School of hard knocks

Like many fellow Americans, Colin Malick used to think kung fu was more of a "Hollywood thing" rather than martial arts.

But after arriving in China last year and taking up lessons at the Shaolin Tagou International Communication Center in Dengfeng for eight months, the 23-year-old has realized that kung fu is not child's play.

Malick, from the US state of Oregon, said he trains for six to eight hours every day.