Lately, due to a hectic work / business schedule, most of my reading has been in the form of audiobooks - but I've had this hardcopy sitting on my shelf for quite some time now, American Shaolin by Matthew Polly.
My good friend Erik sent me this book as a gift a long time ago and I put it on the "I'll get to it one day shelf". That day came recently after joining a Shaolin training school near Duluth, GA - the town I currently call home. After a brief stint with Taiji when I was in college 150 years ago, I decided that I wanted to begin studying the art again as one of my long term goals has been to balance out my love of hoisting barbells and kettlebells overhead with the practice of internal martial arts - particularly Taiji and Qigong. When searching for a place in Atlanta to study Taiji, I actually found a traditional Shaolin school, LIU International Shaolin Institute, that teaches Kung Fu, Sanda and my beloved Taiji.
After a little bit of research I was extremely excited to find that the Shifu (teaching father) of this school was grand master Shi Deru (Shawn Liu) a 31st generation disciple of the Shaolin Temple. After beginning my Taiji practice I became more and more interested in all things Shaolin, so naturally I finally dusted off my copy of American Shaolin, and am sorry I didn't earlier!
American Shaolin is a story of Matthew Polly's journey from a 90 pound weakling studying religion at Princeton to being accepted as a student at, and training side by side the monks of the legendary Shaolin Temple.
I found the book to be an excellent blend of humor and excitement and had a very hard time putting it down. Polly's descriptions of the situations he encountered while living in China will pull you into the book and make you feel like you are right there through every grueling training session, challenge match and Sanda competition.
One of my favorite aspects of the book is how Polly worked the monks he trained with into the story giving the reader a behind the scenes look at the lifestyle of a Shaolin monk-particularly after the commercialization of the temple-as well as what daily life was like for those who lived in Shaolin.
While his journey lasted less than two years there is no doubt that this experience was one in a lifetime for Polly.
Whether you are a practicing martial artist or just a kung fu movie junkie, grab a copy of American Shaolin - NOW - I promise you will be glad you did!
Since reading this book I've learned of Polly's latest literary project detailing his journey into the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) - Tapped Out - a book I can't wait to get my hands on!
For more information check out Polly's website at: http://mattpolly.com/ and for a synopsis of American Shaolin click here: http://mattpolly.com/books/american-shaolin/synopsis/
Stay Strong AND Healthy!
-Scott
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