It doesn’t take much to attract attention in China! You can be 1) be a foreigner taking Kung Fu lessons or 2) a 21-year-old Chinese female who is also a Kung Fu master. Either one will draw the attention of the local press and TV stations as we have found out during the last few weeks.
Some things in China are just not supposed to happen. When they do, people are perplexed! Why would a young Chinese woman be teaching Kung Fu and why the heck would a 60-year-old be in the class. These were questions that were posed to me by the journalists when they showed up at our class. Apparently, you are supposed to start these kinds of lessons when you are four or five, not in your sixties. They just don’t understand that everything does not have to be taken so seriously!
“What were your first thoughts when you saw this young female instructor?”. the guy asks.
“I didn’t really think about it!”, I answered.
“How long have you been doing Kung Fu?”
“About four months.”
It just didn’t compute with any of them! I should be retired and looking after grandchildren by now and our instructor should be out looking for a husband! Such is the psyche of the Chinese population. Old traditions die hard! I like to think our small group of expats is slowly making a difference in the way some of these people look at the world around them.
You can see the complete article about us at http://hb.qq.com/a/20120319/
You like it so much?
It’s a great way to get a little exercise every week!