我的“功夫梦”

我与中国武术结缘的故事要从我的童年说起。2010年，成龙主演的电影《功夫梦》在马达加斯加上映后引起很大的轰动。那时候，我们村里的小孩子在一起玩儿的时候会模仿电影里的一些动作，比如快如闪电的拳法和双刀挥舞的刀法。那时起，中国武术就在我心里埋下了种子。在我读高二的时候，我的姐姐开始在孔子学院学习中文。我每天放学回家、做完作业后，就会趴在姐姐桌上，听她读课文，看她写汉字。姐姐还会跟我分享在孔院学习的各种课程，她说：“孔子学院每个星期三可以上才艺课，可以选择学习各种中国文化，比如中国舞蹈、国画、中国武术等等，还有机会上台表演。如果你考上大学，就可以到孔子学院学中文，学习你喜欢的中国武术。”高考之后，我终于来到我梦寐以求的孔院开始学习中文，这也开启了我与中国武术结下不解之缘的旅程。

My story with Chinese martial arts began in mychildhood. In 2010， when the movie The Karate Kidstarring Jackie Chan was released in Madagascar， itcreated a huge sensation. At that time， the kids in ourvillage would imitate some of the moves from thefilm when we played together， like the lightning-fastpunches and the double-sword techniques. From thatmoment， a seed of Chinese martial arts was plantedin my heart. When I was in my second year of highschool， my older sister began studying Chinese at theConfucius Institute. After school， I would finish myhomework and then lean over her desk to listen toher read Chinese texts and watch her write Chinesecharacters. She would share with me the variouscourses she took at the Confucius Institute， saying，“Every Wednesday， the Confucius Institute offerscultural classes where you can learn about Chineseculture， such as Chinese dance， traditional painting，or martial arts， and you can even perform on stage.If you get into university， you can study Chinese at the Confucius Institute and learn the Chinese martialarts that you love.” After the college entrance exam，I finally entered the Confucius Institute I had longedfor and started learning Chinese， thus beginning mydeep connection with Chinese martial arts.

2018年，我开始学习中文，逐渐发现中文世界远比我想象的更精彩。我迫不及待地做的第一件事就是加入孔院的武术队。武术队的“刀剑枪棍”让我眼花缭乱；武术老师“手似流星眼似电，身似游龙腿似箭”更是令我啧啧称奇。不过，从我正式加入训练的那一天起，我的“苦日子”也开始了。我的个子是武术队所有成员里最矮的，所以每次跳跃就成了我的噩梦——不是歪歪斜斜地扑倒，就是跳得比别人差半截，更别提像其他人那样熟练地演示腾空转体90度，我根本做不到。每每这时，我的脸就会“烧”得像个红红的番茄，豆大的汗珠也顺着脸颊滴在黑色的运动裤上。但我不想放弃，只能一遍接一遍地重复练习着……

In 2018， I started learning Chinese and graduallyrealized that the Chinese-speaking world was farmore fascinating than I had imagined. The first thingI couldn’t wait to do was join the martial arts team atthe Confucius Institute. The team’s diverse styles —sword， spear， staff， and more — dazzled me. Themartial arts instructor moved with incredible agility：“hands like shooting stars， eyes like lightning， bodylike a dragon， and legs like arrows.” I was in awe.However， my “tough days” also began the moment Iofficially started training. I was the shortest memberof the team， so jumping was my nightmare. I wouldeither stumble awkwardly or jump much lower thanothers， let alone perform a smooth 90-degree spin inmidair like the others. At these times， my face wouldturn as red as a tomato， and large beads of sweat would drip frommy che eks ontomy black workoutpants. But I didn’twant to give up， so Ipracticed over andover again…

在中国武术里，我最喜欢的是剑术。一柄剑，舞起来银光乍起，矫若飞龙；时而似水波荡漾；时而如火树银花；时而像蛇一样遍地游走；时而如鹰一般翻飞翱翔。通过努力，我的剑术成为武术队里最出彩的。

Among the various forms of martial arts， myfavorite is swordsmanship. When wielding a sword，its silver flash slices through the air like a soaringdragon; sometimes the movements ripple like waves，shimmer like fireworks; sometimes the sword slitherslike a snake on the ground， and other times it soarslike an eagle in flight. With my hard work， myswordsmanship became the highlight of the martialarts team.

两年的孔院学习中，我从未缺席过武术训练，也从未落下过中文课，努力终将使我收获成果。2020年我参加了第19届“汉语桥”大学生中文比赛，并凭借我最喜爱的中国武术，获得了马达加斯加赛区特等奖。最终，通过自己的努力，以及老师们的帮助和指导，我又一鼓作气拿到了第19届“汉语桥”世界大学生中文比赛非洲总冠军。虽然因为疫情，我没能如愿去中国参加总决赛，但我成了孔院的武术老师，以另一种方式实现了我的梦想。每每看到学员们在一次次跳跃和翻飞中拼尽全力，汗水涔涔，我就会回想起自己在孔院学习的时光，好似有一股热情从心底滋生。

During my two years at the Confucius Institute，I never missed a single martial arts practice， nor didI slack off in my Chinese studies. Hard work alwayspays off. In 2020， I participated in the 19th “ChineseBridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for WorldCollege Students， and with my love for Chinesemartial arts， I won the grand prize in the MadagascarRegional. With perseverance and the support of myteachers， I went on to win the African championship.Although the pandemic prevented me from going toChina for the global finals， I became a martial artsteacher at the Confucius Institute， fulfilling my dreamin a different way. Watching my students give theirall in every leap and flip， drenched in sweat， remindsme of my own days of learning here， as if a wave ofpassion rises from the depths of my heart.

石阶小路时时语，迎面回廊处处花。我感谢孔院的培养、老师们的鼓励，让我能学习中国武术，而且还能回到孔院教授中国武术，实现我的“功夫梦”。

I am deeply grateful for the Confucius Institute’straining and my teachers’ encouragement， whichallowed me to study Chinese martial arts and laterreturn to teach it， realizing my “Kungfu dream.”

现在我还有一个梦，就是希望我能到中国继续深造，然后回到马达加斯加，把中国的文化和语言教给更多的马达加斯加人，让他们走进中国和中文的美好世界。

Now I have another dream. I hope to further mystudies in China， then return to Madagascar to teachmore people about Chinese culture and language，allowing them to experience the beauty of China andthe Chinese language.