(Photo credit: Dat Nguyen)
Mai Du, Malden, Massachusetts
Martial Arts, Kung Fu Master (師傅) , Yoga Instructor, Political Activist
Mai Du 余翠梅 was just eight years old when she wanted to learn Kung Fu (功夫)
in Vietnam. Her childhood dream to master martial arts had not diminished even after her perilous journey as a refugee from Vietnam to Thailand and the Philippines before finally arriving in the U.S.
(Mai & family in Camp Bataan, the Phillippines)
(Mai Du -far right in black/white dress)
The first thing she did once settled was go to Chinatown. There, she knocked on the door of a traditional Kung Fu academy equipped with a full set of martial arts weapons. She said her blood was boiling once she saw those chains, swords, and sticks, even though the master who greeted her was a white man! Undeterred, she kept screaming, “Let me in. Let me in!” Mai was just 12 years old!
(Mai first started training)
Why did she feel compelled to become a Kung Fu master?
(Photo credit: Lee Daniel Tran)
How has her refugee experience molded her mindset? What has she observed from her parents’ ways and their will to survive in America that’s shaped her own fighting spirit?
What did Mai pass on to her son Thomas key lessons she’s learned?
(photo credit WonderJoy Photobooth)
To learn more about Mai Du, click here.
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