A childhood fascination with Bruce Lee movies leaves an Italian as comfortable with martial arts as with piano music. Zhang Yue reports

Italian pianist Moreno Donadel says he finds it hard to say whether he is more of a pianist or more of a martial artist, as both kungfu and music are now indispensable parts of his life. "This is similar to how I sometimes find it hard to say whether I belong to Italy or to China, after living in China for 12 years and going back to Italy only once a year for a family reunion,"he says.

At 6, when most children his age in Italy are largely clueless about China - "the mysterious land of the East" - Donadel was already learning Chinese kungfu in his hometown Conegllano, a small city near Venice.

His connection with Chinese martial arts began at almost the same time that he started learning the piano. In the early 1980s, the child Donadel was fascinated by the spectacular kungfu he saw in Bruce Lee movies.

"My father was against my learning of the martial arts in the beginning, as he was afraid that I would hurt my fingers and put my piano playing at risk," he says. "Luckily, my mother was very supportive of my passion and put me through weekly classes, without my father's knowledge."

It was only when Donadel won a martial arts competition in Italy at the age of 12 that his father finally showed support for his son's pursuit.

At that time, the young boy was already being hailed as a piano talent with more than 30 piano awards in Italy as well as on the international arena, including the championship of the Montesilvano International Music Competition - under his belt.

"I've never feared that practicing kungfu would injure any part of my body, as I understand that the essence of martial arts is to achieve harmony between movement and balance, between mind and body," Donadel says. "This is very similar to what we Westerners try to express through music, only playing music looks more elegant."

To better understand the essence of Chinese martial arts, Donadel began to read classical Chinese literature, such as The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong Yong), in primary school.

"I read many books about Taoism in the Italian language when I was young and found many of them fascinating," he says. "Taoism lays great emphasis on harmony and change, which I think makes a lot of sense in real life."

After years of practice, Donadel won the International Kungfu Competition in Shanghai when he was 23.

Although it was not his first visit to China, he realized after the competition that his expressions of Chinese kungfu were still different from those of the Chinese.

"I began to think about staying in the country for a while longer," he says.

Even as he wavered, a patch of bad luck made the decision for him.

"One day, I was waiting in the lobby of a bank for a friend and went to use the washroom, leaving the coat on the bench," he recalls. "When I returned, it was gone, along with all my belongings, including my passport, flight ticket, credit card and money."

At that time, he had just enrolled in a three-month course at Beijing Sport University and had yet to pay the tuition fees.

"All this made me feel that (they were indications) I must stay," he says.

"I had to borrow money from friends" and to pay them back. Donadel began to play at bars and nightclubs, while devoting the daytime to learning kungfu.

When he had cleared all his debts, and also completed his course, he found himself very reluctant to leave the country.

His deep attachment to China and its culture remains strong.

In August, he joined 10,000 others to give a qigong performance in the square in front of the Bird's Nest, to celebrate the second anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was interviewed by a number of media organizations.

"I am often asked why I came to China and why I continue to be interested in martial arts," he says. "All I can say is that it feels like an integral part of Chinese culture, and (for me) is the same as playing the piano."

Donadel spends five hours in the morning practicing traditional Chinese martial arts, such as taijiquan (or Shadow Boxing), baguazhang (or 8 Trigrams Palm), whenever his piano performances and other job assignments permit.

His main job, however, is touring China and the world every year with his piano performances, modeling for brands, such as Nokia and George Armani, playing in bars and clubs, and sometimes at special occasions, such as weddings.

"Continuous practice of Chinese martial arts has helped me keep fit and in good shape for my job as a model," he says.

Donadel also teaches at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy once a week. He has been a teacher there since 1999.

Wu Cong, 23, has been learning from him for more than four years.

"I met Donadel when I started learning jazz at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy, and he was my piano instructor," he says. "I was deeply impressed by his patience, especially when I had difficulties in understanding the music."

While most piano classes last from 45 minutes to an hour, it is quite common for Donadel to spend a whole afternoon teaching one student.

He says patience is just one of many virtues that living in China has given him.

"Chinese culture has enriched my life so much that I feel I must guide Chinese students to understand this Western instrument," he says.