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Drew Carson ist ein typischer amerikanischer Teenager, bis sein größter Rivale Trevor ihn bei einem Kampf besiegt und vor seinen Freunden demütigt. Er beschließt, dass das seine letzte Niederlage war. Er will Shaolin-Kämpfer werden. Im Kloster. American Shaolin ist ein US-amerikanischer Martial-Arts-Film mit Comedy-Elementen von Deutscher Kinostart des Filmes war der Juli voetbalelftal.eu - Kaufen Sie American Shaolin günstig ein. Qualifizierte Bestellungen werden kostenlos geliefert. Sie finden Rezensionen und Details zu einer. American Shaolin. ()1 Std. 41 Min Drew wird in einem Kickbox-Duell von Trevor, einem unfair kämpfenden Rivalen, unsanft auf die Matte geschickt. Wie KARATE KID*. Nur das AMERICAN SHAOLIN die besseren Kampfkünste aufwies und weitaus mehr Fernöstliches bot. Heute schon etwas lächerlich, aber. American Shaolin. Alternativtitel: Karate Tiger 5; No Retreat, No Surrender 5; Shaolin from America. Schnittberichte, News (z.B. Uncut-DVDs & Blu-rays) und Reviews zu American Shaolin (OT: American Shaolin: King of the Kickboxers II | USA, Hongkong, .
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American Shaolin - Trailer (1991)Metacritic Reviews. Photo Gallery. Trailers and Videos. Crazy Credits. Alternate Versions. Rate This. After being humiliated in the ring by a dirty kickboxer who pulled down his shorts and then hit him, a martial arts master decides to travel to China and enter a monastery where he may Director: Lucas Lowe.
Writer: Keith W. Added to Watchlist. November's Top Streaming Picks. TDC Hong Kong. Artes Marciales. Best Movies about Fighting. Martial Arts in Motion.
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Edit Cast Cast overview, first billed only: Reese Madigan Drew Carson Trent Bushey Trevor Gottitall Daniel Dae Kim Gao Billy Chang Li Cliff Lenderman Henry O Master Kwan Alice Zhang Hung Ashena Jean Louisa Kelly Maria D.
Bob Sifu Jai Pfeelgut Michael Depasquale Jr. Announcer Tokey Hill Coach 1 as Toki Hill Alan Pottinger Young Adult Andrew Shue Edit Storyline After being humiliated in the ring by a dirty kickboxer who pulled down his shorts and then hit him, a martial arts master decides to travel to China and enter a monastery where he may learn the Shaolin form of fighting.
Genres: Action. Edit Did You Know? Trivia As the camera pans past the judges in the final Wu Shu tournament scene, we can see that the UK judge's name is Stillwell Wylde, which is a name made up of the surnames of the two main characters in No Retreat, No Surrender 1 and 2.
Goofs During the first fight between Drew and Trevor, the crowd outside of the ring clearly disappears and reappears between shots.
Quotes Trevor Gottitall : Remember the last time, punk? Drew Carson : Nothing exists but the moment. And I'm going to enjoy this one.
He's got a lovely way of delivering a punchline haha using deadpan dry caustic wit. And that you do this so often, you forget and do it on the street, which causes people to shun you.
I awoke in Hungary, with someone I knew I could not best if it came to a wrestling match, holding a bottle of vodka, starting at me with That Look.
Since we shared no common languages, it was very hard for me to convince her that, while I was certain she was an intellectual soulmate, and I admired her muscles -er, figure- and, if I weren't in fact about to flee the country we probably would have had meaningful things to say to one another, well, gosh darn it, given the current circumstances it was best to decline--courteously--both the explicit offers her body language was making.
The down side is, he doesn't respect the women in the book; they're straight men well Girls don't get enlightened in this book; they get screwed.
Other than that, Mrs. Dear Author, if you hadn't been so unenlightened about the women, I'd have given you five stars.
So there. View all 6 comments. Jan 07, Alix rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: martial arts lovers. This book was so phenomenal that I wrote a thank-you note to the author.
The way he wrote it makes him so likable and human that I didn't want it to end. He becomes a badass by force of sheer will and that's always one of those things I want to hear is possible.
The big bonus was learning so much about the Chinese culture. Even if you don't love ma This book was so phenomenal that I wrote a thank-you note to the author.
Even if you don't love martial arts, you'll love this book. If you like martial arts, this book will be dangerously inspirational.
Apr 21, Jordan Funke rated it it was ok Shelves: humor , memoir. This was a fun story. I wanted to give it 2.
I liked the author's self-effacing and simultaneous self-promoting style. But I was never able to fully suspend disbelief about how successful and loved and accepted he was being the only non-Chinese in a town full of 10, Shaolin practitioners.
It wasn't too gory and only glorified violence a little. It completely hooked me all the way through, but I hate that this is the kind of American wh This was a fun story.
It completely hooked me all the way through, but I hate that this is the kind of American who represents me abroad. No wonder we are despised world-wide.
I hated this book. Rather than being culturally sensitive, this asshole woke up 10 years after his experience and decided he wanted to make some money so he wrote this book.
He gives people who do follow this way of life a bad name. View 1 comment. Dec 24, Eh? This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. BUT he was also smugly annoying - here is this person who goes to learn from Shaolin monks View all 19 comments.
Why is it that only disillusioned, rich white kids who drop out of Ivy League schools that they aren't even paying for because Daddy's footing the bill all go on to lead these neat ass adventures and fulfill lifelong dreams?
Polly's a hack and a chump! Jan 02, Arminzerella rated it liked it Shelves: nonfiction , borrowed-from-the-library , funny , diverse-multicultural , autobiography-memoir , coming-of-age , sports , books-for-boys , travel , chinese.
His first accomplishment was educating himself and becoming an intellectual. From there he went on to tackle his cowardice — by going to China and studying kung fu in a Shaolin temple.
Matt came away having learned a lot more than just kung fu. Although he knew some Chinese, Matt was not educated in Chinese culture and had to pick up a lot on the fly.
Polly is now fluent in many things Chinese - vulgarities, dirty jokes, bargaining, male friendships, debts, and call girls just to name a few.
After training in traditional forms for a number of months, Matt was able to observe a shanda Shaolin kickboxing match. He became interested and encouraged his school to start up their own shanda team and training program by holding them up against the competing school in a rather unfavorable light.
Matt took to shanda like nothing the monks had seen. Once he got over his fear of being beaten, he rapidly mastered all of the kicks, punches, and throws.
His trainer told him he had never seen someone particularly a laowai, or outsider progress so quickly, and then arranged to have him compete against the finest shanda fighters in the world.
Matt eventually makes it through other items on his list and adds new things to work on , finally realizing that there will always be room for improvement and his list will never be complete.
You go off to some remote temple and learn to be a complete bad ass. And after that either no one messes with you, or those that do come to regret it.
Some of us just make it more physical. American Shaolin was a really fascinating look at Chinese culture — going beyond kung fu and really allowing readers to get to know and understand some of the people.
I mean, how can a laowai compete with someone who studies iron dong kung fu? And for those of us who like a taste of other places and cultures, this will leave you wanting to know much, much more about China.
View all 8 comments. Dec 25, James Kelly rated it really liked it. This book caught my attention several years ago due to my interest in Shaolin kung fu.
I read it quickly and found it quite delightful; the tale is of a young American who leaves university to travel to China with an interest in, albeit temporarily, living as a monk.
He arrives in a particular province I can't remember its name, just that it began with d and after acquainting himself with locals and picking up a few anecdotes to tell the reader, one of which has to do with locals believing he This book caught my attention several years ago due to my interest in Shaolin kung fu.
He arrives in a particular province I can't remember its name, just that it began with d and after acquainting himself with locals and picking up a few anecdotes to tell the reader, one of which has to do with locals believing he is some kind of mythical creature and that he is blind because of his blue eyes, travels to the Shaolin Temple to train under the monks.
After trying hard-living and not liking it, he ends up in a reasonably priced hotel where he remains for several years if I can remember correctly.
As I said, I read it a while ago. The rest of his book actually describes the martial arts practice in relatively little detail and examines themes such as cultural differences between the West and China; China - U.
And of course what needs to be mentioned is his bizarre experience of being offered to opportunity to become immune to pain in his groin by having it battered until the nerve cells are dead, a practice in kung fu known as 'Iron balls', which he thankfully rejects.
He then finally makes his departure to America. In an epilogue he returns to China to find the Temple dead and the local area commercialised for the enjoyment of tourists.
The Chinese government wasn't big on Kung Fu but realised it was an opportunity to bring in Western money by the bucket load, so changed its mind.
The changes are completely to his dismay and he has a long rant about what has happened, blaming tourists in large part to his blatant hypocrisy.
But he finds hope in an elderly man who has dedicated his life to Kung Fu and realises that the Shaolin tradition is far from dead. This review doesn't do the book justice.
If you are interested in China or Kung Fu I'd definitely recommend it. It was enjoyable and did touch my heart. It is not brilliant but it is not your typical 'American youth travels to China to find himself' story.
My interest in Kung Fu is now gone and I doubt I will read it again, but it will always have a place on my shelf. Apr 11, Clarry rated it really liked it.
I read this book a long time ago, so my apologies for writing this review from memory. But I had to say, I loved this book. Don't take it too seriously, it's not trying to be a major spiritual journey through martial arts and the Chinese cultures, it's trying to be funny.
I first picked it up off the shelf because at the time I was a Wushu practitioner. I opened to a random page where the author is practicing with something called a 7 sectional whip or chain you don't whip it Indiana Jones styl I read this book a long time ago, so my apologies for writing this review from memory.
I opened to a random page where the author is practicing with something called a 7 sectional whip or chain you don't whip it Indiana Jones style, you swing it around with a beautiful "woosh woosh" sound.
This weapon was my specialty weapon for performances, and I am very proud of the fact because I had to be quite aggressive and win many arguments with my renowned instructor to be allowed to learn the weapon in the first place, being that I'm female and it's not traditionally a woman's weapon.
Being white probably didn't help either. But I ended up excelling, by some fluke of odd chance and I love this weapon dearly. On the page that I first turned to of this book, the author is practicing with this weapon when a pretty girl walks by.
As he's mentally stroking his ego he smacks himself in the face with the 7-sectional. I wasn't disappointed, it made me laugh quite a bit.
Jun 14, Lisa rated it really liked it Shelves: other-asia , memoir. I had a lot of fun reading this memoir about Bao Mosi and his mad kungfu skills!!!
It's cool how he speaks Chinese so well. I like his honesty. He's not afraid to look kind of ignorant or silly when he describes events in the book.
Love that. I read a review that said something like: a good book but I'm sad that this is the kind of person who represents Americans abroad. I have to respectfully disagree with that.
I thought Matt was exactly the type of person I'd want representing America abroad: I had a lot of fun reading this memoir about Bao Mosi and his mad kungfu skills!!!
I thought Matt was exactly the type of person I'd want representing America abroad: he was willing to learn Chinese and adopt the ways of life of the Chinese people he lived with, even holding hands with one of his monk friends while walking down the street.
He was very adaptable to his situation, and he never knowingly let himself be taken advantage of because he wasn't Chinese.
He respected the people and customs and grew to love them. Matthew Polly rocks. The Shaolin Monks rock. I loved learning about the Chinese culture and their language through the eyes of a fellow American, and a very funny one Jan 02, Linda rated it really liked it Shelves: biography , non-fiction.
I have an affinity for anything to do with oriental cultures but I do not have an affinity for martial arts. I chose to read this book because it showed up on the ALA Alex list.
I was not disappointed, and I can think of a number of teen boys who would enjoy reading it. The author had much to be proud of having spent the time to learn Chinese before embarking on his two year stay in China to improve his Kung Fu skills.
By doing so, he was able to give us a personal look into the lives of the Chi I have an affinity for anything to do with oriental cultures but I do not have an affinity for martial arts.
By doing so, he was able to give us a personal look into the lives of the Chinese people and show us how the people are not so different from ourselves in spite of differences in education and income levels.
Someone commented that they felt the author was insensitive toward the Chinese, but I did not find that to be the case at all.
He managed to describe how an American would perceive the differences in cultures with humor. He showed a profound respect for the skills of his teachers and the perseverence of the people in spite of the poverty that surrounded them.
Feb 16, Jim Peterson rated it it was amazing Shelves: english , kung-fu. American Shaolin really captures rural Chinese culture in the s in a place where communism, Buddhism and kung fu all live together.
Mathew Polly spent a year in a school outside the Shaolin Temple not in it learning wushu and then kickboxing. I've never read a travelogue before, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I think I should check out Bill Bryson now. Though reading this was great fun, it was also very sad. It seems all that's left of kung fu at the Shaolin Monastery is kung-fu-looking gymna American Shaolin really captures rural Chinese culture in the s in a place where communism, Buddhism and kung fu all live together.
It seems all that's left of kung fu at the Shaolin Monastery is kung-fu-looking gymnastics and kick boxing. Those who are interested in becoming good fighters do sanda Chinese kickboxing and those who are interested in artistic-looking, state-regulated forms katas do wushu.
It's no longer an integrated system for health, self-defense and spiritual learning as Shaolin kung-fu used to be and still is in some schools in other places.
Shelves: arewethereyet. I love armchair traveling almost as much as real traveling, and it is slightly more practical.
I picked this book up, because I had read Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman ages ago and liked it, and because my husband is testing for his black belt this summer, and I wanted to learn more about martial arts culture.
The combination of self-deprecating humor and honest look at Chinese culture was well done. He mentions selling the movie rights, but I don't recall ever seeing a movie about this.
I'll hav I love armchair traveling almost as much as real traveling, and it is slightly more practical. I'll have to check imdb. Apr 02, Nathan rated it it was ok Shelves: aquinas-library.
This book came completely out of left field. The marriage of serious martial artistry with the sophomoric sex and poop gags is a weird one, and it's hard to really remember a book that is designed solely to entertain at the expense of any substance whatsoever.
A quick, entertaining read, but not much else. Jan 25, Celia Buell rated it really liked it Shelves: historical , culture-exchange , overcoming-adversity , relevant-today , class-differences , coming-of-age , memoir , decisions , friendship , nonfiction.
I picked this up because I wanted something nonfiction and dealing with religion to fill a requirement in The Challenge Factory's "Smart is Sexy" challenge.
I don't think I've ever read a memoir that was so much about true self discovery than American Shaolin.
I don't know anyone who is so insecure of themselves that they would go to a foreign country with no connections to master an art, nor do I know anyone who has any type of similar story.
I think Matthew Polly 's memoir fully illustrate I picked this up because I wanted something nonfiction and dealing with religion to fill a requirement in The Challenge Factory's "Smart is Sexy" challenge.
I think Matthew Polly 's memoir fully illustrates the extent that someone will go to find themselves. American Shaolin was about so much more than just kungfu [sic] or Buddhism.
Polly writes in a way that shows all the struggles he went through to achieve a space where he felt comfortable to write this story.
One part I love is that he starts with his list, "Things that are Wrong with Matt. Polly takes this to a higher degree then I could ever imagine doing for myself by learning discipline and spirituality in a Buddhist kungfu monastery, speaking in beginner level Chinese.
The discipline it takes to fight the way Polly does is impressive. He talks about having to find a balance between being a good fighter and taking glory in conquests, while also being a moral person.
This is shown clearly when he faces everyone he fights with respect, and when he works hard not to let his crazy foreigner friends who stay at the temple see the ways he feels about them.
Even though I am not a religious person, my favorite part was the point when Polly discovered and grappled with the differences between Buddhism and his learned Irish Catholic traditions from home.
I thought the point where he talked about his Finnish friend who talked to Odin, Thor, and Jesus about the "sixth race" of human consciousness was well placed within the way Polly organized his timeline and his own religious discovery.
At this point, he was able to cross "spiritually confused" off his "Things that are Wrong with Matt" list, and I think putting those stories together was a perfect writing style and way to incorporate this piece into his journey.
The hardest part for me to read was the sports and technique part, because I don't really understand the different types of kicks, or the motivation behind martial arts in general.
Obviously it made more sense in the past, when those who could physically fight were often called on to defend their country, but now I don't exactly understand the appeal of martial arts or boxing or wrestling if it's to hurt someone for fun, and to build up a complete immunity and loss of any painful feeling.
At some of the points with the matches or longer discussions about kungfu style, I tuned out a little bit and basically skimmed through.
I was much more interested in the cultural aspect of the story: the different treatment of foreigners and the different rules, the economic changes China was experiencing, the move between communism and capitalism This book truly covered every aspect Polly wanted to touch on without any of it being forced.
I would definitely read it again in a few years. Shelves: biography. Get past the awful cover of American Shaolin, because this travelogue-slash-memoir is a little gem.
Granted, the book calls occasionally for suspension of disbelief. A recollection by author Matthew Polly, at the time a self-confessed skinny nerd obsessed with kungfu who wants to be a bad ass madafacker, of two years spent training in Shaolin, it celebrates certain stereotypes, like that of ridiculously acrobatic monks hone Get past the awful cover of American Shaolin, because this travelogue-slash-memoir is a little gem.
A recollection by author Matthew Polly, at the time a self-confessed skinny nerd obsessed with kungfu who wants to be a bad ass madafacker, of two years spent training in Shaolin, it celebrates certain stereotypes, like that of ridiculously acrobatic monks honed by ridiculously painful training.
As to why Shaolin has more than open hand forms, he dispenses with the historic reasons of self-defense and religious meditation in favor of his own: boredom.
The China that emerges is realistic and deeply human. Monks want to make money, play politics, talk about sex, complain that training is tough, bully the juniors, envy the seniors, are gay.
But it feels genuine, in sharp contrast to the wealthier but soulless temple Polly finds in a rapidly developing China 10 years later.
Photo Gallery. Trailers and Videos. Crazy Credits. Alternate Versions. Rate This. After being humiliated in the ring by a dirty kickboxer who pulled down his shorts and then hit him, a martial arts master decides to travel to China and enter a monastery where he may Director: Lucas Lowe.
Writer: Keith W. Added to Watchlist. November's Top Streaming Picks. TDC Hong Kong. Artes Marciales. Best Movies about Fighting.
Martial Arts in Motion. My Top 25 motivational Sports Movies. Share this Rating Title: American Shaolin 5. Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.
Edit Cast Cast overview, first billed only: Reese Madigan Drew Carson Trent Bushey Trevor Gottitall Daniel Dae Kim Gao Billy Chang Li Cliff Lenderman Henry O Master Kwan Alice Zhang Hung Ashena Jean Louisa Kelly Maria D.
Bob Sifu Jai Pfeelgut Michael Depasquale Jr. Announcer Tokey Hill Coach 1 as Toki Hill Alan Pottinger Young Adult Andrew Shue Edit Storyline After being humiliated in the ring by a dirty kickboxer who pulled down his shorts and then hit him, a martial arts master decides to travel to China and enter a monastery where he may learn the Shaolin form of fighting.
Genres: Action. Edit Did You Know? Trivia As the camera pans past the judges in the final Wu Shu tournament scene, we can see that the UK judge's name is Stillwell Wylde, which is a name made up of the surnames of the two main characters in No Retreat, No Surrender 1 and 2.
Goofs During the first fight between Drew and Trevor, the crowd outside of the ring clearly disappears and reappears between shots.
Quotes Trevor Gottitall : Remember the last time, punk? Drew Carson : Nothing exists but the moment. And I'm going to enjoy this one.
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Growing up a ninety-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day journeying to the Shaolin Temple in China to become the toughest fighter in the world, like Caine in his favorite s TV series, Kung Fu.
While in college, Matthew decided the time had come to pursue this quixotic dream before it was too late.
Much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out of Princeton to spend two years training with the legendary sect of monks who invented kung fu and Zen Buddhism.
As Matthew grew in his knowledge of China and kung fu skill, he would come to represent the Temple in challenge matches and international competitions, and ultimately the monks would accept their new American initiate as close to one of their own as any Westerner had ever become.
Get A Copy. Hardcover , pages. More Details Original Title. Henan Province , China. ALA Alex Award Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
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More filters. Sort order. Dec 11, Wendy Welch rated it really liked it. There are five compelling reasons why I shouldn't have liked this book.
As in pacifists. I was the smart kid who had her period every week throughout high school so she could avoid playing volleyball.
Africa and the Middle East are my anthropological areas of expertise, and ergo what I read about more because I can tell when somebody's lying.
Every ethnographic nerve in my body bristles when Americans discover themselves on other people's backs. Also people with opportunities others can only dream about who throw them over to become "enlightened", really need to go work for the Red Cross for a year.
Or volunteer at a battered women's shelter. And the reason I picked this book up in the first place? I liked the cover.
Yes, I know. And altruistically cynical. Hey, like calls to like. He's got a lovely way of delivering a punchline haha using deadpan dry caustic wit.
And that you do this so often, you forget and do it on the street, which causes people to shun you. I awoke in Hungary, with someone I knew I could not best if it came to a wrestling match, holding a bottle of vodka, starting at me with That Look.
Since we shared no common languages, it was very hard for me to convince her that, while I was certain she was an intellectual soulmate, and I admired her muscles -er, figure- and, if I weren't in fact about to flee the country we probably would have had meaningful things to say to one another, well, gosh darn it, given the current circumstances it was best to decline--courteously--both the explicit offers her body language was making.
The down side is, he doesn't respect the women in the book; they're straight men well Girls don't get enlightened in this book; they get screwed.
Other than that, Mrs. Dear Author, if you hadn't been so unenlightened about the women, I'd have given you five stars. So there.
View all 6 comments. Jan 07, Alix rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: martial arts lovers. This book was so phenomenal that I wrote a thank-you note to the author.
The way he wrote it makes him so likable and human that I didn't want it to end. He becomes a badass by force of sheer will and that's always one of those things I want to hear is possible.
The big bonus was learning so much about the Chinese culture. Even if you don't love ma This book was so phenomenal that I wrote a thank-you note to the author.
Even if you don't love martial arts, you'll love this book. If you like martial arts, this book will be dangerously inspirational.
Apr 21, Jordan Funke rated it it was ok Shelves: humor , memoir. This was a fun story. I wanted to give it 2. I liked the author's self-effacing and simultaneous self-promoting style.
But I was never able to fully suspend disbelief about how successful and loved and accepted he was being the only non-Chinese in a town full of 10, Shaolin practitioners.
It wasn't too gory and only glorified violence a little. It completely hooked me all the way through, but I hate that this is the kind of American wh This was a fun story.
It completely hooked me all the way through, but I hate that this is the kind of American who represents me abroad. No wonder we are despised world-wide.
I hated this book. Rather than being culturally sensitive, this asshole woke up 10 years after his experience and decided he wanted to make some money so he wrote this book.
He gives people who do follow this way of life a bad name. View 1 comment. Dec 24, Eh? This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. BUT he was also smugly annoying - here is this person who goes to learn from Shaolin monks View all 19 comments.
Why is it that only disillusioned, rich white kids who drop out of Ivy League schools that they aren't even paying for because Daddy's footing the bill all go on to lead these neat ass adventures and fulfill lifelong dreams?
Polly's a hack and a chump! Jan 02, Arminzerella rated it liked it Shelves: nonfiction , borrowed-from-the-library , funny , diverse-multicultural , autobiography-memoir , coming-of-age , sports , books-for-boys , travel , chinese.
His first accomplishment was educating himself and becoming an intellectual. From there he went on to tackle his cowardice — by going to China and studying kung fu in a Shaolin temple.
Matt came away having learned a lot more than just kung fu. Although he knew some Chinese, Matt was not educated in Chinese culture and had to pick up a lot on the fly.
Polly is now fluent in many things Chinese - vulgarities, dirty jokes, bargaining, male friendships, debts, and call girls just to name a few.
After training in traditional forms for a number of months, Matt was able to observe a shanda Shaolin kickboxing match.
He became interested and encouraged his school to start up their own shanda team and training program by holding them up against the competing school in a rather unfavorable light.
Matt took to shanda like nothing the monks had seen. Once he got over his fear of being beaten, he rapidly mastered all of the kicks, punches, and throws.
His trainer told him he had never seen someone particularly a laowai, or outsider progress so quickly, and then arranged to have him compete against the finest shanda fighters in the world.
Matt eventually makes it through other items on his list and adds new things to work on , finally realizing that there will always be room for improvement and his list will never be complete.
You go off to some remote temple and learn to be a complete bad ass. And after that either no one messes with you, or those that do come to regret it.
Some of us just make it more physical. American Shaolin was a really fascinating look at Chinese culture — going beyond kung fu and really allowing readers to get to know and understand some of the people.
I mean, how can a laowai compete with someone who studies iron dong kung fu? And for those of us who like a taste of other places and cultures, this will leave you wanting to know much, much more about China.
View all 8 comments. Dec 25, James Kelly rated it really liked it. This book caught my attention several years ago due to my interest in Shaolin kung fu.
I read it quickly and found it quite delightful; the tale is of a young American who leaves university to travel to China with an interest in, albeit temporarily, living as a monk.
He arrives in a particular province I can't remember its name, just that it began with d and after acquainting himself with locals and picking up a few anecdotes to tell the reader, one of which has to do with locals believing he This book caught my attention several years ago due to my interest in Shaolin kung fu.
He arrives in a particular province I can't remember its name, just that it began with d and after acquainting himself with locals and picking up a few anecdotes to tell the reader, one of which has to do with locals believing he is some kind of mythical creature and that he is blind because of his blue eyes, travels to the Shaolin Temple to train under the monks.
After trying hard-living and not liking it, he ends up in a reasonably priced hotel where he remains for several years if I can remember correctly.
As I said, I read it a while ago. The rest of his book actually describes the martial arts practice in relatively little detail and examines themes such as cultural differences between the West and China; China - U.
And of course what needs to be mentioned is his bizarre experience of being offered to opportunity to become immune to pain in his groin by having it battered until the nerve cells are dead, a practice in kung fu known as 'Iron balls', which he thankfully rejects.
He then finally makes his departure to America. In an epilogue he returns to China to find the Temple dead and the local area commercialised for the enjoyment of tourists.
The Chinese government wasn't big on Kung Fu but realised it was an opportunity to bring in Western money by the bucket load, so changed its mind.
The changes are completely to his dismay and he has a long rant about what has happened, blaming tourists in large part to his blatant hypocrisy.
But he finds hope in an elderly man who has dedicated his life to Kung Fu and realises that the Shaolin tradition is far from dead. This review doesn't do the book justice.
If you are interested in China or Kung Fu I'd definitely recommend it. It was enjoyable and did touch my heart. It is not brilliant but it is not your typical 'American youth travels to China to find himself' story.
My interest in Kung Fu is now gone and I doubt I will read it again, but it will always have a place on my shelf.
Apr 11, Clarry rated it really liked it. I read this book a long time ago, so my apologies for writing this review from memory.
But I had to say, I loved this book. Don't take it too seriously, it's not trying to be a major spiritual journey through martial arts and the Chinese cultures, it's trying to be funny.
I first picked it up off the shelf because at the time I was a Wushu practitioner. I opened to a random page where the author is practicing with something called a 7 sectional whip or chain you don't whip it Indiana Jones styl I read this book a long time ago, so my apologies for writing this review from memory.
I opened to a random page where the author is practicing with something called a 7 sectional whip or chain you don't whip it Indiana Jones style, you swing it around with a beautiful "woosh woosh" sound.
This weapon was my specialty weapon for performances, and I am very proud of the fact because I had to be quite aggressive and win many arguments with my renowned instructor to be allowed to learn the weapon in the first place, being that I'm female and it's not traditionally a woman's weapon.
Being white probably didn't help either. But I ended up excelling, by some fluke of odd chance and I love this weapon dearly.
On the page that I first turned to of this book, the author is practicing with this weapon when a pretty girl walks by. As he's mentally stroking his ego he smacks himself in the face with the 7-sectional.
I wasn't disappointed, it made me laugh quite a bit. Jun 14, Lisa rated it really liked it Shelves: other-asia , memoir.
I had a lot of fun reading this memoir about Bao Mosi and his mad kungfu skills!!! It's cool how he speaks Chinese so well.
I like his honesty. He's not afraid to look kind of ignorant or silly when he describes events in the book.
Love that. I read a review that said something like: a good book but I'm sad that this is the kind of person who represents Americans abroad.
I have to respectfully disagree with that. I thought Matt was exactly the type of person I'd want representing America abroad: I had a lot of fun reading this memoir about Bao Mosi and his mad kungfu skills!!!
I thought Matt was exactly the type of person I'd want representing America abroad: he was willing to learn Chinese and adopt the ways of life of the Chinese people he lived with, even holding hands with one of his monk friends while walking down the street.
He was very adaptable to his situation, and he never knowingly let himself be taken advantage of because he wasn't Chinese. He respected the people and customs and grew to love them.
Matthew Polly rocks. The Shaolin Monks rock. I loved learning about the Chinese culture and their language through the eyes of a fellow American, and a very funny one Jan 02, Linda rated it really liked it Shelves: biography , non-fiction.
I have an affinity for anything to do with oriental cultures but I do not have an affinity for martial arts.
I chose to read this book because it showed up on the ALA Alex list. I was not disappointed, and I can think of a number of teen boys who would enjoy reading it.
The author had much to be proud of having spent the time to learn Chinese before embarking on his two year stay in China to improve his Kung Fu skills.
By doing so, he was able to give us a personal look into the lives of the Chi I have an affinity for anything to do with oriental cultures but I do not have an affinity for martial arts.
By doing so, he was able to give us a personal look into the lives of the Chinese people and show us how the people are not so different from ourselves in spite of differences in education and income levels.
Someone commented that they felt the author was insensitive toward the Chinese, but I did not find that to be the case at all. He managed to describe how an American would perceive the differences in cultures with humor.
He showed a profound respect for the skills of his teachers and the perseverence of the people in spite of the poverty that surrounded them.
Feb 16, Jim Peterson rated it it was amazing Shelves: english , kung-fu. American Shaolin really captures rural Chinese culture in the s in a place where communism, Buddhism and kung fu all live together.
Mathew Polly spent a year in a school outside the Shaolin Temple not in it learning wushu and then kickboxing. I've never read a travelogue before, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I think I should check out Bill Bryson now. Though reading this was great fun, it was also very sad. It seems all that's left of kung fu at the Shaolin Monastery is kung-fu-looking gymna American Shaolin really captures rural Chinese culture in the s in a place where communism, Buddhism and kung fu all live together.
It seems all that's left of kung fu at the Shaolin Monastery is kung-fu-looking gymnastics and kick boxing. Those who are interested in becoming good fighters do sanda Chinese kickboxing and those who are interested in artistic-looking, state-regulated forms katas do wushu.
It's no longer an integrated system for health, self-defense and spiritual learning as Shaolin kung-fu used to be and still is in some schools in other places.
Ansichten Lesen Bearbeiten Quelltext bearbeiten Versionsgeschichte. John Saxon 2. I can handle the truth. Natürlich sind ihm, als junger Wolkig, die Regeln zu streng und konservativ und so er muss immer aus der Reihe tanzen. January 1, Length: 1h 43m. I was rooting for the villain--who only bookends the film and has approximately four minutes of screen time--the entire time. Ein American Shaolin will Shaolin Mönsch Autokino Gravenbruch Programm Worth seeing just for the constant fish-out-of-water friction that our lead character brings on himself. Irgendwann schafft er dann die Abschlussprüfung und es kommt wie es Trainspotting 2 Streamcloud muss. Wer "No Retreat, no Surrender" so liebt wie ich, der fühlt sich heimisch :. Watched on Amazon-Prime. The greatest martial arts film of all time. Eurovision Song Contest 2012 W. An asshole American goes to China to learn Shaolin martial arts after getting dacked by an opponent in a fight. Kulturcrash vorprogrammiert.American Shaolin Video
American Shaolin
This account of the culture clash between Buddhist martial arts monks in modern Fikkefuchs Ganzer Film and American Shaolin American kungfu wannabe is fascinating, but also laugh-out-loud funny. By doing so, he was able to give us a personal look into the lives of the Chi I have an affinity for anything to do with oriental cultures but I do not have an affinity for martial arts. Enlarge cover. Polly pretends to be humble and self-deprecating, but it was hard for me to ignore the following claims: Polly admits to being simply maladroit at Kung Fu when arriving at the temple, yet within six-month's time he is beating a number of students who have been studying Sanda for years. I read it quickly and found it quite delightful; Rubey tale is of a young American Shaolin who leaves university to travel to China with an interest in, albeit temporarily, living as a monk. And the reason I picked this book up in One Piece Realserie first place? I have no idea how I stumbled on this book originally as I dont look up stories like this either, but it worked for me! Want to Read Currently Reading Vox Stream Kostenlos. It completely hooked me all the way Bedways Ganzer Film Deutsch, but I hate that this is the Fantastic Four 2005 Stream German of American who represents me abroad.
Es ist der Skandal!
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