Part of my preparation for going to China was enrolling in a kung fu class. I reasoned that studying kung fu would help me understand more of the spirit of Chinese culture that in some way it would translate the concepts I had been reading about. The only school in the area was run by an American who had studied under a Chinese master. He taught Kung Fu and Bagua. I participated in both classes.

我在去中国之前所作的准备之一就是报名参加了一个中国功夫学校。我的想法是学习中国功夫会有助于我对中华精神的理解，也就是说它能够把我学到的概念转化成具体的知识和经验。当时唯一的功夫学校是由一个师从中国专家的美国人办的。教中国功夫和八卦，两个我都报名了。

The popularity of kung fu in the west can be traced back to Bruce Lee. His movies showed American youth the spirit of Kung Fu. Legions of young boys wanted to emulate him but none understood even the basic concepts of martial arts including chi. Many Americans think chi is superstition. My Kung Fu instructor had to introduce the concept to all of his students. Most of us were skeptical about it so whenever he talked about chi in nature he correlated it to a scientific concept. There were many times that he pointed out how ancient Chinese ideas have modern scientific parallels and it was because of this that we learned to accept his teaching and respect him as a teacher. 

中国功夫在西方的流行可以追溯到成龙。他主演的电影给美国青少年展现了中国功夫的精神。成千上万的青少年都愿意效仿他，不过连武术基本的概念如“气”，他们也不知道，不少美国人认为“气”就是迷信。我的中国功夫老师不得不给学生们介绍这个概念。因为大部分人有点怀疑，每次提到在大自然中的气，老师都要对应相同的科学概念。他经常指出古老中国的观点与现代科学的相似性，因此学生才能够接受并尊敬他。

Since I returned from China this summer I have enrolled in another Kung Fu school. This time the instructor is a master from Tianjin. He teaches Kung Fu Bagua and Tai Chi and at the end of each class he talks about mental aspects of learning including the nature of chi. Just last week he said that the reason the seasons change is because of a shift in chi and that if one is aware of this and in balance with it one can go outside in cold weather without a jacket and not fear catching a cold. To the few native-born Americans in the class this sounded absurd.

自从今年夏天我离开中国返回美国后，我又报名参加了中国功夫学校。这次教我的老师来自天津。他教中国功夫、八卦和太极等，下课前他常常给我们讲中国武术的精神包括气的性质。上周他说季节的变化是由于气在变，而且要是意识到与气之间的平衡，在寒冷的天气出门不穿外套也不用害怕感冒。对诞生在美国的美国人来说，这简直是荒谬的。

The problem is not the teaching but the explanation. My Chinese teacher does not seem to understand how to communicate with native born Americans. Despite the fact that his martial arts skills are better this is probably why his school has fewer American born students than the other teacher’s school. And oddly enough in a way I feel I learned more about the spirit of Chinese culture through an American simply because he knew how to translate the culture. 

问题不是知识而是解释的方法。我的中国功夫老师与美国学生的沟通有困难。尽管他的武术技艺良好，但是他招收的美国学生的数量比美国老师少，这恐怕是一个原因。另外，奇怪的是，从一方面来看，因为我的美国老师能把文化翻译过来，所以我从他那里学的中华精神更多一点。