Sophie Laplace’s romance with Taiwan began when she arrived in the country about five years ago in pursuit of her lifelong passion — martial arts.
Growing up in Paris, Laplace has always been interested in quan (拳, Chinese-style boxing) even though her parents considered boxing “too violent.”
“I forgot how I became fond of quan. I probably developed this interest after watching it on TV and thought it was really cool,” she said in fluent Mandarin during an interview with the Taipei Times on Friday.
Laplace recalled that as a child, she had watched numerous movies starring martial arts legend Bruce Lee (李小龍), and later watched films by martial arts movie star Jet Li (李連杰).
Her passion for this style of kung fu, characterized by extended hand and leg movement, began to grow at the age of 16.
“I love martial arts, but I prefer Chinese martial arts because I feel more comfortable when practicing its routines,” she said.
“[When doing other styles like] boxing and Thai boxing, it is very easy to get injured because you have to fight your opponent and it hurts. They are usually not as concerned about human body structure as Chinese martial arts is,” she said.
She had spent two years learning the Yang-style taichiquan (楊氏太極拳) — a style of hand and leg stretch movement created by Yang Fu-kuei (楊福魁) in the 19th century — taekwondo and a little boxing when she was in Paris.
But she was eager to find out more about the art of quan after the lessons in Paris.
That was when the idea of coming to Taiwan crossed her mind.
Finding that many martial arts masters had moved to Taiwan from China after the Cultural Revolution, Laplace decided to follow the footsteps of these masters.
The first place she visited in Taipei in pursuit of the masters was Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, where she met a National Taiwan University (NTU) student who invited Laplace to join the university’s Quan Xiu Club (拳修社).
Having practiced for four years with the club, Laplace, currently a sophomore at NTU’s Department of Forestry and Resource Conservation, was recently elected president of the club.
The election made her the first international student to head the club and one of the very few NTU club presidents who are not Taiwanese nationals.
As president of the club, Laplace leads club members in practicing routines of different styles of quan at their weekly gatherings.
“For newcomers, I lead them in practicing basics, while old members practice Taizu Fist (太祖拳), baguazhang (八卦掌) and taijiquan,” Laplace said.
Laplace, who said she was particularly fond of taijiquan and baguazhang, often performs the routines alone or in groups during NTU’s school anniversary.
“But I’m still not good enough,” she said.
Having lived in Taiwan since the fall of 2004, Laplace’s passion for martial arts has now escalated into a desire to call it her permanent home.
Laplace, 25, said she planned to apply for naturalization within a month because she was afraid she might be forced to leave Taiwan after graduation.
“I would feel more relieved [if I had Taiwanese citizenship] because I would not be driven out of here if anything like war happens,” Laplace said.
Her decision to change nationality also had something to do with her love for the food, weather, scenery and people of Taiwan.
“My favorite is moon cakes. During the last Autumn Festival, I ate 80 moon cakes in two weeks,” she said.
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