Matthew Polly

Matthew Polly is an American author who writes about martial arts.

Matthew Polly
Born(1971-05-05)May 5, 1971
Topeka, Kansas, United States
OccupationAuthor
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPrinceton University
GenreNonfiction
Notable worksAmerican Shaolin (book)
Tapped Out (book)
Bruce Lee: A Life (book)
Notable awardsLowell Thomas Award

Career

Polly graduated from Topeka West High School.[1] 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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[2]

In 2003, he wrote a series of travel articles about his experiences in China for the online magazine Slate.com, "Return to the Shaolin Temple",[3] and again in 2004 with a series on Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas.[4]

April 13, 2005, he appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.[5]

Polly wrote about his experiences in China in American Shaolin, published in 2007 by Gotham in the US (ISBN 1592402623) and by Abacus in the UK.[2]

In 2018, he authored and published the biography of Bruce Lee titled Bruce Lee: A Life.[6][7]

References

  1. Blankenship, Bill (2005-04-13). "A Shaolin Taught". Topeka Capital-Journal. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company.
  2. de Bertodano, Helena (2007-04-03). "Ready for the iron crotch, Grasshopper?;Men". The Times. Times Newspapers Limited.
  3. Slate.com, "Well Traveled" feature starting at Dec. 1, 2003, http://www.slate.com/id/2091701/entry/2091721/
  4. Slate.com, "Well Traveled" feature starting at May 3, 2004, http://www.slate.com/id/2099730/entry/2099783/
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sky_xcc9RAM
  6. "Nonfiction Book Review: Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly. Simon & Schuster, $35 (672p) ISBN 978-1-50118-762-9". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  7. Bruce Lee. 2018-06-05. ISBN 9781501187629.
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