Lifestyle

Inspired by martial arts legend Bruce Lee's movies, Zamble Serge, a martial arts lover from Cote d'Ivoire, came to the equally legendary Shaolin Temple nestled in the forested Songshan Mountain in central China's Henan Province, to perfect his own skills at the Buddhist monastery renowned as a seat of kungfu, the Chinese martial arts.

"I had long heard a Chinese saying that all kinds of kungfu originate from Shaolin and the Shaolin kungfu is the best," Serge told ChinAfrica. "I wanted to see the real Shaolin kungfu and I feel happy that I could learn it here."

The Ivorian, visibly rippling with muscles, finished his three-month training program in the temple on September 24. With him were another 18 students from Africa - his compatriots as well as peers from Senegal, Cameroon, Togo and Benin. The group underwent rigorous training in the temple that is also the birthplace of the Chan or Zen sect of Buddhism as well as the cradle of Shaolin kungfu.

This year's class is the third batch of African students the temple has trained. The Shaolin kungfu training session for African disciples was launched by China's Ministry of Culture in 2012 to strengthen cultural exchanges between China and Africa. Every year, about 20 African martial art aficionados are invited to the three-month training program.

The participants say they are lucky to have this precious opportunity. A tough selection process chooses the "disciples" from the most outstanding martial arts practitioners on the continent. Some of them have been working in their own country's martial arts associations and some are fitness instructors.

Even so, life in the Shaolin Temple is a great challenge for each student. Besides six hours' tough training daily, they also attend classes in meditation, acupuncture, manipulative therapy - physical treatment used by physiotherapists - and the Chinese language. It often leaves the foreign "disciples" reeling.

"We didn't lower the requirements on account of their being foreigners," said Master Shi Yankang, the monk in charge of the class. "The training is tough for beginners."

Getting injured or falling sick is inevitable during the program, but all the students stuck to it with the help and encouragement of their masters because they knew it would be rewarding in the end.

And the hard work paid off. After three months, all 19 students had achieved the required standard in physical strength, flexibility, fist positions and sword-dancing and spear-balancing techniques. Also, each of them could speak some Chinese.

Kungfu as virtue

"Shaolin kungfu isn't just a physical exercise. It is broad and profound, a kind of lifestyle to help people discover themselves," said Shabi Aboubakar, a young man from Togo.

Shaolin kungfu is a martial art that originated from traditional Chinese culture, evolving with time. The Shaolin Temple was established in 495 by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) to welcome an eminent Asian monk he admired, Buddhabhadra. In 517, Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk from south India, came to Shaolin, spent nine years meditating in a cave behind the temple, and founded the Zen School of Buddhism. He is also credited with having invented Shaolin kungfu with the aim of staying physically fit during the long meditation sessions.

Shaolin monks emphasize that kungfu and Zen are two integral aspects of their Buddhist regimen. While kungfu ensures the physical wellness needed for the pursuit of moral virtues, Zen is the wisdom that makes the martial art unique and powerful. Zen meditation leads to enlightenment of the mind and also gives a profound cultural connotation to the martial art. As Shaolin Abbot Shi Yongxin says, Shaolin kungfu is defined by Zen; neither can exist effectively without the other.

For over 1,500 years, Shaolin kungfu was passed down from generation to generation. Chinese regard it as not only a kind of martial art but also martial virtue. The ultimate goal of kungfu is to develop good character and morals. A real Chinese kungfu master is one who possesses a good body and physical prowess, and is also brave and has a strong character.

The daily meditation classes helped the African students to gain greater understanding of Chinese kungfu and learn self-control as well as how to resolve problems through peaceful means.

"In the past, I practiced martial arts to be strong and protect myself," said D'almeida Ayigan, a Togolese. "After coming to the temple, I realized martial arts are not for fighting but are a kind of lifestyle. Zen helps me to keep a peaceful mind and teaches me how to control myself and respect others. I hope to teach this to more people in my country."

Kungfu as cultural tie

Shaolin kungfu has been spreading abroad, becoming a friendship link between Chinese and others. The temple has been doing more to engage in broader and closer cooperation with African countries.

The Shaolin kungfu training program for African disciples is an initiative to deepen China-Africa cooperation in human resources training. It is in line with the commitment made by Chinese and African leaders at the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing in July 2012.

According to China's Ministry of Culture, to promote African countries' human resources development, a series of exchange programs were organized in China in recent years. They included an embroidery course for young Botswana artists, an exhibition of the works of African guest artists visiting Zhejiang Province in east China, and a China-Africa Museum Directors Forum in Beijing. The Shaolin kungfu training program is a very popular brand activity in Africa.

"Shaolin kungfu is widely known in Africa. Africans can have a deeper understanding of Chinese culture through this program," said Yuan Daxi, an official with the Bureau for External Cultural Relations at the Ministry of Culture.

"It is the mission of the Shaolin Temple to spread its legendary culture to the world," said Qian Dalian, General Manager of Shaolin Intangible Assets Management, a company formed by the temple in 1988 to protect its intangible assets, such as its brands and trademarks. The temple has over 200 registered trademarks. To promote China-Africa cultural exchanges, the company also organizes visits, performances and kungfu courses in African countries every year.

Every African student becomes a China-Africa cultural exchange ambassador on returning home. Some students are working as Shaolin kungfu instructors while some have opened clinics or "regimen pavilions" based on the Zen medicine techniques they learned in the temple.

Zamble Serge said he will continue the tradition when he returns home. "I want to open a martial arts school after I return to Cote d'Ivoire, to teach all I learned in the Shaolin Temple to my students," the Ivorian said.