Shaolin Kid Episode Four: Training Begins

[@erikmelendez9284]

This kid will grow up one day and realize how lucky he actually was, he will be more disciplined than every one of his peers back in the states.

[@Harry-hyl]

it's not so simple, but I do think he'll be very disciplined, yes. Don't forget the opportunity costs of living this way though. Based on my decade of experience living in China and having a partly Chinese family, there's good and bad. If you want high physical activity and discipline, there are many ways to go about it that may have fewer cons.

[@TheBirdPersona]

​@Harry Honestly, what are the cons? Let's see, he learns discipline, how to concentrate effectively, how to think and react quickly, another language, another culture, oh and how to live a simplistic life style without coveting materialistic shit. Oh yeah, TONS of cons....

[@roscomcfarland204]

@@TheBirdPersona if you can’t think of any cons I think it shows bias. CCP, feeling like an outsider his whole childhood, whichever way you look at it. He’ll be limited specifically for being an American in China. What happens to him and his family if tensions get worse between his home country and the one he lives in? Culture shock is very real and hard for anyone let alone a child. However I agree the benefits could very well be truly great. As well as truly detrimental.

[@clydu91]

Love following his journey.

[@titaniumaura]

Greetings and respect.

[@trapstar215at]

Great content great father keep up the good work

[@Janisurai]

amazing

[@A1One-732]

Im convinced china is great …love there discipline and just way of life

[@baltimorebjj]

So much effort just to suck at actual fighting though. If I was this kid Id be pissed my parents didn't just send me to wrestling in the USA.

[@Double_D23x]

Honestly, does this child really want this? I understand the idea of broadening your horizons and appreciating/experiencing another culture and working hard towards achieving a goal and the and by no means is America the end all be all but the whole situation seems a little odd. The parents talk about in one scene how “little league baseball practice” was not enough exercise for him due to his “hyperactivity,” but how much exercise does a nine year old child really need? Does he really need rigorous training just to “get out all his energy?” Just seemed like a strange justification. After moving to China for many months, Andre's (the son) whole life has been uprooted, he’s been placed in an uncomfortable environment in an impoverished country where he must learn an extremely difficult language, be surrounded by people who can’t relate to him, can’t even eat the food he wants because one day AT 3 YEARS OLD he said he liked a Jackie Chan movie and took martial arts classes. Can a 8 year old child even fathom what moving to a foreign country entails, especially a communistic one like China? Of course there have been thousands and thousands of families that have immigrated and have faced similar situations but to do all this for the sake of learning Kungfu and "teaching him a lesson" is absolutely absurd. They didn't move in search of a better life it was for him to improve on his hobby. I’m sure he’s dedicated and I applaud this young boy for embracing these challenges and remaining strong throughout and putting the effort in to achieve his goals and I'm sure in his mind this is "what he wanted" and I know the other boys at the Shaolin Temple are doing the same as him and it’s not like the conditions are horrible but again it seems very strange. The mother in one interview assures, “everyone’s all on the same page we’re all on the same page," but, that’s clearly not the case (and really how could a 8 year old know what's best for himself???). Through the entirety of the movie the father shared his feelings and doubts and complained about the living conditions, the medicine, the lack of human interaction, missing his wife and the effect all this has had on his son. The mother is the most adamant about Andre pursuing Kungfu and seems to be the one pushing this lifestyle the most and yet SHE STAYS HOME and sends her reluctant husband and son to live thousands of miles away?!! (She only visits occasionally and spends many months apart from her son despite knowing how much he misses her. Andre spends 4 years there at one point before he returns to the United States) The father goes on to say how much Andre misses his mother; why would a mother unnecessarily separate herself from her child? A young boy needs a mother or a strong female influence in their life it is very important in their development how could she sit back and watch while her 8 year old child that she carried for 9 months miss his mom and say "yeah it's alright we video chat so it's ok but wahhhh it's so hard for me." I hate to make assumptions and judge but it seems to me this mother is very manipulative and has taken advantage of her husband's "soft" and "agreeable" nature to fulfill some kind of "karate kid" fantasy to garner attention and make herself appear "cultured," or "refined" in some way. I watched the entire documentary and barely do we hear what Andre has to say. The most he discusses is how he wants Sheppards pie instead of noodles all the time and how people tell him that whatever ailment he's experiencing will be cured by hot water or how nervous he is about the competitions he's involved in. Albeit a young boy, he is a human being and his thoughts and opinions deserve to be heard especially since this entire documentary revolves around him and his journey!!! The mother sits back at home watching her child struggle while she reaps the benefits of his labor. I can't help but to make comparisons to mothers with Munchausen by proxy and how they purposely make their children sick to garner sympathy and attention from others. This is clearly about the mother's ego and NOT about what's best for Andre. There's a clip of little Andre being stretched by his teacher while he wails in pain and the instructor calls him a nuisance. I am not a person who believes children need to always be coddled and babied and I'm aware of the stricter policies enforced by Asian communities as far as parenting and teaching goes, but this boy is being put through the wringer while his mother stays at home basking in the attention this documentary has provided for her while her son suffers. Throughout the entire documentary you see Andre much further behind comparatively to his peers and his instructors (experts in their field) flat out say that he needs to work very very hard and they basically express that he does not have the natural ability (flexibility) to compete with the other students essentially saying that he just doesn't have the talent to compete and yet this young boy's parents have pushed and pushed and pushed this child to participate in a field that is beyond his capabilities. In no way do I mean any disrespect toward Marital Arts or Chinese culture my criticism lies in the parenting of these individuals and how they have brainwashed their son and pushed a ridiculous agenda upon him. I was unaware this documentary was from 2012 so Andre is now a grown adult and seems to have embraced his upbringing. He has a Facebook page and there are few articles about him. Through further research Andre apparently placed number 1 in 55 of 74 word wide championships but the documentary does not indicate that at all (maybe it was after the movie.) All in all I can't get behind how Andre was treated as a young boy and it's very reminiscent of child actors that are pushed by their parents to perform and not given a proper childhood. It seems Andre is doing well for himself and I'm glad he is. I'm not sure how he looks back on the situation but I don't find this documentary inspiring in the slightest I see manipulation, cultural appropriation and selfishness(or at the very least misguidance) by both parents but what I did see was a great deal of respect shown by his classmates and teachers for the foreigner which truthfully is the best part of the film. I hope Andre has accepted his past and lives a prosperous happy life.

[@andremagnum]

Bruh u crazy stop spamming this crap

[@DrMurdercock]

Yo, if you still hugging him you may wanna quit. You prolly gettting him picked on

[@grinchmafia7295]

Just to think, this kid won't have to worry about pronouns or transgenderism

[@Ochay682]

It's base in 2012

[@definitlynotbenlente7671]

Why are you so obssesed about that thay on a video of a child learning martial arts in china this is the thought inportant enough to share

[@Treemeadow]

That's because in China, all people use a neutral pronoun.

[@therealmr.incredible3179]

That’s kids gonna hate you for trapping him in China for your weird martial arts fetish. Bet the kid doesn’t even want this.

[@madmanwristy9052]

The kid literally wanted this and the parents recognized they were being too soft on him. It may hurt for you to watch but kids need discipline at some point in their lives lest they grow into useless adults.

[@christate65]

Very cool of the parents. Now they should train as well. Interesting that they don’t

[@alanclw6024]

Poor you. Did they mistook your made up gender when you ordered your pumpkin latte?

[@TheBirdPersona]

Oh yeah....trapping him in China? The kid clearly loves it and you clearly don't have kids. Go touch some grass Mr. Incredible

[@ninersnation3298]

I watched the whole dang story on this kid a while back. the american kid was having an attention hyperactivity disorder. He just couldn't sit still at all and drove to his parent like crazy. his doctor gave him medicine after medicine but his parent didn't see any improvement at all and it got him worst and worst with those medicine. the parent decided to send him to shaolin school (near shaolin in china). the mom stayed in the US and worked, worked while the dad was with the kid in shaolin. The kid grew up learning discipline to control his attention hyperactivity disorder condition. He also learned to speak great Mandarin and loving kung fu. It was a great story. A chinese (beijing channel) TV station interviewed the dad and the kick for their story. It was an amazing story to overcome his sickness disorder. If they weren't in china to fix that disorder, the kid would probably dead or living on the street by no in the USA. Look it up on youtube, it was a fascinating story. They were not there in Shaolin for Kung Fu fetish.

[@RicardoMontania]

Why don't you teach him an actual effective martial art?

[@TheBirdPersona]

Are you serious? 😂 And what, pray tell, is an effective martial art in your opinion?

[@RicardoMontania]

@@TheBirdPersona Not an opinion; Muay Thai, Kick Boxing, Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, Sambo and MMA are demostrably the most effective Martial Arts. They are constantly pressure tested and there's massive amounts of evidence that proves it.

[@imlookingformyhome6025]

​@@RicardoMontaniaagreed with you. All this kid is learning is dancing. He should learn muay thai or boxing.(I doubt it though.. the kid is weak)

[@PhinTheShoto]

@@RicardoMontania Sanda is a part of Wushu. Honestly they don’t need to force an opinion on the child “Kung Fu is weak, learn something else” if the kid is the one that wants to learn Wushu, go for it. Don’t take that sense of choice away from them simply because “this style is better”

[@definitlynotbenlente7671]

​@@PhinTheShotomost of the people saying those things can not do a split or touch their tows while standing up

[@jessebarnes4389]

Meanwhile in America, there is a problem with pronouns

[@clydu91]

stop fucking crying.

[@Ochay682]

This was based in 2012, so the pronouns thing didn't really exist yet😅

[@cordellwalker-wn7nq]

If ppl would stop acknowledging that crap it would die off