Kung Fu Kids

“We went to Dang Feng,where Epo College of the famous Shaolin chambers is located and trained under Shi Yan,the shifu,or the master,who was with us for three days,teaching us the finer points,” said Sami Chowdhry of Class VIII,adding that they were all awarded certificates at the end of the programme stating that they were eligible now to graduate from the college.

And would they give it a serious thought in future? “Of course,” says Sami.

“Kung Fu was developed by Buddhist monks for self-defence and it is a practice that requires deep concentration. In that respect,the experience was extremely enriching and we would be applying the rules in everything we do,” says Swati Kulkarni,who was promoted to class VII this year. The students volunteered for a trip organised by Terra,a Delhi-based agency,to go to China for the crash course and also do some sight seeing. Good,they had been prepared beforehand with a practical knowledge of Cantonese to take care of the communication.

“Besides Dang Feng (it means ‘small forest’) where we were trained,we also went to Beijing and Shanghai…the buildings,infrastructure,etc were amazing,” gushes Vriddhi Jhunjhunwala. The kids were impressed by the practice of riding bicycles and habit of taking public transport among the Chinese citizens,instead of moving in private petrol/diesel-driven vehicles. “It contributes majorly to curbing pollution,despite the largest population in the world,” says Suyash Tiwari. “The children had given a Kung Fu performance during our annual day and that is where we got the idea to send them for hands on training in the martial art to China,” says sports teacher of the school,Deepak Rajput. “Good to see,they are all kicked about the trip.”