Book pages

I don't know how many of you are planning to visit China, and particularly the Summer Olympics, but for most of us, we just plan to sit at home, and watch it via satellite. In anticipation of this event, I read a new book, by Matthew Polly, "American Shaolin", and decided it was well worth the read, and I certainly learned more insights about China and the Chinese than I would if I had made the trip. Since I do not speak Chinese, reading/traveling on the coattails of Mr. Polly was an excellent idea. And since I am not a martial arts expert, I truly enjoyed reading about his experiences, because he was the one getting beaten up in daily workouts with the Shaolin Monks, not I. He wrote about his year abroad at the Shaolin Temple, as the only American there. Luckily for him, he spoke "pretty good" Chinese-- "where, where where?" was his idiomatic reply when he received that compliment. And also lucky for him, he was able to master sanda, the Chinese form of kickboxing, to the extent that he could perform in competition with Chinese masters. There were some very interesting political observations, and one truly scary one, where he and a Shaolin monk compared countries and their ability to win in a full-out war. Can you spell "Korea"? Now I understand why the Chinese are so anxious to invite the world in, and show off their economic accomplishments while they compete in the Olympics. If you have seen the movie "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon", you will enjoy this book. And if you haven't seen the movie, go rent it after you read "American Shaolin"--makes you appreciate the kicks without the pain!