The morning is dull, then suddenly made fresh with an instant message from Yannick Van Dam, a Frenchman true to form only in his attempt to quote Napoleon. "Generally, historians agree [with] Napoleon's version about China's rise-when the giant China wakes up, the whole world will be shaken," Van Dam writes.

I recall the pleasant talk with this man several weeks earlier, when we were sitting at the green garden yard of Beijing Language and Culture University, where most foreigners are attracted by the thick academic atmosphere to study Chinese.

But Van Dam is attracted here by something else.

He and his Z Team may well be the first French martial arts actors producing in China, as he claims. He beams at this idea, perhaps seeking a legacy akin to those he quotes. Or perhaps he identifies with the emergence of his new homeland onto the world stage.

Then again, he may be here out of necessity. His vitality, almost childish with enthusiastic gesturing, appears buttressed by the force of Chinese kung fu. Van Dam was driven to China, after all, by a teenage dream involving the art of Chinese war.

"With a sword in my hand, I am riding a horse across a far distance as an ancient Chinese warrior," recalls Van Dam, thrilled to recount the scenario of his dream.

In fact, casting a first glance at this exotic man-his sentimental blue eyes and skillfully carved body-I was deeply impressed by his artistic flair. He's convincing enough to believe there could be another martial arts star named Van Dam soon. If only he had a better-sized investment.

Stick figure

Born in the French Alpine region of Haute-Savoie, Van Dam was skinny and weak compared with his peers when he was young, so he began to learn martial art skills at the early age of 14.

After attending officers school, he was haunted by a vivid dream at age 20-the same one in which he had envisioned himself as an ancient Chinese warrior as a teenager. There could be but one solution: He left home for China.

His earnestness and perseverance allowed him to become the second foreigner ever to live and train at the Shaolin Monastery for three years as a disciple of Buddhism and kung fu.

Although he returned to his family after the training was complete and worked as a security officer for the World Health Organization in Geneva, his China complex could not be resisted. After a decade, he returned to pursue his version of the American dream in this booming nation.

Dueling for attention

No doubt, Van Dam has big dreams he hopes will unfold on the silver screen. So far his debut has been modest.

The Duel, a short flick consisting entirely of a full-blown kung fu fight, was selected as the best of the year in 2004 by a professional martial arts cinema website, though Van Dam and his partners haven't seen any turnover and even they themselves haven't been paid yet.