pounded him. Chin and the others pulled Lee off of their fallen champion.

The fight in Oakland only enhanced the reputations of both men. Lee became a Hong Kong-to-Hollywood tragedy who died right before the release of Enter the Dragon (1973), his greatest triumph. Wong earned the title of grandmaster teaching Tai Chi Chuan and Northern Shaolin at Fort Mason Center until 2005. Wong’s subsequent students have claimed their beloved sifu vanquished the arrogant movie star.

The tiebreaker for Polly in determining just what happened that night in 1964 was that David Chin’s account jibed with Linda Lee’s.

“I took that as a pretty good guarantee of the truth if Wong Jack Man’s friend thought a certain thing happened,” Polly says.

“One advantage I have in writing this book over other biographers is that I was actually in a challenge match in China and fought another kung fu master,” Polly adds, recalling an incident he covered in American Shaolin.

“So certain things rang true to me just based on my own experience,” he says. “I’ve watched challenge matches where one guy freaks out and panics and starts running.”

Unsatisfied with how ugly the Wong Jack Man fight was, Lee committed to developing his own style, called Jeet Kune Do, and transformed martial arts in the process.

“What’s amazing with MMA is this is what it’s become,” Polly reflects. “The way (Lee) was teaching is the way a significant portion of the martial arts community now practices.”


THREADS
Bruce Lee: A Life by Matt Polly (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65795-Bruce-Lee-A-Life-by-Matt-Polly)
Bruce Lee vs. Wong Jack Man fight (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?36573-Bruce-Lee-vs-Wong-Jack-Man-fight)
American Shaolin by Matt Polly (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?26966-American-Shaolin-by-Matt-Polly)

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM0XmTg90gw