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 the sun was rising much earlier than usual, so I went to the training hall earlier than usual and Master Liu showed me some other Qi gong stances, I could really feel something, whether is was qi or just elevated blood flow it felt really good. That evening crazy Rahul (India) asked me to help repair the xBox he bought from Josh it wasn't reading any discs so I tried the latest Microsoft firmware update which didn't help so I ended up opening it up and saw that the actual laser on the DVD drive was faulty, I told him I could order one or he could have it repaired in Siping.
The rest of the week wasn't too strenuous, we just kept practising our forms for the test day on Thursday. In the meantime I had also spoken to the headmaster and told him that Nirup and I wanted to take at least two weeks off. Originally I didn't want to take any time off from training but I just felt that I needed to get out and see something new before I go insane. The headmaster said that because we never miss training we can go as long as we come back.
Warming up for the performance
Thursday (11th) was test day and I performed my forms, they were pretty average thanks to the cold I was very stiff and tense which made me look like robo cop and the loose uniform made things worse. It might have just been the fact that I was excited about going away and seeing some more of china and also see if the rest of Chinese people were all this grumpy and if they also farted, burped and spat as much.
Monday 1st, today most of the kids had come back to start school and training again. I noticed a massive difference in my flexibility which was very encouraging. My shifu started teahing me a new form, the shaolin dun dao (shaolin short broad sword and shield). Tonight the sky stayed bright for a very long time.
Tuesday and wednesday there was barely anybody taking the training seriously. Which was pretty good because I did some qi gong with my master and also got personal training which meant I could learn a lot more. I also got a new chinese teacher called Belle, she is actually Korean and has really great teaching skills.
On friday I was angry because my master kicked me for making mistakes in my form, he was a bit upset about the lack of attendance. By the evening I had calmed down again, accepting that everybody can have an outburst of pent up frustration.
The weekend was pretty boring, Josh (UK) and Lucas (Canada) were play fighting and Lucas smashed Josh Laptop screen. They went to Siping to have it replaced but nobody could help them. I told them I would repair it, so I ordered a new LCD panel on Alibaba, I hope it arrives (still a bit weiry regarding chinese online shopping) althought the EMS shipping should be reliable.
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.
Because this is the biggest celebration of the year we didn't have training on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday Chima, Alex (USA), Nirup and I went for a walk to the nearby Buddhist temple. The walk wasn't too long because we could just walk across the frozen lake, in summer the same walk would take a couple of hours. The monks were quite surprised to see us and gave us an entire bag of apples and bananas which we gladly accepted.
When we got back to the academy in the evening we blew up a few more fireworks.
Wednesday 17th, getting up for Qi gong was rather difficult this morning, my new room is so much warmer and comfortable. In the morning we had to run to Yehe again and my knee was acting up again which was really annoying, I walked the last bit back, my shifu told me to take the rest of the day off to recover.
On Thursday I took things easy with my knee, helping the new student with his Wu Bu Quan and I also practiced my new form Nan Quan. In the afternoon we just did some really painful power stretching.
Friday we spent the whole morning session practising the nan quan as a group form. We had the afternoon off so we could spend some time with Luisa (Australia) who was leaving.
The weekend wasn't all too eventful, I just relaxed and did some Qi gong. On Sunday there was very heavy snowfall, it looked amazing and I realised how much work it would be to clear it up the following day.
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.
Monday we got pushed really hard, we did a lot of extreme endurance in the morning and extreme stamina in the afternoon with some powerstretching in the evening. My body just feels sore every bone and muscle feels like it has been pushed to it's limit. I've noticed a slight sniffle, I think I might be getting a flu, due to this intensive exercise my immune system is really weak plus the amount of bacteria around here is not a good combination.
Tuesday 2nd, I really pushed myself and felt a cold coming along, my shifu is happy with my progress however I can still improve a lot and by the 11th (test day). We also got a new student today, Ryan, an American from Colorado he is staying for 2 months. In the evening my friend Wasseem (from UK) gave me some medicine, I didn't shower, just went straight to bed.
3 February, I spent the entire day in bed today which was extremely boring and uncomfortable because my bed has no mattress.
By thursday I was training again and by friday I was able to push myself again.
25 January, this morning the shaolin group had to clean the training hall and it was quite annoying that only of 7 students were present, luckily the other lazy ones got gooned by the shifu. During morning training I Could notice significant changes in fitness and flexibility, it's only been 3 weeks but I'm happy with my progress. We also did a lot of jumping today and I can really feel the pain in my ankle and knee joints. Our shifu also explained what he calls the five elements of shaolin martial arts. Speed, power, posture, balance, sight these should be felt on a deeper level and not just exerted with muscular power. At the end of the day I was really tired and I must say I am glad I am going to the (Siping) city tomorrow to have my VISA converted into a residence permit.
Tuesday 26 January, this morning I went to Siping with the translator, the process took forever after about 3 hours we were done. Afterwards I went to the ZhongXing which is a 6 storey building that is what most people would define as "china town". Each level focuses on different products, level 1 pirated dvd's, software, games. Computers, kitchen appliances etc. level 2 bags, custom clothing, fake sports clothing and apparel. I spent a lot of time looking at DVD's, they had many new releases and each shop has a TV and DVD player to test the discs. I was expecting some grainy in cinema recording, instead the discs were all true DVD quality. The price was even more ridiculous 5RMB (R6) for a pressed DVD with cover, the disc is like the original, I ended up buying 20 DVD's. Afterwards I went for lunch at a place called Jeelong Harbour Cousine which is an all you can eat buffet for 48RMB (R50) and I must say it is probably one of the best buffets I've seen for the price. Quality food including a western section that even had pizza with real cheese, amazing.
After lunch I went to the Hengkelong which is a supermarket like Pick 'n Pay or Woolworths. Most products were extremely cheap a 600ml bottle of Coke or Pepsi is 2,50 RMB. There was also a selection of "western" products which were more expensive such as Oreos for 5 RMB which is still cheaper in Rand terms but if you consider you can buy a huge box of chinese biscuits for 10 RMB or a Snickers bar for 4 RMB Compared to a chinese "chocolate" bar for 1 RMB. Fruit is very expensive, I bought some peaches which were 40RMB per/jin (500g). On the street I bought some almonds and goji berries for 25RMB per/jin.
I got back to the academy later that evening and practised my dao (sword) form.
Wednesday 27, we had to go running outside and the wind was blowing at 30km/h halfway through my run, my knee was really hurting and I had to walk the rest of the way back which was rather freezing. For the rest of the day all I did was some stretching.
On Thursday 28 my knee was still bothering me and we had to shovel snow from 7:40 to 9:30, I was exhausted and freezing. For lunch we got dumplings, I think it was some kind of reward for all the snow we had shoveled. The rest of the day I just practised my new shaoling dao form.
The training on friday wasn't too intensive. After training two friends (Deepak - UK and Chima - Trinidad) and I decided to shave our heads but leave a mowhawk.
In the evening 15 of us went to Yehe which is a nearby village about 10km from the academy. We went to have dinner, the restaurant we went to had seperate rooms so we got one room and also got two electric frying pans. We ended up cooking our own beef and lamb mixtures which was really delicious.
The rest of the weekend I did some meditating and reading but also watched two of my new DVD's, I'm glad I decided to bring my laptop because there is only so much to do here and it is all really depressing with this weather.
