OLIVETTE, Mo. — Born and raised in China, kung fu was not just a sport, it was all Xueli Zhuang once knew.
"When I was five years old, I just go to the mountain with my (master of kung fu) Shifu," Zhuang said. "I just remember the kung fu and the class, and it's very important for me, like, the Chinese art."
Deep in the mountains of China, Zhuang didn't just study this form of art, he mastered it. Looking for more of a challenge, 10 years ago he came to St. Louis to master something else, his freedom.
"I was excited for here, it was like I could learn a new role, like a very different china, a new life," Zhuang said with a smile.
Now a master of kung fu himself, Zhuang has mastered his new life and is now giving lessons of all kinds at the Kung Fu Art School here in St. Louis.
Wei Wei Fu is one of the many parents who take sign their children up for martial arts. She said the ability to learn not just self-defense, but Chinese culture is one of the key reasons she chose this location for her son. Also from China, she understands the importance of carrying on their culture even thousands of miles away from home.
"The students come from everywhere you know, they both speak English but they both also learn Chinese," Fu said.
When asked why it was important to carry on his Chinese culture here in America, Zhuang said that he can learn something while teaching.
"Because they teach me English, I told you we're a real thing," he said smiling. "In the first month I come to America right here, a student, a baby student, like a 6-year-old, 5-year-old, they teach me that this is called hand, that is called leg," Zhuang said while pointing to his hands and leg.
With every kick and every punch, lessons are being learned.
"I teach my art my culture for the American people," Zhuang said.
Zhuang said his lessons are meant for everyone, no matter where they come from.
"The arts is everything, so it's no color limited, cultural limited, no, it's just the art," Fu said. "People can do everything they like too."
For more information on how to join the Kung Fu Art School of St. Louis, you can message them directly on Facebook here.