我與中國武術(shù)結(jié)緣的故事要從我的童年說起。2010年，成龍主演的電影《功夫夢》在馬達(dá)加斯加上映后引起很大的轟動。那時候，我們村里的小孩子在一起玩兒的時候會模仿電影里的一些動作，比如快如閃電的拳法和雙刀揮舞的刀法。那時起，中國武術(shù)就在我心里埋下了種子。在我讀高二的時候，我的姐姐開始在孔子學(xué)院學(xué)習(xí)中文。我每天放學(xué)回家、做完作業(yè)后，就會趴在姐姐桌上，聽她讀課文，看她寫漢字。姐姐還會跟我分享在孔院學(xué)習(xí)的各種課程，她說：“孔子學(xué)院每個星期三可以上才藝課，可以選擇學(xué)習(xí)各種中國文化，比如中國舞蹈、國畫、中國武術(shù)等等，還有機(jī)會上臺表演。如果你考上大學(xué)，就可以到孔子學(xué)院學(xué)中文，學(xué)習(xí)你喜歡的中國武術(shù)?！备呖贾螅医K于來到我夢寐以求的孔院開始學(xué)習(xí)中文，這也開啟了我與中國武術(shù)結(jié)下不解之緣的旅程。

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，我開始學(xué)習(xí)中文，逐漸發(fā)現(xiàn)中文世界遠(yuǎn)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術(shù)隊。武術(shù)隊的“刀劍槍棍”讓我眼花繚亂；武術(shù)老師“手似流星眼似電，身似游龍腿似箭”更是令我嘖嘖稱奇。不過，從我正式加入訓(xùn)練的那一天起，我的“苦日子”也開始了。我的個子是武術(shù)隊所有成員里最矮的，所以每次跳躍就成了我的噩夢——不是歪歪斜斜地?fù)涞?，就是跳得比別人差半截，更別提像其他人那樣熟練地演示騰空轉(zhuǎn)體90度，我根本做不到。每每這時，我的臉就會“燒”得像個紅紅的番茄，豆大的汗珠也順著臉頰滴在黑色的運(yùn)動褲上。但我不想放棄，只能一遍接一遍地重復(fù)練習(xí)著……

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…

在中國武術(shù)里，我最喜歡的是劍術(shù)。一柄劍，舞起來銀光乍起，矯若飛龍；時而似水波蕩漾；時而如火樹銀花；時而像蛇一樣遍地游走；時而如鷹一般翻飛翱翔。通過努力，我的劍術(shù)成為武術(shù)隊里最出彩的。

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.

兩年的孔院學(xué)習(xí)中，我從未缺席過武術(shù)訓(xùn)練，也從未落下過中文課，努力終將使我收獲成果。2020年我參加了第19屆“漢語橋”大學(xué)生中文比賽，并憑借我最喜愛的中國武術(shù)，獲得了馬達(dá)加斯加賽區(qū)特等獎。最終，通過自己的努力，以及老師們的幫助和指導(dǎo)，我又一鼓作氣拿到了第19屆“漢語橋”世界大學(xué)生中文比賽非洲總冠軍。雖然因為疫情，我沒能如愿去中國參加總決賽，但我成了孔院的武術(shù)老師，以另一種方式實現(xiàn)了我的夢想。每每看到學(xué)員們在一次次跳躍和翻飛中拼盡全力，汗水涔涔，我就會回想起自己在孔院學(xué)習(xí)的時光，好似有一股熱情從心底滋生。

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.

石階小路時時語，迎面回廊處處花。我感謝孔院的培養(yǎng)、老師們的鼓勵，讓我能學(xué)習(xí)中國武術(shù)，而且還能回到孔院教授中國武術(shù)，實現(xiàn)我的“功夫夢”。

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.”

現(xiàn)在我還有一個夢，就是希望我能到中國繼續(xù)深造，然后回到馬達(dá)加斯加，把中國的文化和語言教給更多的馬達(dá)加斯加人，讓他們走進(jìn)中國和中文的美好世界。

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.