Iron and Silk

[RAF]

Does anyone know what became of Mark Salzman author of Iron and Silk and the movie Iron and Silk?

How about his relationship with Pan Qing Fu?

[Kristoffer]

nope sorry,,
do u know of any reliable internet sites from wich u can buy that movie?

~K~
"maybe not in combat..... but think of the chicks man, the chicks!"

[RAF]

Kristoffer:

No, rented out of Blockbuster. Just wondered. I met Pan Qing Fu a couple of times about 3 years ago and just wondered what ever happened to Salzman. The film is actually kind of funny and the attempt at Chen's taiji, well, kinda of goofy (but the actress was not a martial artist).

You could probably order the tape from Amazon.com.

[apoweyn]

Salzman is still writing a lot. But I don't think he practices gung fu anymore. Something about a bad back injury basically making it impossible.

With Salzman stateside and Pan Qingfu in Ontario, Canada, I imagine they're in touch. But I don't know for sure.


Stuart B.

[shaolinboxer]

Another fun book by him is The Laughing Sutra.

[apoweyn]

i agree. i dug his take on the monkey myth.

[GeneChing]

Salzman married Jessica Yu a few years back. She won an Oscar for a short documentary on someone in an iron lung. We used to fence against each other as teenagers and I used to arm her mother Connie (who was a nationally-rated fencer). I sort of lost touch with them when I dropped out of the fencing world...

Gene Ching
Asst. Publisher
Kungfu Qigong Magazine & www.KUNGFUmagazine.com

[apoweyn]

okay, that's pretty **** cool, Gene.

[RAF]

Thanks, Gene and others.

Watched the movie the other nite with a friend from Beijing who is not in the martial arts. She thought it was a pretty good potential for a love story and was disappointed in how it ended.

Also wondered about the relationship with Pan Qing Fu.

[apoweyn]

apparently, that's pretty much how it ended in reality (if the book represents reality). it's a little different, as i gather they had to combine some characters and plotlines to fit into a standard movie time.

but essentially...

[GeneChing]

Salzman just got mentioned on the American Shaolin by Matt Polly thread, and it occurred to me that I never mentioned his latest effort with his wife Jessica Yu. Jessica just did a documentary film called Protagonist. Mark is the focus of one of the segments. It looks quite interesting. There was an S.F. showing a few months back but I couldn't make it. I started to follow up on it, but the story grew cold and I moved on to other topics.

Also, in regards to Master Pan, see our FEB 2000 issue: Pan Qing Fu's Joint Locks: Qin Na's paralyzing Grip By Dianne Naughton

[Chief_Suicide]

I saw some clips for that documentary on youtube.

I loved both books. I wasn't trying to compare the two. I read Iron and Silk because is was mentioned in Polly's book. If it wasn't for Polly, I wouldn't have known Iron and Silk existed.

They are different stories, and both are enjoyable in their own rights.

The only thing close to either of these stories I have experienced was a trip to Australia 10 years ago before I was married. In my story there is no Kung Fu, Sex, or great teachers.

I only recently started to practice (take lessons) in kung fu, and I found Matthew and Mark's stories inspirational.

There are other books along a similar line (going to China to study Kung Fu) but I believe Mark and Matthew's stories are the best. Great inspiration.

[GeneChing]

'Fall Down Seven Times, Get up Eight' is a biblical and Bodhidharma quote.

Salzman speaks about time studying kung fu
Nate Perez, Reporter
October 19, 2011

After graduating from Yale University, Mark Salzman was offered a job in China where he taught English at a medical school and studied kung fu for two years. He wrote his most notable title, “Iron and Silk,” based on his experiences in China. Later, the memoir was turned into a film where Salzman played himself.

Growing up, Salzman never intended on being a writer. He was obsessed with martial arts and Chinese culture. He wasn’t fond of reading and he was an extremely awkward child, petite with a high voice. “I only read books that were assigned to me,” said Salzman.

Salzman grew up in Greenwich, Conn. and attended Yale University where he originally intended on studying music, but changed his major to Chinese Language and Literature.

Salzman gave three presentations on Oct. 11 at the Fireside Room. His presentation titled “Fall Down Seven Times, Get up Eight: Chapters from the Writing Life” discussed the challenges of writing and focused on three books: “Iron and Silk” described his time spent in China, “True Notebooks: A Writer’s Year at Juvenile Hall” described his experiences on teaching young inmates writing skills and “Lying Awake,” his novel about a nun experiencing spiritual visions due to a health issue where the nun must make a decision between a life-saving operation or her spiritual quest.

Salzman seemed particularly fond of his time spent at the juvenile detention center. Salzman said, “the grammar wasn’t great, but the stories and the potential were phenomenal. That’s what writing is to me.” To this day, Salzman still keeps in contact with some of the boys that he encountered in the juvenile system.

Despite Salzman being an accomplished author, he still faced many challenges writing his books. He resorted to unusual methods such as wearing foil while writing and going to an authors resort in order to finish his work.

All the seats in the Fireside room seemed taken and there were even people sitting on the floor in order to catch the event.

David Guerrero, 19, said, “I didn’t know who he was. I saw the poster in the library and the description sounded interesting, so I decided to go.”

Salzman was the Cerro Author chosen for 2011. Reference Librarian Marci Lingo organized the event. Each year, Bakersfield College receives spending money for events like these where speakers well suited for BC students give presentations.

The library purchased copies of Salzman’s books to specifically be distributed to students for free on Sept. 14.

Salzman currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children. For now, Salzman has no plans to write another book.