Kung fu and Chinese sword fighting in Prague
Print Edition
PRAGUE is world-famous for its stunning beauty and bohemian atmosphere. Tourists have long flocked to the Czech capital to experience its stunning buildings, imposing bridges and classy boutiques. But in this showcase city of European splendor, one can find practitioners of a somewhat more exotic tradition. Every weekend, in a tucked-away corner of the stately Petrin Park, choreographer, entrepreneur and martial-arts teacher Rosa Mei leads an international group of students in the fundamentals of kung fu and Chinese sword fighting.
“Yi… er… san… zai lai!” (one… two… three… again!) she encourages her pupils with Chinese phrases as they mimic her swift movements with mock swords. Against a backdrop of autumn leaves and the low ochre-roof skyline of Prague, the practice of Chinese-style martial arts presents an intriguing scene of East-meets-West guided by an enthusiastic Mei. Indeed, on one recent weekend, the hallow thud of bamboo poles striking together drew a number of curious onlookers, as well as the attention of Shanghai Daily.
Less obvious to the untrained observer though were the creative contradictions in Mei’s teaching style, which she describes as “unorthodox” while still being grounded in tradition.
Indeed, would-be students expecting serious and severe training straight from martial-arts flicks like Shaolin Temple will likely be disappointed. Mei is encouraging at every step, and her lessons build quickly from body movements to partner work to hands-on exercises involving a series of mock blades (starting with twigs plucked from the ground). Mei even incorporates funk music to help students improve their footwork. In the end, what emerges is a fun, exciting class that works for both newcomers and longer-term students alike.
For Mei, the focus is on body mechanics and the dynamics of action and reaction. The point is to create stronger movements, without necessarily building muscles, and cultivate an understanding of “fighting principles” regardless of the weapon in the student’s hand. The “system” being imparted is one of open-ended play and variation; almost like a system of building blocks that can be combined in any number of new, creative ways. With this outlook in mind, Mei’s pupils move quickly through individual and group exercises using Ratan sticks, toy daggers and replica swords.
In more “orthodox” teaching approaches, on the other hand, it may be years before students pick up a blade. Along the way, the emphasis is more on repetition and choreography.
Of course, this is not to say that Mei is opposed to choreography per se. In fact, Mei is an accomplished choreographer who heads a successful dance company which has toured widely throughout Europe. It was also dance which brought her to kung fu in the first place. While a dance student in Michigan, Mei, who is an American native, was looking for related practices which could aid her dance training.
“I thought yoga would be too boring,” she said with a laugh, “so I started martial arts and it ended up defining my trajectory as a movement artist.”
Mei began her martial-arts practice in 1990, and has been teaching since 2001. In addition to her work in Prague, where she’s been teaching since 2011, Mei previously coached the Belgian Wushu team. She has also studied a school of martial arts known as tongbei (through the back) in Beijing for more than a decade. Mei periodically returns to Beijing to train with her masters there, some of whom are themselves disciples and inheritors of the school’s most revered teachers.
The bonds which develop between student and master give schools like tongbei depth and significance for those involved. Becoming a disciple of an acknowledged master is no easy thing in traditional Chinese martial-arts circles, where knowledge is not lightly shared let alone passed down. The responsibilities for adepts and disciples are also extremely high. As one tongbei master was said to have told his student after taking him into his confidence: “if you lose, it’s the same as if I lose.”
The strict, teacher-centric traditions of kung fu have also slowed its spread overseas, according to Mei. Without the standardizing bodies and hierarchies found in other martial arts like karate and taekwondo, the many different schools of kung fu found in China have been only slowly taken up by students in Europe.
For would-be students, kung fu is also about more than just fighting. According to Mei, it’s also about “respecting tradition and respecting elders… you’re learning an art form, a system and a culture.”
Still, Mei’s own novel approach to tradition has earned her a number of enthusiastic and appreciative students in Prague, where she said that sword classes are particularly popular. In addition to the strength of her knowledge and experience, some are also drawn to her magnetic personality.
“I was looking for a kung fu class, and this one seems really great and [Mei] is an amazing teacher and person,” said Lenka, a Prague-native and martial-arts novice who became a student of Mei’s after seeing her in a sword fighting workshop.
Another American student of Mei’s was also happy with the training, saying “I didn’t get the chance to do something like this back home. I really like it so far!”
But despite the size of her classes, or the depth of her skill and knowledge, Mei remains humble. “I’m still a student,” she said after a recent class. “Always. Forever. Until I die.”
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