Prologue and Book 1: Wanderer, Chapters 1-3, 'The First Step', 'Lost in Translation', and 'Sleeping Beauty' Summary

Matt is a young American man who has a list of things he wants to improve about himself. He decides to drop out of college for a couple of years to study kung fu in China, at the Shaolin Temple. He arrives, but it is not quite what he expected. At first he is clueless, but he begins to learn more about Chinese culture and to make friends with the monks. His kung fu steadily improves until he is able to defeat some of his opponents. His coach enters him into a martial arts tournament in the nearby city. After much hard training, Matt comes second in the competition. By the time he leaves Shaolin...