American Shaolin
by Matthew Polly
Gotham Books, HK$120
Before Matthew Polly decided to take an extended break from Princeton to do what he really wanted to do - train with China's Shaolin monks - he had a sizeable chip on his shoulder. In a list titled 'Things that are wrong with Matthew' he noted he was ignorant, cowardly, still a boy/not a man, unattractive to the opposite sex and spiritually confused. Substituting all that was familiar and comfortable with culture shock and physical training he whittled down the negatives and turned the experience into a book that entertains and edifies. Polly's account of his two years at the Shaolin monastery in Henan province begins in 1992, when he arrives at the only temple on the mainland that combines kung fu with Zen Buddhism. Immediately he realises he has landed in a martial-arts Disneyland teeming with tourists. He makes his way 'backstage' to the Wushu Centre and persuades the administrators to admit him as a student. Thus begins a regime of Shaolin martial arts, kick-boxing and 'iron kung fu'. Although the book details Polly's physical toughening, it also reveals his spiritual learning. His strength, however, lies in describing his cultural enlightenment with self-deprecating humour and charm.