What comes to your mind when you think of kung fu? Maybe the image of Shaolin monks(和尚) posing with a serious look their eyes. But does it really present the meaning of kung fu?
Laurence, J. Brahm, a documentary filmmaker from the United States, explored this question in Searching for Kung Fu(《寻找功夫》). In the movie, Brahm ( travel) to cities in China and the US in search of the value of kung fu.
Brahm himself is a kung fu ( love) who has been practicing the art for more than 40 years. For him, it is more than a pastime. Ages ago, Brahm was unable ( use) one of his legs for two years and had to walk with a cane(拐杖). But by ( practise) martial arts(武术), he was able to recover step by step. Now, kung fu has become a ( day) activity for him and also the way he begins the day.
Still, there are other deep meanings in the practice. Nonviolence(非暴力) is one value, which ( show) both in the name and practice of kung fu. The Chinese character Wu 武 has two parts-"ge戈", meaning"to fight", and"zhi 止", meaning"to stop". So, meaning of kung fu in Chinese is the art of stopping fighting, the art of nonviolence. Kung fu artists always greet people with baoquan(抱拳). This lets each person know that there are no hidden weapons(武器) and shown trust.
"The ( tradition) values of kung fu, actually, are in the ( mind) of all Chinese people, " Brahm told Xinhua.
