Taiwan Today

Paul Wollos, 39, married into a Taiwanese family. Since the age of 11, Paul has studied the martial arts of Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and other places, and has set up a martial arts studio in South Africa. In 2000, his Taiwanese wife, Chen Yi-chun, brought the first book by Kung-fu master Liu Kin-long to Wollos, who was impressed by what he read. He immediately decided to move to southern Taiwan to study with the master and has opened up his own martial arts studio in Taichung. Lately, Paul introduced a reporter from a Finnish cable television station to do the story on the martial art form of Feeding Crane. As Liu's interpreter, Wollos alternated between translation and demonstration during the interview. The Finnish reporter also experienced the powerful style of martial arts, which looks very soft on the surface, under the guidance of Liu. The show is scheduled to be televised in Finland in the summer of 2010. The reporter's visit brought back Wollos' memory of his early days in Taiwan, when he could not communicate with master Liu orally. The two of them relied on an electronic translator to get ideas across. At the time, Wollos lived in Liu's home and practiced martial arts with his sons Weihong and Chungyou. Each day, the trio put in nine hours of practice. The dedication and energy Wollos put into the work made Liu's sons believe that even foreigners could be determined to promote the Feeding Crane style of martial arts. Today, Wollos can speak basic Chinese and a smattering of the local Minnan dialect as well. He teaches his students the moves of the Feeding Crane using the Minnan dialect, though his pronunciation is not very accurate. His students are required to bow to Liu's photograph before beginning class. Wollos says that non-Chinese trainers who teach Wing Chun kung fu do so in Cantonese, while those who teach Japanese styles do so in Japanese, so "naturally" he must teach the Feeding Crane style in its "original Minnan language."