American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China

Matthew Polly was always a tall, gangly, wimpy kid, picked on by the playground bullies. By the time he got to college, he had left the playground, but the insecurities continued to nag him. What is a boy to do? Well, if he's into martial arts and Chinese language and culture, he takes a sabbatical during his junior year at Princeton and searches for the Shaolin Temple, of course! In 1992, China was on the cusp of beginning an international force, teetering between its Communist past and capitalistic future, and in these days before the Internet, Polly had to scout out just exactly where this iconic hub was located. So begins a hilarious tale of culture shock, kung fu, and memorable characters as Polly spends the next two years studying show more with the Shaolin monks.

I discovered this book while perusing past Alex Award winners and nominees, the American Library Association's award for books written for adults that also have a crossover appeal to young adult audiences. I was not disappointed. It's full of action-packed fight scenes, a sneak peek into the mysterious world of iron kung fu (especially the spectacle of iron crotch kung fu, in all its horror and fascination), mastering Chinese drinking games, and loads of sometimes gallant, sometimes quirky, sometimes downright insane, but always vibrant characters. I really felt connected to Polly's experience and appreciated his honesty. He's certainly a lot more sensitive to Chinese culture than other laowai (Chinese for "foreigner" or, more specifically, "caucasian"), but he still had a long way to go. He chose this locale due to his deep respect for its tradition, but he still grapples with his own feelings of inadequacy while further complicating things because he sticks out like a sore thumb. He is an imperfect person, but his imperfections were totally human. Only rarely did they get to me--on occasion I resented that this was all possible due to his disapproving but still overindulgent parents (it costed him/them $1400 each month to live in the village, which he later bargained down to around $600) and his questionable conduct with women (he tries to adhere to all other aspects of Chinese culture besides the stigma of Chinese women having relations with laowai). In spite of this, however, the memoir holds up and will stick in my memory for some time to come. It stands as an entertaining look into a country and people that is so often only portrayed for its stoicism and tragedy. show less

This had the potential to become a traditional coming of age story, but Matt Polly's engaging style allowed the story to stretch beyond those confines, and gives the reader a unique view into the culture within the Shaloin community. His well honed sense of humor, along with a healthy sense of self criticism makes this an enjoyable read.

the cover picture captured me. i do sometimes judge a book by its cover and in this case the contents matched the goofiness, at least initially. i really enjoyed his writing for much of the book - here is this person who goes to learn from Shaolin monks...that's such a little-boy-dream thing to do. he interacts with the people he meets and makes a story out of small encounters. he describes his training, the distinct personalities and hopes of each key monk, daily life at the temple, the competition he enters and performs well in, he is funny.

BUT

he was also smugly annoying - here is this person who goes to learn from Shaolin monks...an incredibly expensive venture that his family is rich enough to provide funds for...what parent would show more front that kind of money for a whim??? either they're the kind that buy his love or he nagged them into it. he tells you how much it costs. ridiculous waste.

also, his dealings with the women of China were all unsavory. these girls are raised in a male-centric culture where a good marriage is the goal. he takes up with no intention of marriage, just to 'relieve pressure'...what an a-hole. rather than impacting and ruining - yes, ruining - these girls' lives, he should have stuck to self-pleasure. didn't we learn it's not shameful anymore? maybe he didn't have enlightened health classes. he wrote a vivid passage about one of these encounters that was ethereally beautiful but not enough to cover the fact that he was deceiving the young lady. gah, he's a jerk

i'd recommend this book for its humor, but you'd enjoy it more if you weren't as uptight about wasted money and a-holes who take advantage of the disadvantaged (in upbringing, cultural freedoms, economically, etc.) as i seem to be. show less

As I read this, I felt as if I was back in yi jiu ba ba nian (1988) when I studied at Beijing University. Though Polly's story took place mostly at Shaolin Temple (quite far from Beijing) and in 1993, I saw many similarities between his experiences and mine. So many times, I found that his conversations with Chinese were the same conversations that I had when I was in China just 5 years earlier. This was all the more surprising for me since I left just several months before the June 4th 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square and he was there 4 years after. _American Shaolin_ is a really fun book that captures parts of Chinese culture extremely well. Polly has a talent to explain situations very clearly. I admire his ability to poke fun at show more himself too. Anyone interested in China and/or martial arts will love this book. [If profanity bothers you, you may not like parts of this book.] show less

A great fun book and a quick read. The author takes time off from college and trains as a Shaolin monk. Lots of stories from his experience, giving a vivid picture of a facet of life from 1990ish China. It's not deep, it's not technical, but it's real and somewhat thoughtful.

nonfiction (memoir: American learning Shaolin kung fu / 1990s inland China). I really enjoyed learning about the subtleties of Chinese culture (Where? Where? Where?) as well as the experiences of the author, entertainingly told. There were a couple points where the author might appear slightly dismissive towards women and other groups (so I might not recommend to those who might be easily offended) but in general was respectful and thoughtful--and it's probably a good idea to keep in mind that this was written by a young guy who still had a little bit of growing up to do. This is an Alex Award-winner, so would appeal to teens as well (though keep in mind there is some strong language and a dirty joke towards the end, if you think any show more parents might object). show less

This alternates between 4 and 2 stars.

The 4 stars are when we see 1990s Chinese culture through his eyes especially the martial arts aspects. Martial arts movies tend to take the stereotypical parts of the culture and magnify it especially when shown through the lens of an American. This book pulls that back a bit.

The 2 stars are anything to do with women in the book. This is a coming-of-age book but the way he writes about his experiences with women are mainly about him and not as much about the women we writes about. Yes, he writes about male-female relationships and some about how they are different in China than elsewhere. But it's the way he writes about what happens that is juvenile.