Week 8 (22 February - 28 February)

Monday morning we had to clear all the snow that had fallen the previous day, luckily everyone was helping today so it only took about an hour, we had the rest of the morning free to warm up, luckily the heater in my room works pretty well. In the evening we practised the Nan Quan some more and I also started learning a new form called Xiao Hong Quan (little red fist), I was getting rather frustrated and could barely keep my eyes open. After training I shaved my head, showered and was asleep by 21:30.

Tuesday 23 February, we had to do a whole bunch of exercised outside, including jumping in and out of holes in the ground whilst wearing a 10kg weight jacket. Then we had to do 3 sets of 50 upside down pull ups.

The rest of the week was very hard, probably the hardest week yet. It included some very hard training and a lot of snow shoveling, the weather was constantly changing.

The 25th marked a celebration of the end of new years and in the past two weeks there have been constant fireworks, this was the last of them and they all went full out.

During the weekend I did a lot of reflecting, I noticed that during that week I had barely spoken much to to anybody just focusing on myself. Speaking to others is draining, so much negativity and constant complaints. People came here with good intentions, many came to stop smoking and drinking but with a shop within the academy grounds selling cigarettes and beer this is extremely difficult. Of course students caught drinking or smoking are beaten but there is only so much the masters can do. The only action that truly works is self initiated action, by taking the decision not to walk to that shop and buying things to help feed addictions and habits. But I know it is easier said than done especially being in a foreign country, seeing and doing the same things day in and day out, these repetitive actions can drive even the most sane person up the wall.

I have learnt a lot in the past 2 months that I have been here both on a mental, physical and spiritual level however I was expecting a lot more. The problem is that most of my energy is consumed by trying to be "normal" and sane. The biggest problem is the cabin fever and the winter, this leads to low energy levels which is then non localised to everybody within the academy. There is a strong inverse correlation between the consumption of cigarettes and alcohol and the level of morale. Despite this I just hope that others will find what they have come here to find.

Week 6 (8 February - 14 February)

Monday morning we had to shovel snow again, for afternoon training we had another intensive session followed by some power stretching and I must say my energy levels had been effected by the weekend away. I spent the rest of my day learning my forms and also started learning a new one.

On Wednesday it was test day which meant I had to present my two forms, the Wu Bu Quan and the Shaolin Dao. Strangely enough I was very nervous, something that has never been a problem before. I can talk in front of a large crowd with no problem but presenting two forms in front of 20 people was a problem. I wasn't too happy with my performance but my shifu said that he was happy, I just need to relax more because I look too tense.

Thursday I woke up tired again, I have been struggling to sleep the past 2 weeks. Times seem though at the academy, the energy and morale is very low. Most don't come to training and no smile or laughter can be seen or heard, I think this is what "they" call cabin fever. In the afternoon I meditated with my shifu which helped me relax and feel more at ease, I find I can keep a clear mind for about 15 minutes now which is better than the 30 seconds I first managed when I got here. The new student that got here is leaving after just two weeks, he feels this place is more than he can tolerate, he did come at the worst time though. I have just been pushing through these hard times, this is by far the worse I've felt since I'm here. The worst part is the feeling of being alone, nobody to talk to because everybody else seems worse off and staying in touch with friends and family is almost impossible, so little free time and the huge time difference, but it is unpleasant times like these that should be cherished because they make us stronger.

Friday I went from a low to a high when Steffen (Norway) had completed his two years at the academy and was kind enough to offer me his room, so today I moved into my new room (#303) which is on the second level facing the sun, so now my room is warmer, looks better and has a nice view.

That evening I went to Yehe with Chima and Nirup to go and buy some firecrackers for Chinese new years, we bought crackers and rockets for 260 RMB. This stuff is more intensive than anything I've seen before, the firework shop is actually a farming shop that also sells fertilizer (coincidence?) plus the owner was kind enough to demonstrate all the different products right outside the front door.

On Saturday which was new years day we spent the entire day blowing up toys and other things we could find lying around. In the evening the skies lit up from about 19:00 and ended at about 01:00 am during this time we had a late night snack which included a bunch of strange dishes and I had a dumpling with a coin hidden inside which according to Chinese was great luck, as it was 1 of 3 coins in 150 dumplings.

Sunday morning the fireworks started at 6:00am and went on the entire day, it sounded like a war zone.