Tonight, Woo Ching White Crane helped the U.S. Kung fu Federation host its annual New Year banquet. We performed first as host, followed by Wah Lum and Darin Yee’s School from Plymouth. I would like to thank these schools and the individuals that are part of them for showing support to the Federation.

Before I stopped working, I always wondered why older people in the community like Henry Yee seemed to enjoy running things like these banquets, even though they didn’t turn a profit. “Shouldn’t they just be relaxing?” I would think. I used to find such banquets somewhat of a hassle, but now that events like this banquet are one of my few contacts with the outside world, they are social opportunities that seem to keep me sane.  A few of the members of our group who are restaurant workers who had days off stayed very late too and seem to find the banquet relaxing. They rarely get to see anything but the back of the kitchen, so this was also a social gathering for them that proved to themselves that that they are human, as opposed to just workers. Quite a few people that come to the U.S. from China actually do crack mentally from the lifestyle. Either that or become extremely addicted to gambling, which is a form of mental break down that can ruin whole families.

When I got home I started watching a program on PBS called “Brain Fitness.” it was talking about PTSD, inter-generational learning and Alzheimer’s, and various therapies for other mental health issues. It showed the benefits of elderly people teaching young kids to read or interacting with them in general, as well as the importance of elderly remaining active in the community. It showed how the elderly keeping active physically and mentally in the community, benefited the individual’s health but also society as a whole. Then I started to think about my Sifu and other old Chinese men that are not English speakers. Well, if kids don’t read Chinese, then story telling from a book is out. So essentially a Chinese School like Kwong Kow protect our traditions but also the health of the community.  If kids only know how to speak Chinese well we can still have inter-generational learning through Kung Fu and Story telling. The program mentioned how kids with ADHD would sit still for 45 minutes listening a old person talk about some life experience, even if every time they come back the old person tells the same story. I used to lose patience when my Sifu told some stories repeatedly, but I see now it is as important to the health of a family or community, as the physical practice is.

I may try to reach out to the free After School program  run by Haravrd’s Phillips Brooks House that is across from us to see if they will work with me on this. In the past, when I taught a Lion Dance workshop for them the kids were shocked that I spoke to them in Chinese. Not because I am white, but because they were told that they were not allowed to speak Chinese in that after school program. I understand  why they would do something like that, but I think Chinese Americans seem to catch up pretty well by College in terms of English and may do better on average than many White Americans. The kids should really be learning Chinese, not only for their benefit, but for the benefit of the elderly in our community who cannot learn English.  I wish Phillips Brooks House would work with Kwong Kow, because now even though they are providing a free program that supervises children doing homework, ultimately they are working against Kwong Kow, a by income, affordable after school programs that has many programs including Chinese Classes. Kwong Kow loses out because those kids would have gone to Kwong Kow’s program instead, which even if it is not free, is by income. If my mother could afford it working at the A and P, then families with two parents should be able to afford Kwong Kow.

The kids lose out for not keeping up with Chinese. Their parents, grandparents and relatives in China lose out for not being able to communicate with them. If they were being offered other enrichment programs like at Red Oak that would be different but they are just watching the kids do homework. The program means well, but I disagree with the no Chinese Policy very strongly as it will ultimately further damage inter generational communication in the community.

Kung Fu and Lion Dance is another medium through which the old people in Chinatown can interact with youth. Many of the older people learned or are slightly familiar with these traditions, from when they learned as children from older members in the village, or at a school, if they lived in a city. All the Young Children should not just be learning these arts, but being taught by the elderly in the Community. This keeps the elderly active mentally and Physically, allowing them to tell their life experience to children, passing on the culture and oral history. If this could somehow be put into the curriculum that gets kids to read Chinese it might make these stories and reading lessons more relevant exciting to the children who have a hard time paying attention in Chinese School.

Back to the Banquet. For Our performance, I did a lot of the play by play for our forms in Chinese, which often have historical significance. Not all of my words were correct but as it turns out, one of my old Chinese School Teachers was in the audience, and she came up to congratulate me on at least being able to speak Chinese if not write it. (We were at odds when I was a student to say the least.) I learned Chinese from Kwong Kow, but I learned a lot of it from my Kung Fu School as well, and it was there that I was forced to speak and translate. I always knew that this was important to learn, for young people. But it also benefits the elderly to teach. My mind flashed back to me being at McDonald’s with my White mother, and all these Old Chinese men helping me with my Chinese Homework. I failed repeatedly but it was important for them to teach me, and I think in the long run I identify myself as Chinese because of the input of so many people reinforcing my cultural identity.

Our School already offers free Lion Dance Practice on Saturdays at 2pm when we don’t have an actual performance. Now I would like to somehow get our Kung Fu into a story telling and reading curriculum where my Sifu can benefit by having interested, Cantonese or Taishanese Speaking Children who will listen to Sifu talk about stories from China. I’ve even seen Sifu communicate with Mandarin speakers too. Though his Mandarin is limited, stories and experiences were exchanged, making both sides stronger and more knowledgeable. I see how his spirit rises when he has people around who he can talk to about Feng Shui,  Kung Fu, politics, or history. The next generation can benefit from hearing these things, in Chinese. And I know it is not just my Sifu who has so much knowledge to share, but many of the elderly in Chinatown. Some of these elderly have great English skills, and some do not. Chinatown needs this inter-generational learning in Chinese as well as English. Not enough of it is happening and as a consequence  part of our culture is dying out and our community is breaking down.  And don’t think “Oh well, at least it will survive in China.” Because much of the truly traditional arts left China and are in the United States. In fact old masters from America are only recently reopening schools in China. Yes China has many skilled people still, but a lot of the history, experiences, culture, and arts are in Chinese America because of the Cultural Revolution. These stories if told in a comfortable  setting can help the storyteller therapeutically by hashing out old issues and at the same  time educate our youth.

Storytelling, Kung Fu, and Lion Dance can really be used to make our community  stronger and healthier mentally and Physically. I hope we can start to take more advantage of this as soon as possible.

-Adam Cheung