This blog outlines my experiences whilst living in Northern China at Siping City Shaolin Martial arts academy.
View the blog from the beginning (January 2010) and click on most images to enlarge.
On monday morning we went for a walk on the new platform that has been built a long the lake. The corn is also ready to be harvested, to think that less then 3 months ago all of these plants were just tiny shoots. The rest of the day wasn't too intensive we just did some stamina training.
Last week we were told that the academy had been invited to the opening of a new Buddhist temple in Liaoning province. Almost all students had agreed to go, but this had changed to only 7 including myself. Because of the sudden change in numbers I was asked on Monday evening if I could perform a shaolin form on Tuesday afternoon. I said I would try, after practicing for 30 minutes I decided that it would be best if I don't perform and make a fool of myself on national TV. Needless to say they weren't impressed with my decision and I had also decided I didn't even want to go watch, because I don't like long bus rides, especially in uncomfortable buses.
sunrise at 5:30 now
So on Tuesday and Wednesday I had the day off which was an amazing change and I did nothing, besides go for a short walk and do some major work on my blog. The weather had also changed drastically, it was much colder. It is a very strange cold because the sky is clear and the sun is shining, the reports say it's 18 - 20 but my body is telling me its not more than 12 degrees. The problem is the wind factoe and the cold wind from Siberia is just icy cold.
On Thursday we had the morning off because the students that were away only got back at 2am that morning, I was also glad to find out that I didn't miss anything by not going. In the afternoon however training continued like usually and we had to sprint up the driveway again, but only 5 sets and no frog jumps so it wasn't too bad, however I was feeling sick from the food and the cold wind wasn't helping much either.
For the remainder of the session we just did the basic Sanda punches and in the evening we just did some kicks.
Praying mantis (top) after eating a butterfly
On Friday morning we ran to Yehe and then also decided to run back, I didn't really feel up to running back because both my knees hurt really bad. Dan told me to get a cab but I didn't listen so then less than half way back I couldn't run anymore and ended up walking back, which took forever.
In the afternoon our shifu was teaching the kids Sanda so Dan and I just did some weights.
Dan and Wang Hong Li (8)
The weekend was really boring I did nothing, just relaxed and did some washing, also watched the Expendables which is a terrible movie, 2010 has been a terrible year for movies.
The biggest change this week is the weather, usually the rising sun and its rays wake you up but now its the alarm clock instead. At 5am it's still dark outside, just over a month ago it was getting light at 3:30am. The temperature has also drastically dropped, for morning runs long pants and a sweater are now a necessity.
pads may look funny but are kind of necessary
On Monday we had our annual test day and this time we had to perform, I didn't really feel like sparring because my shin was still swollen from the previous week but in the end we decided to anyway. Daniel also performed two 3 minute rounds of wrestling before sparring with me so he was pretty tired.
On Tuesday morning we felt pretty battered and bruised, Daniel had to go to Siping for his Visa. During morning training I spent most of the time sprinting up and down the drive way and doing frog jumps, I was really exhausted.
Daniel was back in the afternoon but didn't manage to get his Visa sorted. Because my legs hurt so much so the shifu suggested we do some weights, which I thought would be pretty relaxing. We had to do 10x 20 Barbell pushes, 10x 100rep dumbell curls, 10x 30rep push ups, 10x 30rep elevated crunches, 10x 20rep bench press. This felt very unpleasant and my entire upper body was trembling when I was done.
Wednesday morning Dan and I felt so stiff from all the weightlifting we had to take the morning off, we just did some stretching in the training hall. In the afternoon we were back in full swing, after a strenuous 30 minute warm up and 30 minutes of continuous sprinting and jumping we then had to punch and kick the bags continuously for 2 minutes, we had to repeat this 10 times and got a 1 minute break each time.
The weather on Thursday was terrible, it was rainy and freezing, Dan had to go back to Siping for his Visa and this time they managed to sort it out. For morning training I had to run to the bridge and back with Umit, when we got back we had to hold the handstand against the wall for 1:30 mins, my head felt like it was going to burst. Afterwards we practised take downs on the matts, after 30 minutes of having our wind knocked out we then had to do 8x 30rep leg up crunches. In the afternoon we practised kicking and bunch combinations with hand pads.
The end of the week was much anticipated but we knew it was still another 4 painful hours away. In the morning we got bombarded with intense stamina exercises.
6x full speed sprints (50m)
6x frog jumps (40m)
6x backwards frog jumps (40m)
after this my legs were shaking
we then had to do
10x 30rep leg up crunches
3x 50rep backwards crunches
In the afternoon it had stopped raining and so we had to go for our run through the nearby villages (+-10km), it was pure torture and on our way back to the academy our shifu caught up with us on a bicycle and told us to run to the nearby birdge (+-3km) before returning to the academy.
The weekend was awful, I spent the whole of Saturday in my room, every step was just really painful, clearly we had slightly over trained. On Sunday my legs still hadn't recovered and I went for a walk to try and loosen them up but it didn't help much, not even stretching helped.
I got up at 5:00 like usual which was much more difficult than usual because my standard rhythm had been effected by all the travelling. After the 5:30 line up I showed my parents around including the new platform they are currently building. After breakfast (one my parents wont miss) I relaxed a bit and at 8:00 I didn't train however Dan did train and my parents observed.
At 10:00 we sat outside the academy and talked a bit. After lunch the cabs arrived and we headed off to Siping, we had and hour to spare so we just waited at the train station for our train (#1528). We received hundreds of strange glances in the waiting room. The train was only 5 minutes late (good for Chinese standard trains), the train ride was pleasant and we arrived in Shenyang at 17:00. We had Mac Donald's for dinner which was the only "acceptable" looking "food" outlet at the train station. After the meal I got a cab and we bade each other fond farewells, it was only a few days that we had spent together but it was true family time.
After wards Dan and I went to the CRH waiting room which is for the #D (high speed) trains. Our train (#D177) arrived on time and we arrived back in Siping only an hour and 20 minutes later. Because it was already 20:30 we decided that it would be best to spend the night in Siping to recover instead of heading back to the academy and waking up at 5:30 feeling exhausted.
Who does this to their little girl ?
We went to the Jin Li Hao, it was Dan's first time there and we was pretty impressed by the cleanliness and luxury. We stayed there until 14:00 next day then took a hot bath and shower. I took Dan to Mister Lee's which is a famous franchise here in China it's logo is almost identical to that off KFC, but instead has a Chinese face on it. They serve really good portions of noodles for 10RMB very lean, low in fat and nutritious. We got back to the academy in time for dinner and relaxed.
Wednesday was really cold about 14 degrees and the training session was intensive, in the morning we ran to the T. Afterwards the 30 minute long warm up I was dripping with sweat, I then had to do 400 punch variations and 300 kick variations. I was so exhausted but despite that I had to go outside and do sprints and then hold upside down handstands. Afternoon training was no different we spent the full 2 hours doing extreme cardio exercises and my heart rate was constantly peaking. By evening training we were so exhausted we just relaxed. In the evening Josh left to go home for good, he was here for 11 months and was very happy to finally go back home.
Thursday too was intensive, after warming up we had to punch and kick the bags for 2 minutes without stopping we had to repeat this 3 times. Afterwards we had to do some sparring, after about 10 minutes Dan had sprained his toe and I had a huge blue lump on my right shin from kicking and blocking. For the rest of the day we just did the warm up and a lot of stretches.
The last training day of the week was very anticipated. I had to go and run through the 2 nearby villages. It is about 9km and I had made a mental note to push myself which is what I did. The whole run went really well, it was just the last bit back up to the academy that was mentally and physically daunting but I managed to keep going without stopping. If I have learned anything here it is the ability to keep going even beyond my normal limits, when pain from lactic acid build up is just telling you to stop. The run took 45 minutes, after the run my shifu forced me into various power stretches which were extremely painful. After training Thomas left to go home but he will be back in November. In the afternoon I just did some weights. The old shifu also came with his cousin to collect some of his things, we gave both shifus a slab of swiss chocolate.
On the weekend we blew up some more stuff, like an old broken toy helicopter.
On monday morning Dan and I headed off to Siping, we had decided to go to Shenyang the day before our flight so we wouldn't need to rush from the railway station to the airport in peak our traffic and risk the chance of missing our flight. Also it would give us some time to have a look at Shenyang which is a "real" city when compared to Siping. Before leaving Dan got a quick haircut for 10 kuai which even included a wash before and after, the cut even turned out pretty good.
The train ride to shenyang wasn't that bad, the train was air conditioned and luckily we were surrounded by middle class chinese people and not tshirt less and sweaty farmers. The journey took about 2 hours and we arrived at the south station. We took a cab and the cab driver took us in a huge circle and then ended up dropping us off about 3 blocks from where we were supposed to go. After walking for about 20 minutes we found the hostel that the lonely planet had recommended. It was in a old and very communistic style building the price for a double room was 128 kuai which included tv, aircon and a shower, however there was no internet.
After dropping off our stuff we headed straight out to look around and find some food. A 5 minute walk led us to a huge congregation of people watching some famous chinese singer. We then walked on and found a discount shopping mall for brands such as nike, adidas, puma, lining (very famous chinese brand)... the prices were really good considering that normal prices of these brands are more than back home.
When leaving this mall we spotted a even larger one across the road, it was chaotic, most shops were offering specials ranging from 20 - 80% off. The discounts in China can be confusing because they don't use percentages. Instead they just use a number from 1 - 10 indicating the fraction that you are paying. So if a pair of shoes is marked as 2 it means you are paying 20% or effectively 80% discount. I was extremely tempted to buy some things but decided against it because I already have more than enough clothing here in China.
At this point we were rather hungry so we went down to the food court and after having a look at home made dumplings, bread soaked in oil, pigs noses, ducks heads & feet and other chinese specialities Dan and I decided to look elsewhere. So we left the mall and spotted a magical golden yellow M in the distance. Dan hadn't had Mc Donalds in about 3 years and my last time was over 8 months ago so we decided to have some junk food. We both ordered a Big mac (23RMB for meal) as well as a Spicy chicken burger (14RMB) with fries and coke. The MSG on the fries and the soft texture of the fake beef and soft bread complemented each other so well it was just so delicious especially when washing it down with some ice cold coke. We both agreed that the meal was in fact really good and possibly more nutritious than any of the food we receive back at the academy. Afterwards we had an Oreo Mcflurry which too was was delicious but a bit too much.
We did stay out too long because our flight (HO1128) was at 11:30 am the next day. At about 8am the next morning we made our way to the airport and we were checked in by 9:30am. Finding breakfast wasn't easy at the airport, the Chinese buffets were shocking and the fresh fruit at 25 RMB per apple (3 times more than at Zurich airport) was just a rip off. In the end we found the standard meal consumed by millions of Chinese daily, a pack of noodles in a bowl for 10RMB just add hot water and eat, flavoring is provided a sachet of pure MSG, a pack of oil with some more MSG and some dried bits of beef and celery definitely not bad but definitely not as good as the Mc Donalds. Our aircraft (Airbus A320) arrived on time, this was my first time flying Juneyao airlines and it wasn't as bad as I had expected, we even got some food which was pretty good (some more noodles but with real beef this time).
We arrived at Shanghai Pudong airport at 13:30 pm, our parents had arrived that morning at 7:30 am so we were going to meet them at the aiport. We discovered the Maglev (acronym for Magnetic Levitation) when leaving the airport, something from the future a train that travels from the aiport to the city at 430km/h, designed in a small village somewhere in Germany it holds the title of the fastest train in the world in use everyday. We bought our tickets for 50RMB which is 10 times more than the subway and 5 times more than the airport bus but it was like a theme park ride the acceleration up to 200 km/h was slow and gradual but after that we rocketed up to 431km/h before leveling off. Only 8 minutes had passed and we had completed the trip 30km from Pudang Airport to Longyang Road.
Had we taken the subway we the same journey would have taken over 45 minutes. We had to take the subway to get to the hotel which was pretty easy to find, after checking into our room we waited for our parents to get back from their sightseeing tour. After waiting 30 minutes we got a call from the reception and headed downstairs, it was a very pleasant experience to finally see our parents again, kind of like being lost and stranded on an island and then being reunited.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and we went to the "fake market" on Nanjing road which is pretty much like the pearl and silk market but the products seem a lot better and the sales people are less aggressive. Afterwards we went to restaurant to have dinner, the first thing I ordered was garlic bread and then a greek salad but that was a bit disappointing because it was only cheese however it was great cheese and the first proper cheese in 8 months.
As a main I ordered a 250gram, it was good but coming from South Africa I have high expectations and it just wasnt as good as a woolies 28 day matured rib eye steak with woolies original braai marinade.
But in all the food was amazing and I felt revitalised. After dinner we walked down to the Bund and the Shanghai business district was amazingly lit up, just lights everywhere.
The following we all slept in and got out at about 11:00am and it was already boiling we went to go see the Lupu bridge, it was quite an engineering marvel however we didn't really spend much time looking at it because the sun was scorching.
We got back onto the subway and found a place to eat, we got off at Qibao station which was near to the Qibao ancient village we wanted to see. There was a shopping mall which had a food court and we ended up choosing a Teppenyaki restaurant (no english speak staff), the food was amazing eventhough the cooking area would have made most western food and health inspectors cringe.
Afterwards we went to go see the nearby Qibao ancient village, personally I wasn't that impressed, the water was very polluted and it was very touristy with a lot of cheap low quality gifts at tourist prices, no "ancient" feel to anything.
baby ducks on a stick, ducks neck, duck embrio in egg ...
After we were done we got back to the hotel and got a cab to the airport, we opted for the Hongqiao aiport which is a little closer and also focuses more on domestic flights.
I was expecting it to be small and old but I was surprised it's more spacious and better appointed than the Pudong airport and easily more pleasant than most european airports. We enjoyed some good coffee and cake before the flight which was sheduled to depart at 20:00 however typhon Kompasu was nearing China so the entire airspace was literally brought to a halt.
Every flight was either cancelled or delayed, Air China promised us a flight and that they did at 2:30am almost 5 hours later, they also used an Airbus A330-200 instead of an 737-200 so they could stuff twice as many unhappy passengers in as possible.
The airport was quiet so early in the morning but with hundreds of passengers suddenly arriving the cue for the taxis was rather long. At first glance I thought it would be another long wait because there were no taxis around but within 5 minutes there was a sudden swarm of taxis that had emerged form nowhere. Getting to our hotel was no problem and upon our arrival we just went straight to bed and got up at about noon and had some coffee, we had missed breakfast so we decided to go out and look for some food. We were rather impressed by the Teppenyaki meal we had in Shanghai the previous night so we ended up at another restaurant just like it. This one was in the Oriental Plaza in Dongdan and the quality and appearance was significantly better despite this there was no english staff.
some Salmon, Rump Steak and Prawns
After lunch we headed off to the Beijing Railway station to buy tickets to Siping.
Nobody behind this "Windoew" could speak english
The train station was chaos and if you can't speak any chinese or have just arrived in China it can be a terrifying place. We wanted to take the Express train on Saturday afternoon however there were no tickets. After exhausting all possible options we were left with only one and that was to take a hardsleeper train on Saturday evening which would arrive Sunday morning. After standing in a cue for 15 minutes they closed it just as I had come to the front, this happened 3 times and after about 50 minutes we finally bought the tickets which were 201RMB each and they only had top sleepers but it would do for a good cultural experience for my parents.
Next we went to Tian'anmen Square, despite being surrounded by many huge roads the big open space felt peaceful and quiet.
The subway to the Silk market was packed during peak hour but luckily it wasn't too far away.
The Silk market was very exhausting the sales women were extremely pushy and motivated to make sales. I had to help my parents with bargaining, they felt embarassed to go as low as I did but they were amazed to see how low prices can go if you keep pushing or do the walk away tactic. Most sellers will rather make a slight loss than lose a sale, because in the end it all averages out because many people pay way too much. After making some purchases we had dinner and headed back to the hotel.
The following morning the weather wasn't great, it was overcast and raining, my parents and Dan had booked a great wall tour which I decided not to go on because I had already seen it and I knew how much walking it involved.
So I checked online for something to do and I found the Zhongguancun Plaza and Electronic city which is on the outskirts of the city. So I made my way there which took about 40 minutes by subway. The Zhongguancun plaza was filled with outlet stores that all had reductions from 20 - 80%. On the street level there were four 20 story buildings, this was the electronics city. I didn't know where to start and just had a look at a bit of everything. After about 2 hours of browsing I headed back to the hotel and had some lunch. I then made my way to Qianmen to drop off a memory stick that Harry had forgotten at the academy.
For dinner we went back to the Oriental Plaza and had some salmon, lamb and beef Teppenyaki. Afterwards we went to the Sony story to have a look at their latest items, the new 3D Tv's were spectacular.
The following morning we checked out of the hotel and decided to go to the electronics city again and the Zhongguancun Plaza because everybody wanted to do some shopping.
After a lot of looking through the chaos we had lunch at starbucks which was the only place that was empty. After lunch Dan bought himself a new CF card for his Camera.
My mom also wanted a new compact camera because the SLR camera is a bit too cumbersome and heavy at times. In the end we decided for the Canon Powershot SX210IS however the prices varied, we started off at 2900 RMB but after walking around we finally found one for 2200 RMB. But we had to wait about 25 minutes and go up 15 stories to the supplier who then told us they dont have stock. As we were leaving we saw another supplier and I asked them, they said they could get it for 2700 RMB I told them we want a purple/pink one for 2200 RMB, take it or leave it and we walked out, they pulled us back inside and told us to sit down. After about 15 minutes a lady brought one up and also included a 8gb SD card for 130 RMB. We couldn't pay with card so we ended up going downstairs to the ATM and drawing the cash, the seller even came with us.
We then went back to the mall and ended up buying a whole bunch of stuff before heading back to the hotel to collect our luggage. We didn't have much time and were all a bit hungry so we went to Mc Donalds. It was my dads first time and my mothers first time in about 5 years. Needless to say my dad actually enjoyed it which was quite surprising, because I never thought I'd ever see him in a Mc Donalds. We got to the train station on time and didn't need to wait too long for our train.
My parents were quite excited about their first chinese train journey, my dad was very impressed by the smoothness of the train. As we left I called my usual taxi driver in Siping to come and fetch us at 5:50am the following morning, in Beijing and Shanghai we only needed one taxi but in Siping we needed two. We arrived on time and I bought our tickets from Siping to Shenyang. It was quite chilly and extremely foggy in Siping, we arrived just in time for breakfast and our parents were already stunned, not only by the food but also by the bowls and spoons, something I had never noticed before. After breakfast we showed our parents around and my mom was shocked by the showers and toilets.
Now our parents have an idea of the facilities we live with on a daily basis and the remoteness of the academy. Just living here is extremely difficult, but living here and training is on another level, it can't be far off from fighting a war out in the desert or being in prison. But wherever you are the experience can be made positive and memorable by focusing on what is good
After a nap we had lunch and then had a look at the "Ancient" castle and after seeing the great wall and other great historic monuments the ancient castle isn't impressive at all. In the afternoon we headed out to Siping which was chaotic as usual, we also bumped into the shaolin and kids shaolin shifu.
First we headed to the Zhongxing and had a look around, after looking at various shops I had never been to before we ended up at a high end clothing department store. I never knew about it before and the items were extremely good quality, we ended up buying some stuff there before heading back to the academy. We missed dinner so we ended up having some fried lamb and onion with rice at the restaurant outside the academy.
