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Matthew Polly
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Matthew Polly
Matthew Polly is an American author and former martial artist who writes about martial arts. His books include American Shaolin, Tapped Out, and Bruce Lee: A Life.
Polly graduated from Topeka West High School. In 1992, at the age of 21 years, Polly took a leave of absence from Princeton University and traveled to China to train at the Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and kung fu. Feng Yingbiao of Master Insight wrote that Polly's training at the Shaolin Temple was merely a crash course designed to lure laowai, attendance of which does not lead to expertise in Chinese culture.
In exchange for $1,300 a month Polly was allowed to stay and train with the monks. He spent two years at the temple and became the first American accepted as a Shaolin disciple. His experiences included training seven hours a day six days a week, involving running, breathing exercises, calisthenics, kung fu and gymnastics. He became a formidable kickboxer, and won a challenge match against a kung fu master from another province. He also became an "iron forearm" expert, where his arm became impervious to pain by calluses formed by bashing his arm against a tree for 30 minutes per day.
April 13, 2005, he appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
In 2003, Polly wrote a series of travel articles about his experiences in China for the online magazine Slate.com, "Return to the Shaolin Temple", and again in 2004 with a series on Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas.
American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China was published in 2007 by Gotham in the United States and Abacus in the United Kingdom. In the book, Polly discusses his experiences in China living, studying, and performing with Shaolin monks.
The book received several accolades:
Tapped Out: Rear Naked Chokes, the Octagon, and the Last Emperor : an Odyssey in Mixed Martial Arts was published in 2012 by Gotham Books. The book follows Polly's experience as a middle-aged amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter.
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Matthew Polly
Matthew Polly is an American author and former martial artist who writes about martial arts. His books include American Shaolin, Tapped Out, and Bruce Lee: A Life.
Polly graduated from Topeka West High School. In 1992, at the age of 21 years, Polly took a leave of absence from Princeton University and traveled to China to train at the Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and kung fu. Feng Yingbiao of Master Insight wrote that Polly's training at the Shaolin Temple was merely a crash course designed to lure laowai, attendance of which does not lead to expertise in Chinese culture.
In exchange for $1,300 a month Polly was allowed to stay and train with the monks. He spent two years at the temple and became the first American accepted as a Shaolin disciple. His experiences included training seven hours a day six days a week, involving running, breathing exercises, calisthenics, kung fu and gymnastics. He became a formidable kickboxer, and won a challenge match against a kung fu master from another province. He also became an "iron forearm" expert, where his arm became impervious to pain by calluses formed by bashing his arm against a tree for 30 minutes per day.
April 13, 2005, he appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
In 2003, Polly wrote a series of travel articles about his experiences in China for the online magazine Slate.com, "Return to the Shaolin Temple", and again in 2004 with a series on Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas.
American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China was published in 2007 by Gotham in the United States and Abacus in the United Kingdom. In the book, Polly discusses his experiences in China living, studying, and performing with Shaolin monks.
The book received several accolades:
Tapped Out: Rear Naked Chokes, the Octagon, and the Last Emperor : an Odyssey in Mixed Martial Arts was published in 2012 by Gotham Books. The book follows Polly's experience as a middle-aged amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter.
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