Feature: When Abidjan meets Shaolin — a young Ivorian’s Kung Fu dream

ABIDJAN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) — “One, two, three, four,” commanded a young man in a Shaolin Temple training jersey while demonstrating movements and postures in the presence of students in a gymnasium at Felix Houphouet-Boigny University in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d’Ivoire.
“I belong to the Chinese martial arts club of our university, which allows students of all grades to train. We have three training sessions a week, and about fifty students come to learn Kung Fu and Chinese culture in our gymnasium,” said Jean Philippe N’Dri, who is responsible for teaching martial arts in the club.
Like many young Africans, Jean-Philippe’s story with martial arts and Chinese culture began with Chinese martial arts movies.
“My love for martial arts and Chinese culture was born from watching great actors like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, and others in various films,” he said, adding that these figures motivated him to appreciate martial arts.
As a child, out of curiosity, Jean-Philippe and his friends would imitate characters from the movies, but it was not easy.
In 2014, he was admitted to the Felix Houphouet-Boigny University. During his second year, out of interest in Chinese Kung Fu, he joined the martial arts club.

APPRENTICE PRACTITIONER
Fortunately, with the assistance of the Confucius Institute at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny University and the support of his club, Jean-Philippe got the opportunity to go to the Shaolin Temple in China.
“It was a beautiful discovery and a great dream coming true,” he recalled.
On the way to China, Jean-Philippe and his companions were curious about what the Shaolin Temple would look like and wondered what they would see there.
“When we arrived, we saw people dressed as we had seen in the movies. They were in Shaolin attire and practicing Shaolin techniques properly,” he reminisced about his first impression of the Shaolin Temple.
They underwent three weeks of training, but the first two weeks were the most challenging.
“It was so tough that we wanted to go back home. We understood then why the Chinese monks have such a reputation,” he said. “It’s not just physical training, but also mental fortification that we received.”

AFRICAN KUNG FU TRAINER
With the Kung Fu dream coming true, Jean-Philippe was keen to pass on what he had learned in China to his African brothers back in Cote d’Ivoire.
“We taught in where we called the Shaolin Training Camp, which is an innovative and unprecedented camp in Africa. It allows us to transmit the same training we received at the Shaolin Temple to young people who cannot go to China but share the same dream as us,” he said.
“We organize several competitions where all our athletes, some of whom are preparing for a Shaolin championship in China, participate. These will allow them to gauge themselves nationally,” he explained.
On his experience, he acknowledged that practicing martial arts truly became the backbone of his life.
“Before, I loved to fight but never won anyone. When I started practicing martial arts, my initial idea was to gain techniques to inflict good corrections on those who hurt me,” said the young man.
However, over the nine years of practicing martial arts, he found the opposite effect occurred.
“I became wiser according to people’s testimonies. I can easily channel my anger, and I manage to develop a spirit of sharing with my brothers,” he said.

CULTURAL AMBASSADOR
As an Ivorian, he voiced hope that China will offer more support and opportunities to his compatriots so that they can promote Chinese martial arts well at home after returning from their studies.
“We are ambassadors of Chinese culture and also African culture. We carry these two leverages to enable these two great powers and the African population to obtain what both Chinese and African cultures are meant to offer everyone,” he said.
For those martial arts enthusiasts, he wants to convey that practicing Chinese martial arts is essentially a journey inward.
“By practicing martial arts, you will develop an extraordinary discipline. You will cultivate long-lasting health. You will also achieve peace of heart, which is the most essential,” he concluded. ■