Abstract - Experience of learning Chinese martial arts at Shaolin monastery by students coming from Europe
Background. Chinese martial arts and monasteries of fighting monks have become a permanent part of the traditional and cultura landscape of China. At present, Shaolin Monastery has become a specific laboratory where Chinese martial arts traditions confront international martial arts tourism.
Problem and aims. Through ethnographic research, the author tried to better understand the expectations of European martial arts practitioners coming to Shaolin Monastery in China for training and practice. The second important issue is practitioners’ on-site experiences, so the author tried to investigate how expectations and experimentation meet in reality. The author also examined how important the role of the “living carriers’ of the Shaolin martial arts tradition the monks, who teach foreigners Chinese Gong Fu is. Finally, the way in which trainees find themselves more deeply immersed in Chinese culture while undertaking the practice of martial arts was researched.
Methods. The author applied participant observation during her stay in Shaolin Monastery in July and August in 2019, practicing together with and interviewing two groups of foreigners from Europe, Polynesia and Taiwan. The theoretical perspective is based on the anthropology of martial arts.
Results. The author analyzed 10 personal stories from European students and used the findings to develop a model of foreigners seeking education in Shaolin monastery. This model includes such variables as motivation, the level of knowledge of Chinese culture, and previous experience in martial arts of people practicing in Shaolin.
Conclusions. Those who come to Shaolin Monastery for training purposes are increasingly well prepared for this challenge. Many of them know exactly what they want to achieve there, both in terms of spiritual development and training progress. However, there are also those who come to the monastery and ‘get carried away’ by this place. Both groups try to ‘absorb’ the atmosphere of this place and ‘to immerse’ in Chinese culture.