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American Jake Pinnick comes from a small town called Kewanee.

Pinnick said when he told friends and family he wanted to go to the Wudang Kungfu Academy in China, the response was typical. "It's not a usual thing to say, but it is pretty normal for kids to want to get out of a place like Kewanee. Most kids say something like they want to move to Hollywood and become an actor, " said the 30-year-old. "When I first thought about it, it was daydreaming for myself, too."

Once he found himself at the academy, Pinnick said fitting in was softened by other foreigners who were in the area and a part of the school. Getting used to the way of life was surprisingly easy given the peaceful nature to it. Pinnick said after a while, he found himself more at home in Wudang than he ever felt back home in Kewanee. Locals were more than welcoming and willing to engage.

"The culture shock wasn't that bad. Surprisingly, I find I have more of that going back to America now... learning the language did take some time, but everyone around the school was familiar with foreigners, so we had a lot of fun speaking broken English and Chinese back and forth at the start."

After he settled into a routine, Pinnick set about engaging himself in Chinese culture, including Kungfu training. He was also attracted by the philosophical tradition most well-known for the idea of living in harmony with the universe.

Pinnick said he had to go home after the first six months and immediately wanted to return to China, feeling as if it had now become his home more than America, and he had begun a process of rewriting himself as a person overseas.

His life now goes around training, teaching and studying. He graduated from the academy in 2014 and still helps teach there.

Pinnick said the goal is to one day return to America and teach what he has learned. Looking back on his amazing journey, Pinnick said he has grown by leaps and bounds from a small-town American kid who had a daydream he could not shake.