By Cui Guoqi

Zhang Yuan,born in Shaanxi,is a determined,upright and enthusiastic man.He began to practice martial arts at the age of 8,and has won numerous prizes in martial arts competitions at home and abroad.Ever since he first went to the United States,he has been committed to promoting Chinese martial arts and now has taught students from all over the world.Yet behind his fame and success,he has experienced ups and downs that were hardly known by others.Here is his story.

A Nobody in a Foreign Land

In 2001,I came to the United States for the first time to participate in an international martial arts tournament held in Florida.Despite my fame and success in China,I found myself a nobody in this foreign land.

In order to better support myself,I went to a job agency in the Manhattan Chinatown to find a job outside the competition hour.The agent asked me,“Have you ever worked here before? Do you know how to wash dishes?”

I answered,“No,but I can learn.”

He immediately said,“sorry,we can't help you.”

I tried a few more agencies and was turned down with no exceptions.Lingering on the streets of Chinatown,I felt overwhelmed and oppressed by the surrounding skyscrapers.

I needed to find a place to stay,which unveiled to me more nd pointed to a sofa at the door,telling me that was my residence for 180 dollars a month,I can only come back to sleep on it at night,because they needed to sit on it during the daytime.

I did not give up.After all,I won 6 gold medals in the international martial arts tournament that year.I packed a newspaper in my bag and went out every day to seek out all kinds of activities,telling people about the competitions I had won and asking them whether they wanted kung fu performances.

People would usually tell me,“We see that you've won 6 gold medals,but we have a full stage.”

I said,“I can perform for free.”

Then they would be like,“Look,it is not about money,it's just that we have too many shows and we are actually trying to cut down on the acts.”

Back then,I couldn't even get an opportunity to perform.

My First Street Performance

When I first arrived at the United States,a friend I grew up with picked me up.He said to me,“Zhang Yuan,I know you were quite successful in Xi'an,but that's water under the bridge.Now that you have come to America,as long as you are willing to work hard,to explore,to brave all the hardships,you will be able to find a place in this country.”

So,I packed up my performance costume and went to perform in places like Columbia University,outside the library,Times Square,and other popular places.One day,I saw in a newspaper that there was an “International Tai Chi Day” activity in Central Park,and hurried over.There,I met a young guy from Inner Mongolia,who appreciated my Xing Yi Quan hardships in life.A friend took me to a center for the elderly,where six people shared one room.An old man staggered to his feet a and started talking to me.The two of us had a walk together while talking and came across a group of black people performing street dances.The guy asked me if I was interested in joining them,to which I replied “yes.” So he introduced me to the group,telling them I just came from China,I had won many martial arts awards,and I'm an excellent Chinese kung fu performer.

The man who looked like the leader of the group asked me to do some moves,so I did a back flip and some other moves,which won his approval.Later,when they performed their break dances and street dances,I performed some Chinese kung fu in between their shows.Despite the language barrier,I worked well with them.

When the show was over,the leader told me that they had been performing on the street for seven or eight years,and I was the first Chinese person ever to join their group.He took out 15 dollars from their cash box and handed to me,saying that was my reward for the performance and asking me if I was interested in continuing working with them.I was so delighted by the fact that I could earn 15 dollars for barely one minute's performance.

Just like this,I became am ember of this street per for mancegroup,and performed with them at places like Times Square,South Street Pier,34th Street,Central Park and other popular places.I could earn seventy to eighty dollars on an average day,and 110 dollars on Friday,Saturday and Sunday,which was quite a lot at the time.

Eggs cost only 59 cents for a dozen and three bakery rolls were only 99 cents.To make friends with my team,I made Chinesestyle sandwiches every morning by putting a fried egg between two slices of bread,and would bring two sandwiches for myself and one for our leader.One month later,our leader deemed me an honest and sincere person,and appointed me to take care of the money box,because people in charge of it used to steal money from it.After that,the cash box was under my care.

Lateron,this street performance group was going to South Korea for a performance and invited me to come along with them.My visa didn't permit that then.So I couldn't go with them and had to say goodbye to the team.

Opening a School

After the hard ships I'd experienced,I gained some understanding of life in America.At this time,some students invited me to teach martial arts in Long Island,while another friend introduced me to a martial arts school founded by some Chinese Americans in Manhattan's Chinatown.

Given the limited work hours per week,I took a few other part-time jobs in my spare time,including sorting out parcels in the post office with my students'parents,housekeeping work in hotels,and carpenter jobs.Meanwhile I had more and more students,many of whom were from Brooklyn.One day,a parent suggested me,“Why not open a martial arts school in Brooklyn?”which was what I had always dreamed of.

In 2002,I borrowed a place from a dancing academy on 6th Avenue in Brooklyn and opened the “Zhang Yuan Martial Arts Academy.” A year later,a student's parent found a place on Fort Hamilton Parkway,which was for rent with a monthly rent of 1,800 dollars.It was very suitable for a martial arts academy,so I moved my school there.Now that I had a good place,I was confronted by expensive renovation fees,which were quoted from 25,000 to more than 30,000 dollars.It was way more than I could afford.Then one of my Hispanic students offered to do the renovation job for me for only 8,000 dollars,on the condition of learning martial arts from me for the rest of his life for free.I agreed on the spot and made the deal.With the 5,000 dollars raised by my family,I got the renovation work done.

Across from my martial arts academy there was a school.Every day I played Chinese kung fu movies on a TV facing the street.As a result,when summer vacation came,many students came to enroll.Before the summer vacation ended,I recovered the renovation fee and even made some profits.My business began to take off.

Since I began teaching martial arts in the United States,I have taught more than 2,000 students,who have all worked hard and excelled in the field.The awards they have won in various martial arts competitions have greatly encouraged me.

It has been a few decades now since I said farewell to my acting career and came to the United States.Do I regret it? Well,in some senses I do.If I hadn't left the Xi'an Film Studio,I might have become a big star by now.But,in another sense,I don't regret it.Our life is like sailing in the sea,we never know where our final harbor is.