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Kung Fu Trip
Benjamin Zephaniah reveals all, in his own inimitable style, about his memorable experiences in China and also all about his love of kung fu.
115 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Zephaniah
78 books422 followersA British-Jamaican writer, dub poet and Rastafari. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 20, 2011
The book I'm reading is a bit epic so I fancied reading something quick and easy. This was entertaining and a good introduction to Zephaniah. It certainly gave me that feeling of accomplishment I get from finishing a book that I miss when I'm reading something tricky that could take weeks to plough through. I read it in about an hour and I'm moving on to another Quick Reads book before I carry on with my literary feast.
May 4, 2019
This story of the author going to China to learn the secrets of Kung fu is always engaging, and would work well with young adults. The humane, comic voice and the escapades keep you turning the pages.
August 2, 2011
Short and engaging. Vivid, funny, and a very quick read.
May 15, 2014
A cracking book. Short and easy vocabulary. But hard hitting observations. Makes me want to travel - to be as a local.
February 14, 2024
Nice quick read and really enjoyable
September 26, 2017
As a beat poet and man of the people I've always liked Benjamin Zephania. He's never effected airs or graces, he's always been his own man.
Now I love a good bit of martial arts as well, and this is an excellent tale of his journey to learn from the greats.
Well told, highly entertaining.
Now I love a good bit of martial arts as well, and this is an excellent tale of his journey to learn from the greats.
Well told, highly entertaining.
January 15, 2019
It’s a quick fun read, it actually made me laugh out loud in places and not many books do that.
October 13, 2019
Kung Fu Trip is a fun ride, three parts travelogue with a light dash of powerful social commentary. Four stars.
May 2, 2020
A funny story about how Benjamin went to China and learnt Kung Fu at the famed Shaolin Temple.
March 21, 2025
Very interesting hilarious read based on determination and experienced of being a tourist in a strict country.
Kissy kissy woman will always live in my head rent free.
Kissy kissy woman will always live in my head rent free.
March 8, 2011
“I wanted to leave London. This is why. There were too many bombs going off. After joining America in her ‘war on terrorism’, our Prime Minister had started his own ‘war on terrorism’. Muslim houses were being raided all over the country and my Muslim friends felt as if they were under siege. I was stopped three times in one day and I don’t look anything like a Muslim.”
True. Anyone who has seen Zephaniah will know he looks nothing like a Muslim. He’s a cool, Rasta dub-poet known for his gap-toothed smile that reaches his eyes, his resemblence to Bob Marley and his streetwise lyricism that captured the imagination of teenagers. He is also famous for having turned down an OBE because it reminded him of ‘how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised’. Zephaniah does not mince his words, he is upfront and direct about issues close to his heart such as dyslexia (as a sufferer, he left school aged 13 unable to read or write), street politics and racism.
In this short but funny read Zephaniah leaves behind his poet persona and talks about his pilgrimage to China to study kung fu at a Shaolin Temple. As he battles jetlag, bemoans the lack of Vegan restaurants and revels in being perceived ‘like a god’ (the Chinese aren’t used to Rastafarians); he recounts the oddities of the country, its’ people and reflects on cultural image and how this might or might not match up with reality and how misinformed we really are about other people. Part humour, part travelog and part philosophical musing, this was an entertaining read and shouldn’t be taken seriously. I don’t know how much of it is true, but I really enjoyed the parts about Zephaniah’s dream to study with the monks on a snow-capped mountain. I had the same aspirations (still do!) and it was great to see them mirrored. There were many strange characters along the way such as the ‘kissy kissy’ woman, Shifu Iron Breath and Fat Thumb which were among the most memorable.
China is indeed a strange place if you do not know much about its culture. Kung Fu, or Wu Shu is probably the most famous thing people associate with it. However even I seem to forget that in China, not everyone knows or does kung fu. In fact those like Zephaniah and I who grew up on Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee films that channelled the nobility and spirituality of Zen Buddhism, often end up being severely disappointed by just how commercial and touristic the once-sacred temples have become. At one point Zephaniah muses on how Bodhidharma once left China to find enlightenment, but that everyone now comes to China to find it. There is a faint whiff of disillusionment, as he realises how most of its citizens are doing their utmost to be more ‘Western’.
“The pagodas have Buddhist holy writing carved on them and a history of the life of the deceased, but in China not everything is as it seems at first. Near the gate there was a pagoda that was extremely old. As I walked around it admiring the kung fu fighters using sticks and knives and doing various exercises, I saw a carving of a laptop computer, a digital camera and then a jumbo jet.”
Yet there are moments when Zephaniah finally feels the true spirit of Kung Fu, as on the last day of training he is granted special permission to perform with the monks. Donning his bright orange suit, he goes through each movement, trying to empty his mind and stay in unison with the collective. As he puts it, ‘it was like training in heaven’.
This was an impulse read, but I recommend this as an ideal book for young readers of age 12 upwards who might not like reading much. It’s very quick and would give them instant gratification. It is also quite good for those who might have reading difficulties. If you are interested in short reads then I suggest you check out the www.quickreads.org.uk website for more on this series which is supported by the Arts Council England and World Book Day. You will find titles by authors such as Val McDermid, Maeve Binchy and Ian Rankin who agreed to collaborate. I think it’s a great way to try out authors and genres you might not be that interested in.
True. Anyone who has seen Zephaniah will know he looks nothing like a Muslim. He’s a cool, Rasta dub-poet known for his gap-toothed smile that reaches his eyes, his resemblence to Bob Marley and his streetwise lyricism that captured the imagination of teenagers. He is also famous for having turned down an OBE because it reminded him of ‘how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised’. Zephaniah does not mince his words, he is upfront and direct about issues close to his heart such as dyslexia (as a sufferer, he left school aged 13 unable to read or write), street politics and racism.
In this short but funny read Zephaniah leaves behind his poet persona and talks about his pilgrimage to China to study kung fu at a Shaolin Temple. As he battles jetlag, bemoans the lack of Vegan restaurants and revels in being perceived ‘like a god’ (the Chinese aren’t used to Rastafarians); he recounts the oddities of the country, its’ people and reflects on cultural image and how this might or might not match up with reality and how misinformed we really are about other people. Part humour, part travelog and part philosophical musing, this was an entertaining read and shouldn’t be taken seriously. I don’t know how much of it is true, but I really enjoyed the parts about Zephaniah’s dream to study with the monks on a snow-capped mountain. I had the same aspirations (still do!) and it was great to see them mirrored. There were many strange characters along the way such as the ‘kissy kissy’ woman, Shifu Iron Breath and Fat Thumb which were among the most memorable.
China is indeed a strange place if you do not know much about its culture. Kung Fu, or Wu Shu is probably the most famous thing people associate with it. However even I seem to forget that in China, not everyone knows or does kung fu. In fact those like Zephaniah and I who grew up on Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee films that channelled the nobility and spirituality of Zen Buddhism, often end up being severely disappointed by just how commercial and touristic the once-sacred temples have become. At one point Zephaniah muses on how Bodhidharma once left China to find enlightenment, but that everyone now comes to China to find it. There is a faint whiff of disillusionment, as he realises how most of its citizens are doing their utmost to be more ‘Western’.
“The pagodas have Buddhist holy writing carved on them and a history of the life of the deceased, but in China not everything is as it seems at first. Near the gate there was a pagoda that was extremely old. As I walked around it admiring the kung fu fighters using sticks and knives and doing various exercises, I saw a carving of a laptop computer, a digital camera and then a jumbo jet.”
Yet there are moments when Zephaniah finally feels the true spirit of Kung Fu, as on the last day of training he is granted special permission to perform with the monks. Donning his bright orange suit, he goes through each movement, trying to empty his mind and stay in unison with the collective. As he puts it, ‘it was like training in heaven’.
This was an impulse read, but I recommend this as an ideal book for young readers of age 12 upwards who might not like reading much. It’s very quick and would give them instant gratification. It is also quite good for those who might have reading difficulties. If you are interested in short reads then I suggest you check out the www.quickreads.org.uk website for more on this series which is supported by the Arts Council England and World Book Day. You will find titles by authors such as Val McDermid, Maeve Binchy and Ian Rankin who agreed to collaborate. I think it’s a great way to try out authors and genres you might not be that interested in.
August 9, 2017
While it's a quick little read, and pleasant enough, I didn't come away with any real message, or take away information from this short book.
While it would be foolish of me to think that I'd find some deeper understanding in these 100 odd pages, I felt that it offered very little more than a travel blog, and at times, an incredibly formulaic one at that. Disappointingly, beyond a little back story for Bodhidharma, there were no significant take-aways about China or Shaolin, apart from dude really didn't like his hotel room in Dengfeng.
I'll be checking out some of Benjamin's other works, because strangely enough for a book about China, the point that stuck with me the most was his attitude towards British society, politics and racial/religious tensions.
Overall, the "Kung Fu Trip" was OK. It read like a blog, didn't offer any amazing insight, but was an acceptable read.
While it would be foolish of me to think that I'd find some deeper understanding in these 100 odd pages, I felt that it offered very little more than a travel blog, and at times, an incredibly formulaic one at that. Disappointingly, beyond a little back story for Bodhidharma, there were no significant take-aways about China or Shaolin, apart from dude really didn't like his hotel room in Dengfeng.
I'll be checking out some of Benjamin's other works, because strangely enough for a book about China, the point that stuck with me the most was his attitude towards British society, politics and racial/religious tensions.
Overall, the "Kung Fu Trip" was OK. It read like a blog, didn't offer any amazing insight, but was an acceptable read.
February 18, 2017
Short book about Benjamin's trip to China to improve his Kung Fu skills at the (apparently) famous Shaolin Temple. I have never read any of his poetry but expected this to be a bit more lyrically written. However it is quite simplistic in style. A quick and entertaining read.
December 8, 2015
Benjamin Zephaniah is mostly famous for his work as a poet and as a children’s author, but in this book he shows that there’s much more to him than that. Effectively, it’s a collection of travel writing which talks about Benjamin’s time in China, where he pursued his love of kung fu and trained with Shaolin monks.
It’s a fantastic little read, well-written and highly engaging, and possibly one of my favourite Benjamin Zephaniah books so far. Even if you’ve never read any of his work then I suggest you check this out, because it really is fantastic, and fascinating too.
It’s a fantastic little read, well-written and highly engaging, and possibly one of my favourite Benjamin Zephaniah books so far. Even if you’ve never read any of his work then I suggest you check this out, because it really is fantastic, and fascinating too.
February 25, 2012
I found this engaging enough to read in one sitting. I felt like Zephaniah was painting himself to be a saint. I would have liked it better if we saw a flaw or two in his character.
Otherwise it was really all right.
Otherwise it was really all right.
April 23, 2011
OK for a quick read - quite entertaining.
January 6, 2013
A really good enjoyable 'quick read.'
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May 9, 2011A fun read for teenagers ...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews