Jumping across rooftops or chopping bricks in half – that’s cinema. But real-life kung fu, as the West refers to Chinese martial arts (it’s “wushu” in China), is so much more than that, as Dahai Shao discovered when visiting a martial arts school in Bern. Talk to Swiss people about China and they think of chop suey and kung fu. “Cooking and kung fu are our two best-known skills among the Swiss. Stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li are very popular here,” Wu Yongmei said. And it’s thanks to kung fu that she met the man of her life. Fifteen years ago, she founded her school in Bern; then she married Fan Qiang. Both have become seventh-rank instructors, the highest in Switzerland. The couple are very proud to have trained many Swiss martial arts champions. But their greatest satisfaction – more than the medals – is to have been able to turn their passion into a job.