By Izzy Connors ’18

As a first grader, Julia Feldman ’18 had no idea kung fu would play such an instrumental role in her life. It all began as part of an afterschool program at her elementary school in California where students could sign up for an array of different activities. “One of the ones I signed up for was kung fu,” Feldman said. “And I’ve been doing it almost every year since.”

Kung fu is a Chinese branch of martial arts that is similar to karate. It promotes discipline, resilience, skill and self defence. To Feldman, self defense and confidence are crucial. “The thing I have come to appreciate and like most about kung fu is how safe it makes me feel,” she said. “It’s really great to know exactly what I would do in the event of an emergency situation where I would have to use it.”

Even after relocating to Westport, Feldman continued her kung fu journey at Shaolin Kung Fu in Westport. At Shaolin Kung Fu, participants practice and develop “self discipline and focus for your child, or fitness and self defense for you” according to the Shaolin Kung Fu website.

After years of hard work and dedication attending countless classes and developing her skills while also balancing her school work, Feldman had the fateful black belt test. “It happened that my black belt test was the weekend after midterms last year, so basically it was the most exhausting week of my life,” Feldman said. “I had to study and practice every day.”

Nevertheless, Feldman earned her first-degree black belt and is now reaping the rewards. “It definitely feels rewarding to have my black belt after working so hard for so long,” she said. “I feel like it makes a certain level of ‘Okay, I can do this confidently on my own now.’”

Even though she has achieved a long-term goal, this is not the final step in Feldman’s kung fu journey. “Now that I have my black belt, I kind of have clearance to learn some of the harder, more traditional Chinese techniques and forms, which is really cool,” Feldman said.  

After students receive their black belts, the structure of the classes change.  There are no longer defined goals, but students can go on to earn higher subdivisions of black belts, which denote more experience. These classes focus more on individually-generated goals and Feldman hopes to go on to earn future degrees in black belts. “This is definitely not the end of kung fu for me,” Feldman said.