High Life A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : 2 Female Kung Fu Pupils Are Kicking a Few Stereotypes

With steady black eyes to match the color of her belt, Becky Sun bows to her grand master. Her arms move across her body, and she begins her kicks--500 of them. The petite Sun moves with precision and intensity.

A seriousness pervades the atmosphere of the martial arts studio, and there is a certain grace that Sun has mastered in her six years of kung fu.

Sun enjoys the rigorous demands of studying kung fu, an ancient Chinese art form usually associated with men, and she has achieved first-degree black-belt status.

“You don’t see many girls doing it,” said Sun, a senior at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, “but I enjoy it.”

Sun was introduced to kung fu at her Saturday Chinese school in Cerritos, where she had to pick an ethnic activity as an elective class.

“I started with Chinese folk dance,” Sun said, “but it didn’t really interest me. Kung fu is more exciting.

“Karate concentrates on punching and kicking techniques. Kung fu, which is the main Chinese martial art, is supposedly one of the most violent styles today,” said Sun, explaining the difference between the two.

“Kung fu consists of kicking, punching, striking, grappling, wrestling and throwing techniques. In kung fu, there is a preference for clawing and stabbing hand blows. These come from adapting animal movements to the human body.”

Kung fu sparked the interest not only of Sun, but also that of her friend, Sunny Hills junior Sandra Lee.

“I had nothing to do, so I started kung fu for fun,” Lee said.

After three years of lessons at the Chinese school, Sun and Lee began to study at a studio in Buena Park.

“When I first started, I would practice four times a week,” Sun said. “Both Sandra and I were enthusiastic about going higher and higher.

“We always had this little dream that we would open our own studio by the time we were 16.”

Though they have yet to open a studio, the two do teach kung fu to youngsters at the Fullerton Chinese School at Sunny Hills High every Saturday.

“It feels good to teach the lower belts,” said Sun, who teaches 5- to 8-year-olds. “It gives you a sense of seniority.”

Lee, on the other hand, finds it a challenge. “I teach mostly boys from 10 years old to teens my age, and they can be very rowdy.”

Of her disciplinary method, Lee said: “I have the boys do push-ups until I tell them to stop. I guess I take on a different personality when I teach.”

Sun also used to spend some of her time helping the lower belts in her class at the studio but found that it left little time for her own practice.

“It was getting dull,” she said. “I wasn’t getting as much out of it, and I got lazy.”

Lee and Sun now participate in a class designed for black belts only.

“It is really beneficial to practice with the higher-division black belts,” Sun said. “Working with the black belts makes such a difference because I’m learning more.”

A typical class consists of 15 minutes of stretches and kicks, five minutes of punches, 20 to 30 minutes of forms and the rest of the time “sparring” against an opponent.

Achievements in kung fu are far from easy.

“It can be really intimidating,” Sun said. “You have to totally improve, and then the grand master has to tell you when to test for the next belt. Testing for belts is scary. I wouldn’t want to do it alone.”

And Sun is lucky because she and Lee have been supportive of each other from the beginning. “You don’t get as nervous when you have a friend,” Sun said.

Testing is more than just an honor and a risk; it is also a financial commitment.

“In addition to $55 a month for belonging to the studio and lessons, it costs $100 to test for a black belt,” Sun said, “and you can only be invited to test twice a year.”

In kung fu, one begins with a white belt, then advances to yellow, orange, blue, green, brown, red and finally black belts, Sun said of the skill levels. Then there are nine degrees of black belt before one is considered a grand master.

“Being a girl with a black belt is rare,” Lee said. “It is an achievement and an accomplishment.”

“Not a lot of girls get involved with kung fu,” Sun said. “There are usually three or four girls in a class of 15, but I think more girls are getting involved in martial arts because of the self-defense and influence of seeing other girls participate.”

Sun’s parents have also supported her kung fu experience.

“They’ve accepted it,” said Sun with a flip of her curly black hair. “They know I’m a black belt, and I think they’re proud.”

Her skills have allowed Lee a little more freedom. “My parents trust me more if I go out at night because they know I can take care of myself,” she said.

Despite all her practice, Sun has never seriously used kung fu in self-defense.

“One time, a friend came up and grabbed me, and I used a technique on him by instinct,” she said. “I was real surprised at myself, and so was he. It is comforting to know you have it if you need it.”

Sun used to practice on her younger brother, “but he kept saying I was hurting him,” she said with a shrug.

And what of breaking wooden slabs with their bare hands?

“Ooooo . . . it feels good!” Sun said. “You just find the center and . . . wham!”

Although they don’t go around breaking down doors or splitting tables, the girls do chop wood as well as demonstrate their kung fu form in public performances.

“We’ve done performances at the Chinese school, at dinner exhibitions and at Disneyland,” Sun said.

And there are different types of competitions, each involving the display of particular techniques and forms corresponding to particular ranks.

“I like to compete, but our teacher doesn’t believe in it,” Lee said. “He feels kung fu is more for yourself. It isn’t something to show off.”

Sun said her performing, as well as her teaching, has helped her beyond simply polishing her art: “I think it’s helped me grow. I used to be timid and shy, and now I’m more confident and open.”

In spite of all that kung fu has provided Lee and Sun, the two are finding it more difficult to make time for practice.

“Lately, I’m lucky if I can go more than once a week,” Sun said. “It’s been hard to go because of school work and other activities.”

Both girls are enrolled in honors classes and have other commitments: Lee is in dance production and Sun writes for the school newspaper.

Though there may be fewer of them, Sun said their practices are still intense.

“It is so invigorating,” she said. “I get this sudden burst of energy when I’m finished with a workout.”

Neither Sun nor Lee said she is finished studying kung fu. Both have eight degrees to go before becoming a grand master.

In the future, Sun said she may begin studying tai chi chuan, a slower martial art for adults. “It helps you with your breathing and releases stress,” she said.

Sun admitted that her pursuit of martial arts has little to do with her Asian culture. “I just hate quitting,” she said, “and I’m not going to give up.

“This sport and art not only provides a measure of self-defense and good physical exercise but also improves self-confidence, self-respect and better balance between physical and mental well-being.”

Kung fu can also weave a bond. “It’s hard to have a friendship,” Lee said, as she and Sun are in different grades, attend different classes and have different friends. “But kung fu keeps us together.”