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The author does tai chi in Yangshuo in undated photo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn/ My whole life I've been interested in martial arts. I studied judo as a child, then karate. But itwas only when I moved to another city in Belgium where there was a kungfu club, that I reallyenjoyed it and fully understood why they call it an art. It is fighting and defending yourself, butit's also understanding your body more, making it stronger and healthier. Kungfu is a wholephilosophy and is a big part of Chinese culture. I have always watched kungfu movies (whodoesn't know Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Jet Li?), because I loved their movements. When Istarted to practice kungfu, I realized how difficult it was and a simple kick or punch demandedmonths of practice. But I loved it! A whole new world was opening to me. After I practiced 4 years of kungfu in Belgium, I wanted to go to the country where this martialart originated from. I went to China with a travel organization. It was a trip that included somekungfu and taichi lessons. It was an international group, so there were people from all over theworld. We went from Hong Kong to Guilin, Yangshuo, Xi'an, Luoyang and Shaolin and finallyBeijing. We did 2 kungfu lessons in Yangshuo with the brothers Gao, who had a family stylecalled BuDiZhen. We did 1 taichi lesson in Xi'an and 2 more kungfu lessons in Shaolin. I wasimpressed by Yangshuo and the Gao brothers. Yangshuo is a beautiful little town in the middleof karst mountains and near the Li river. The Gao brothers' family style was close to the style Iwas practicing in Belgium. I could only dream of my next trip to China. | 
