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JACKIE PART TWO 10 FOCUS - JANUARY 2010 *€ross the desert bare, man Pve breathed the mountain air, man... Travel I’ve had my share, man > ve) been everywhere... - Hank Snow, 1962." I’ve been everywhere, man... t Port Perry’s Jackie Chan understands full well what country music poe Hank Snow was singing about. In fact, he could likely add a from his to that song’s lengthy lyri- cal ist And by following ‘his guiding philosophy — to seize life’s offer- 7 ings whenever available — he’s gathered some amazing stories along the way. Progressing through his second-degree black belt in Shaolin karate, Jackie aspired to train in China under the monks whose order originat- ed the art. With the support of his local karate master and the Shaolin temple’s Canadian liaison, Jackie was accepted into the exclusive pro- gram as he finished high school. Call it charisma. Or, a less spiritual explanation, the good fortune to possess a naturally likeable nature. Or maybe life’s most passion- ate participants create their own “breaks.” But however you analyze it, one fact remains: people of all ages and stripes are drawn to Jackie Chan by force of character. Seemingly chance events have contributed building blocks for his future. One such meeting serves as an example. An exchange teacher from Australia invited Jackie for a short layover en route to his Shaolin training in China. That “visit” wound up lasting six months, and started Jackie on a largely-unplanned backpacking tour of the country.