China 7 months: Syringes, Cups and Lies

Ori has been having trouble with his rib cage on the left side and low back for a while. He also managed to drop a rock on his foot whilst helping build a new training area, and it hasn't stopped bleeding for three days. His rib and back have been causing him disrupted sleep at night. On Tuesday he went to the hospital for acupuncture to see if that could help with at least with the pain.

Ori, Nick and Joakim arrived at the hospital that I went to previously for massage. Apparently the acupuncture department doesn't work on Tuesdays so the cab driver took them to another hospital. They arrived and explained the problems. Nick was first to receive treatment. Nick had injured his knee the week before and has been unable to train. The doctor inspected the knee then wrote a prescription for him. Nick went down stairs, paid for the prescription and brought it back up. It was 3 vials of liquid. The doctor proceeded to mix them together to make a fluorescent pink liquid then brought a syringe with a 3 inch needle. Sucked it up then injected the unknown substance into his knee. Later that day when I saw him he was hobbling, but before it was impossible to tell if he was injured. Joakim had nothing wrong with him but went along for the ride just to try out the acupuncture. Instead of acupuncture he got suction cups. Basically the doctor lights a flame by the cup to use up all the air and then quickly places the cup on precise parts of the body where because of the lack of air, creates suction. He had two cups and everything was fine. The doctor recommended that Ori have the cup treatment to. So he did but with a difference. The doctor made little incision before placing the cup. So when the cup was on, it sucked blood out! When I saw Ori later he looked like he had giant pepperonis on his back and left ribcage. The treatment did not seem to do anything but cause pain and discomfort.

Not Ori

I am having Karate Kid moments. Just like Daniel (Karate kid) didn't understand the training or its purpose until his teacher showed him that painting railings and washing cars were actually blocks. I am having similar occasions of clarity and understanding in regards to my form that I have been learning. Unexpentanctly during sparring, the forms movements, with out any pre-determined intention display themselves to us (Seb to) automatically during an attack. It all just started to make sense and is continuing to do so. Even during Ninjitsu class the form movements are easy to apply. This is helped as Praying Mantis and Ninjitsu have similar principles and application.

We have water back. It is a relief. The rivers look so much healthier.

During the weekend I had acupuncture. Their were about 15 needles sticking out of my back. I had bought my own needles as I am not really comfortable with using the hospitals. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. I felt as if i couldn't move.

In Ninjitsu we practiced disarming someone with a gun. It was not really disarming but more like how to have the attacker shoot themselves, which was really cool. I really like Ninjitsu and am really looking forward to practicing it in Japan.

Over the weekend 15 new students turned up. A lot of newbies. I do not mind new people but because of the sheer number, and that their are now 3 to a room instead of 2 which was originally placed on the website. Their seems to be a slight resentment and has created a lot of tension among some. Ori and I are still waiting for are 3rd room mate. A lot of people are going to leave simply because their has been one thing after another. There is a distinct lack of communication and professionalism showed by Su (academy owner). This lacking has caused students to question his true intentions, and is leaving students thinking he is a liar and is simply taking the piss out of them. None of this bothers me as just keep training and I know I will be out of here in just over a month.


Keep cool everyone

Michael

China 7 months: Drought

We have had no water for a week. Their is a drought out here. Actually that's a lie, we have water between 6-8pm. This 2 hr window is for close to 50 or so students, to shower and wash their clothes. The 3 showers and 3 washing machines are not really adequate but it seems to be o.k for now.

It started raining on Tuesday but stopped on Friday so not quite enough to stop the drought but at least it's a start.

A dried out river bed

I'm ill again. This time it feels like I have a cold. So I've missed 2 days of training. Which I'm not happy about.

I have been thinking about living alternatives to London. I have now on my list for further investigation; Italy, France, Hawaii, Bahamas, Tasmania (Australia), New Zealand and Japan. I just can't see myself living in London anymore.

My plan for my little journey as, it stands is to leave Shandong aug10, then into the Henan province till nov 10, then onto Thailand till feb 10, then another 3 months traveling Burma, Laos, Cambodia, so about may 10 I should be back in Thailand again for another 1-3 months, than by aug 10 live and work in Japan for 3-6 months by which time it could be feb 09. May even pop into Australia if I have the money and inclination. Right now these are just ideas. So I don't know for sure. But I really like the idea of working and living in Japan. And yes, if any of you want to visit you'll have somewhere to stay.

Saturday Hannah and I went to the cave (8 immortals) after breakfast to meditate. The weather was very humid so we were sweating like crazy just 10min into the walk there. The cave is right at the top of a bunch of steps where we do the stair run every Friday. It takes about 30min to get there. Once there Hannah told me a little history of the 8 immortals as she has a book on them. Would tell you about it but I've forgotten, sorry. Then we started meditating. It's very quiet there. All you can hear is what nature intended you to hear. It started to rain a little, about 10min after we started which just added to the bliss. I like the sound of rain. The fact I was sniveling because of my cold did little to ruin the experience. After we just walked back slowly having a very pleasant conversation.

On Sunday I went back to the cave to meditate again but this time it was just me. When i got there i found a Chinese family sitting out side. On weekends their are a lot of visiting Chinese, as the cave and national park are tourist attractions. I went into the cave, layed down my Buddha book my friend Kemi gave me and was not 10sec into meditating when my "spider senses" started tingling. I turned round ready to deliver a Mantis hammer fist, but when i opened my eyes i was presented with a young Chinese man about to take a photo of me. I got up and he and his girlfriend gestured if they could take a photo with me. I didn't want to ruin their day so i did. One of their mums took a photo. The guy and girl on either side of me. The guy had his arm round me and the girl was very close, like we were long life friends or something. The bad thing was that i was sweating like a nutter and the top i was wearing was soaked through and had not been washed in a week. They seemed happy to have met and had photos taken with a foreigner, even if he was sweaty.

Later in the day, after lunch, I, Hannah, Megan, Jenny, Jeremy, Sid, Keenan and a South African guy who I have forgotten his name went to a close town called Muping to grab a bite to eat. We had a look round and decided on a small Chinese café that had pictures on the wall in which we could point to. Between 7 of us as Keenan didn't eat we had about 9 dishes, 3 noodle soups that all tasted great and everyone apart from me had a soft drink. It all came to a grand total of 1.40 GBP each. Going back to London is going to be so hard. My usual lunch costs me close to 15 GBP.

Being stared at in Muping

The plan was to head for a massage after eating. We ended back at the place where I was viciously and maliciously assaulted. I started having flash backs and went into a cold sweat. I hear those are common symptoms of post traumatic stress syndrome. I was ready to drop to my knees and fake an embolism when Keenan said he would like to go to the hospital and try out the acupuncture, I quickly put my hand up and said "me to". We arrived and I did most of the talking to explain the issues. I know this sounds impressive but all I did was point to a part of the body and said "bu hao" and "torne" which means "not good" and "pain". Jeremy had an issue with his knee and was first. The female acupuncturist brang out the needles that were wrapped in a once white but now brown cloth. They were reusable needles so I quickly looked at her pointed to myself and said "tui na" which is Chinese massage. Jeremy and Keenan had the acupuncture and I had the massage. There was no assault but a very good and professional massage. I felt good after, so did the guys. The two 45 min sessions of acupuncture and 45min of massage came to grand total of 1.60 GBP each. It would have been 50x that in London. I think I'm going to go there again.

The crew; me, Ori, Lindsey, Megan, Jenny and Hannah

Hope everyone is well

Keep cool

Michael

China 7 months: Grading Day

Today has been a good day.

It was grading today. Instead of the normal morning training we simply practiced before the big public critique.


I was not nervous at all, more excited than anything else. I actually like performing in front of people. Seb was still not fully loving the idea. After practicing out side and generally chatting for a bit the master called us in and looked pretty serious. He called Seb and I in front of the class and instructed us to perform the form. About half way through Seb forgot a move and the master went off on one. As he went on and on I thought to myself that this has to be the worse pep talk, ever. I was really disappointed by him. It showed a weakness in his ego as I feel he was behaving this way because he was worried about what the other masters would think as oppose to helping Seb and I. The talk did not affect me at all, as firstly it was not entirely directed at me and secondly I was looking forward to the grading but did alter my view of my teacher.

Scott performing a spear form


The time came and everyone had brought from their room small benches in which to sit and watch. The ones that are grading are easy to see as they wear signature clothing. The long timers are given a full on kung-fu suits when they join and the short timers such as my self are given a kung-fu style vest to wear. On one side of the yard are the students and the other side, the masters. The grader performs in between the two. When they have finished grading they walk off to applause at which point one of the translators runs to each master to collect a score.
No one apparently fails a grading but the score is collected and is written on the students' certificate when they leave.




As I was sitting excitedly tapping my feet watching the grading another new student arrived. It seems recently like a new student arrives about every 5 days. The new guy sat next to me. He looked like a 60 year old tramp. A very unusual sight when you're surrounded by reasonably athletic 19 year olds. I found out later his an Italian with a Russian accent looking to study full time Tai Chi, which actually is not on offer here. Seb said when he walked past him he smelt like alcohol and their seems to be overwhelming feeling among a lot of the guys that his going to kill us all. I'll keep you tuned on that, if I am able to.



I observed the masters observing the performance and wondered what they thought. My master told me that his master would have him hold each stance for 30min and I don't think his over exaggerating at all. All the masters must have practiced daily for years to obtain the skill they posses. I know for a fact when the Chinese train foreigners the training is rushed, simply there is not the time and Westerners generally do not have the patience. As a result when some of the students perform I think it must look a little sloppy to the masters and the fact that westerners have tendons and ligaments all over their body especially on the back of the legs I think just makes it worse for the masters to watch. In my opinion some do look sloppy but others do look amazing.I think the best performance apart from obviously mine was by an 18 year old, from north England named Mark. When he done his sword form, it looked amazing. It had power and grace and not just for a westerner.

Mark performing a Drunken Master form

Mark arrived here with his friend from school, Dan nearly 10 months ago. Dan is in my class and I can tell you now they are both 18 and dangerous. Really a couple of good guys and both, I think propel each other forward. I really would like to see them when they my age. When they get back home I think possibly they're going to save up again and travel to Russia and study Systema, then move on to Thailand for Muay Thai and maybe even to work in Japan and study Ninjitsu.

Dan performing a Mantis sword form

At 18 I wanted to do something like that but my friends preferred going to the pub and/or playing computer games. I also made the regrettable mistake of going to college. Well these are the mistakes you make in your youth.




Then came my turn. Seb had just finished. He nodded as he walked past me. I jumped around a bit like someone who was about to enter a boxing ring which later I found out people thought was quite funny as everyone else holds their hands together and look very serious. In all honesty, the way I was feeling I was ready for a fight not a form. I clasped my hands together bowed before walking on and before I knew it I was walking off with my hands clasped. I barely remember performing. I can't remember what I did. As I was walking everyone was clapping which is kind of mandatory anyway.



Later, I had people congratulating me on my form. A lot of people said they have not seen the Mantis basics performed and was impressed. Everyone pretty much commented on how powerful and stable I looked. I don't know if that's code for you wasn't graceful and fluid. One of the mantis students filmed it, I'll see if I can get it on for you to see. I have to view it first.



Later was the stair run. My last recorded time was 35.16. Unfortunately last week I missed the run so was looking forward to making up for that today. I was up and down in 7.30min so if I kept that pace it would be completed in 30min. But keeping that pace is extremely hard. After the 2nd one I was pretty much exhausted and wanted to stop which I would have done if it wasn't for my desire to beat my time. When I was tired I just looked down at my watch and instantly knew what I had to do. After the 3rd I was pouring with sweat and breathing like a maniac. This is when the motivating voice of Mr. T popped into my head shouted "move fool". I would like to personally thank my mental vocal reenactment of Mr. T as I completed the run in 31.12. I think the average time for most is about 40-45min and the fit guys who have been here the longest, is about 30min. Lets see what next week brings. Hopefully some new running shoes as the ones I have are slowly being worn down.

"Move fool"

Saturday was a completely uneventful day of watching Bewitched, Mind Body and Kick Ass Moves, eating crap and lounging around like a slob. Though I had a nice chat with Yuki on Skype and later was treated to one of the most beautiful midnight skies I have ever seen. It did bring a tear to my eye. You don't get nights like this in London.

Sunday again like Saturday was lounging around, watched Open Season, half of Kiss of the Dragon and ate like a loser. Just in case it sounds to luxurious here I should let you know we have no water as they have a drought here. No water, for washing, showers and toilets. I can't begin to tell you what sights I've seen and the smells I've encountered when I've walked in to the toilets.


Finished my second book; Conversation with God by Neale Donald Walsch. A very good book. Basically the author claims to have had conversations with God and documents these conversations. I would definitely recommend this book. Ori refers to this book as his bible. It is more in tune with my line of thinking on God.




Good Chi to all that read this.


Shake and bake, people



Michael

Away for a bit

I'm off to a meditation centre in Thailand. Their is strictly no contact with the outside world. Maybe there till the 28th December. So no blog posts until i'm finished there.
Have a good Christmas and New Years in advance, just in case i'm still meditating.

Peace, Love and Compassion

Michael

China 7 months: What's Been Happening

What's been happening

It's getting hotter. I'm sure it was in the high 30's today. Their seems to be a direct correlation between the temperature and the amount, size and color of the bugs. They're everywhere and they bite.

One of the new students in my class was bit by some wasp like thing with green eyes and visible fangs and another student was bitten by something that left fang marks in his arm. The student with the fang marks became convinced that his arm was going to fall off or that he's arm will need to be amputated. His at the hospital right now having it checked out.I check my shoes for scorpions every time before I put them on. Four doors down from me a scorpion was found in one of the students rooms. If you take a 10 min walk from the academy you will find a bunch of women selling fruit and surprisingly in a blue bowl beside them, scorpions! Not for pets but as a snack of some sort. I think you're meant to kill it then fry it. Not surprisingly it apparently tastes like chicken.

I have a grading tomorrow. Students are graded each month in front of all the students and masters by performing a form from their particular martial art. The Preying Mantis "basic step" form lasts only about a minute but is very intricate. I'm actually looking forward to performing tomorrow but Seb, another Preying Mantis student is not, in his own words he's "bricking it".Seb started a week before I arrived and is staying a year. He has to be one of the funniest guys here. At first I thought he whined to much but he does put the effort in and I can see his mind and body changing every week. It would not surprise me if he looked like Bruce Lee when he left, he now has a bit of a beer/fast food gut, but it is going.

I just want to mention what I've noticed about the Chinese apart from what I've mentioned already. Chinese men love to huck up flem and spit. Every morning I'm greeted by one of the masters hucking his guts up and spitting in the communal sink; nice. In fact I would say they take pride in it. The more flem you can accumulate with the most amount of sound, the higher up you are on the hucker hierarchy. They don't seem embarrassed at all about picking their nose or farting in public. They don't use tissue when blowing their nose. The floor holds a perfect place in which to aim the snot. They also seem to love singing when ever they can. What embarrasses most westerners the Chinese take pride in, such as one Masters love of techno music and the Venga Boys. I'm embarrassed for him but he doesn't care, he just turns up the volume.
I would tell him he's a loser but i'm afraid he would kill me with his little toe and i think hearing

Boom boom boom boom

I want you in my room

Let's spend the night together

From now until forever

Boom boom boom boom

I wanna double boom

Let's spend the night together

Together in my room

before i departed would create so much hate in me that i would be sent straight to Hell where they probably have Venga Boys on a 24hr loop.

Vengaboys=hell on Earth

Hope all is well

Keep the chi real

China 7 months: The Week

This week has been up and down as I had a fantastic weekend but the week seemed, at times tedious and uneventful and I have been ill for most of it. I don't think my digestive system likes the food here, though it is better than I expected it isn't what I would call good. I really really want a steak! I have decided to cut the poisonous porridge from my diet as I think the boiled eggs will be better.

Beautiful

I sparred with Ori on Saturday and came to the conclusion that I need to sort my life out. I am fitter, stronger, leaner and faster but was being slapped about and for some reason I found it hard to hit him. It was not finding the target that was the problem but my brain would not let me cause harm to another human being. This is something I plan on rectifying.

Watching the *Ninjitsu class last Saturday it became clear to me that combat comes down to footwork, timing, distance, angles, technique and reaction. The speed of your reaction and the reaction you want your opponent to have i.e. do you want them to go backwards, forward, flex, extend, do want to break, push, remove or cause pain and psychology is probably the biggest factor because if you have all the physical requirements but your inner voice is screaming "no not the face, please not the face!" you will be beaten worse than a skin head at a Black Panther convention.

Timing, speed, footwork and to look good in black

A lot of question have been running through my head lately, like, what am going to do when I get back to London(if indeed i do go back), where do I want to live (country), who am I, career etc. There are so many things I would like to do but it comes down to money and time. The mountains create a perfect backdrop to having such thoughts run through your mind.

Best place to come and ask questions and sit waiting silently for the answer

Every Friday all the students get to do the stair run which is grueling to say the least especially in 35 degree heat. My time last week was 35:16 so was really hyped about smashing my time this Friday but my stomach was not really up to it, so instead i went to the cave where apparently Zen Buddhism started. I went before when I did the stair crawl with Tom but haven't been back since. It was great, after spending very little time meditating in the cave I left feeling completely relaxed and calm. I had no question to answer and everything made sense again. Those 8 Immortals really do have an affect or maybe the incense they use in the cave is "special".

The 8 Immortals

*Two of the students at the academy are quite accomplished in the art of Ninjitsu (2nd dan and 5th dan). They have kindly offered to teach once a week on Saturday.

I hope everyone is well.

China 7 months: Schedule

5.30- in the school yard or by a river near the national park I perform my own Chi Kung, breathing squats, downward dogs, then I perform the Praying Mantis forms very slowly as a form of Tai Chi, meditate for 5-10min then I have a quick cold shower.

7.00- breakfast which currently is porridge with soya powder, goji berries, honey and peanut butter. Later changed to fruit, *4-6 boiled eggs and a cup of Green tea which worked for me much better especially when i implemented my own training into the schedule.

8.30-10 training Mantis

10.30-11.30 training Mantis

12- lunch

12.30-3 reading, nap, computer stuff, drink a litre of *Green tea

3-4.30 training Mantis

4.30-6 my own training which usually involves body weight movements, weights, energy system work

6.30- dinner

7.0- slow walk

8.0- a cold shower

8.30- read

9.0- sleep

I love this schedule. Sleeping at 9 and waking at 5.30 is the best sleep pattern i've ever had. I feel fantastic. Sleep quality and rhythm is real important to me, if i have less than 8hrs of sleep, or have to wake before light (which is the case when i'm seeing clients) i feel like crap even when everything in my life is healthy.

Green tea has been used for thousands of years as a beverage and therapeutic agent. In countries such as Japan and China, the drinking of teas has remained a commonality among the people of these countries. Green tea has antioxidants that help against the breakdown of tissue. In fact, studies have been done using green tea to help with certain Cancers. It has many benefits which include improved fat loss, a cancer preventative, helping with diarrhea, protecting the skin from sun damage and even tooth decay.

I feel pretty good off drinking a litre a day. Used to in London take in supplementation form which is also good.

Some may say aren't i worried about the amount of Cholesterol i'm consuming. The only thing i'm concerned with is not eating enough. Cholesterol gives structural integrity to your cells and is needed for certain hormones. Cholesterol will only attach itself to the walls of the arteries to protect them from the poison that may be floating through your bloodstream from eating crap or taking drugs, medical or otherwise.

The problem is made worse if adequate antioxidants are not consumed. It's not the Cholesterol, it's the state of the persons body consuming the Cholesterol. Ever since everyone has started avoiding Cholesterol, Saturated fats and fats in general there has been a steady increase in brain disorders such as Alzheimer's. The brain is 70% fat and the rest is protein. Don't eat enough fat, then prepare to get stupid.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Alzheimer’s disease is now the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, surpassing diabetes. Diabetes caused by eating to much sugar and grains and Alzheimer's caused by not eating enough fat and protein yet the Governments of modern society still insist that the average citizen should consume anywhere from 6-11 servings of grains a day.

Death Rates (i use American stats because they are usually a good indicator of the state of the rest of modern society)

1st heart disease
2nd cancer
3rd doctors
-
6th alzheimer
7th diabetes

Modern eating+modern medicine to combat modern living= misery, pain and death.

China 7 months:The Massage and the Indignity

Apparently you can get an hour long Chinese style massage in Muping for the equivalent of 2 English pounds. Sounds great. So Ori and I catched a taxi with Hannah (cool British girl) and Ursula (away with the fairies Polish girl) to get a massage. We arrived to find different rooms with different amounts of beds in them. We were shown to a room with four beds so as to have our massages together but Hannah was not to happy about that situation so Ori and I waited for another room to become available. As I was sitting, waiting I observed that this is unlike any massage establishment I have ever been. I'm not saying that it's not a massage place, but I would not be surprised if by night it was not a brothel. It was just a feeling I got. About 10min later we were ushered into room and told to lay on our backs. I saw a man in another room having a face massage so I thought great. Whilst in Japan one of Yuki's friends was a face masseur and performed some techniques on me, and they felt wonderful.

I lay down, eyes closed, relaxed looking forward to the anticipated bliss i was about to receive when I was suddenly smacked in the face. The adrenaline started pumping, but assumed this is what they do in China so kept eyes closed and remained calm. She laid her hands on my eye brows and proceeded to try and rub my FACE OFF! It was like she wanted to see my skull. She pinched and prodded around my eyes; I did not open my eyes from the fear of losing them. She moved down to my nose and lips where again she tried her best to erase my facial features from my cranium. Then my ears. I was thinking no not the ears, I like sound. She stuck her fingers into my ears and then brutally and insultingly rubbed my own ear wax into my forehead.

I heard laughter it was the other girl laughing at the fact Ori had a lot hair on his stomach. My girl seemed interested and stopped to have look and feel. Great a rest bite. She came back and literally started punching my head, no jokes, actual closed fist, full on Mike Tyson abuse on my head. I was a little worried about now, but stayed cool. Then she started punching and smacking my legs with obvious enthusiasm, narrowly missing my groin. I was actually worried that if she made a misplaced hit I might be left infertile. Then she grabbed my foot, span my leg and viciously pushed my own knee towards my face. She was assaulting me with my own limbs, this girl was a pro. After slapping my shins for 5mins I was instructed to take my top off and turn onto my stomach.

Good boxer, bad masseus

This is where the panic kicked as I was sun burnt on my neck and shoulders. As I lied there thinking, there is a reason why its 2 pounds she pushed her face into mine, pointed to my sun burnt skin and started laughing. I just pointed to the sky and said nervously "yeah the sun". This is when the random, unprovoked violence when up a notch. She actually tried whole heartily to rub the skin from my spine, including my neck. Remember there is no oil used in this massage. When she failed at doing that, though the skin from my sun burnt was coming off. She just brushed it away and laughed, probably thought job well done. I wanted to tell her all my secrets but she was not interrogating me, it just felt like it.

She saved her special moves till last. A special technique were you punch your victim and then smack them immediately in the same spot, from low back to neck several times over. After that she must have been bored as she just randomly pinched, poked, prodded and smacked where ever she felt whilst she talked with the other girl.

After it was done, they left. I sat up in relief and asked Ori "do I still have my face". He just laughed but I was grateful the answer was yes. I left the room and thanked, God, Buddha, Allah anyone who was really listening, for giving me the strength to withstand such a beating.

We went down stairs and the, I think manager and the girls that massaged us brought cherries and a watermelon. I think so as to help the healing process but I believe a counselor, priest and an ambulance would have been more suitable. Before we left all the staff got very exited and started taking photos of all of us, I suspect it's there form of a trophy.

I made it out in one piece feeling like I really needed a massage.

China 7 months: ่่่่่The Place, People and Facilities

The people here are very cool, friendly, relaxed, funny and sociable individuals. Most are on a gap year before university, some are here because there is nothing else back home, some to get away from alcohol and drugs (mostly weed), some are here to find themselves and others are here just for the martial arts/China experience.

Everyone here is pretty young as I am one the oldest. The dynamics work well here. It feels like a little family. They really are an eclectic mix of people who I really enjoy being around.

Warning to anyone who is thinking of traveling here do not go through the organization "real gap" as they charge double and deliver nothing additional. Go through the academy website which is http://www.chinashaolins.com/index.htm.

The place and people are not as "hard core" as I thought they would be, but there are some. The young males provide the competitive edge and extra enthusiasm.

Students can stay between 1 month and 5 years but for the most part people stay a max of about a year though one of the girls i met is staying possibly for 2 years. I don't blame her. It is great here. For 2000GBP a year you have your rent and food covered and there are no additional taxes or bills to deal with. If you bought an extra 1500 you could eat out near enough every night, have massages, go to springs/spas every week, buy niceties for your room, basically live like a king for a year whilst living in the mountains learning Kung-Fu.

The English make up most of the students (mostly Londoners), then Americans, Norwegians, a few Icelandic, a few Irish, 1 Canadian, 1 Bosnian, 1 Scottish, 1 Mexican, 1 Indian, 1 Welsh, 1 South African, and 1 Australian.

The Masters are really cool people. My master is quite a charming man. He is always giving us lectures which I don't think the translation gives them total justice. He tries to create a family feel as he refers to our group as brothers. He is tough. The skin around his arms and hands are thick which is not surprising as he is always hitting something and thankfully it's the trees that get most of his attention.

The place is an amazing sight of stunning mountains, greenery, farm land, farmers and little roaming dogs that I think don't really belong to anyone. I think the Chinese call them breakfast, lunch and dinner.

My favorite time during the week is the when I routinely walk after dinner. I walk as slow as I can without coming to a standstill, breathing slowly, purposefully and simply absorbing the sights and sounds. It is during this time that I dread going back to London. When I look up at the mountains I'm compelled to think that they hold a truth. I don't know how to explain it but there is a truth in them. I don't know what that truth is, but I feel it.




The road I walk on is generally free of people but occasionally I'll be greeted by farmers or there wives and simply nod my head in greeting or say "ni hao", which is hello. The local community are friendly enough, scruffy, weathered and wrinkled in appearance and much darker than the Chinese I see in the city.

Not many cars use the road just outside the academy it is mostly used by noisy tractors, motor bikes and bicycles.


The facilities are basic which I like but when you realize how much money the academy is making you know they could turn it into the Ritz if they wanted to. The currency is 15RMB to 1GBP and when I was paying in cash part of what I owe the academy which was 5000 Yuan, one of the translators present had her head forward, eyes widened and I cant be certain but I'm petty sure I saw some dribble. I actually felt her stare burn my fingers as I was counting the money. The 5000 was only a third of what I had to pay, can you imagine if she had seen the "full whack". This academy makes some serious cash.

Mantis training room

The academy is a large building with about 26 bedrooms, 2 showers, 1 laundry room, internet room, dining room and 4 training rooms all varying in size. The rooms are a nice size and are usually occupied by two students, but now for the next 2 months, we've been told there will be 3 to a room which is 1 too many. In fact I was told there are 30 students when I arrived, now there is close to 50 and someone suggested before I leave there will close to 70 students. The toilets are basic, 2 Western and 1 Chinese per floor. The toilets I guess are not equipped to deal with toilet paper, so all paper is to be put in a bucket that's placed beside the bowl. FYI a whole class has got the "runs" and I think everyone has experienced that here; it's the rice and porridge combo! Which means you have the pleasure of experiencing some interesting sights, sounds and smells when entering the WC. All part of the adventure.



There is one electric shower and one solar heated shower. The electric shower is inside the main building and has hot/warm running water all the time. I prefer to use the solar shower. It's dirty and the water is cold depending when you use it, but I like it. No one really uses the solar shower apart from me, a frog I've seen a couple of times and a few others students which means no queues. I also think having cold showers create a bit of discipline and is in fact, good for you.

Actually i personally believe having a cold shower encourages Thyroid function, Acetylcholine production, Collagen manufacture, the use of brown fatty acids and wakening the dive response. I can't actually prove any of this as it is purely anecdotal.

*Thyroid function: Adrenaline
*Acetylcholine: neurotransmitter associated with higher levels of perception, Nirvana, cognitive function, muscle unit recruitment.
*Collagen: building block of connective structures such as ligament, skin
*Brown fat: used predominantly after hibernation periods
*Dive response: changes blood flow towards the heart and brain, increases red blood cell count and slows oxygen consumption.

The food is basic. Mostly 5 plates consisting of 3 different meals. Typically its cabbage with small pieces of chicken, a plate of onions and a plate of canned tomatoes with a little scrambled egg. The students and I our genuinely excited when on Mondays and Thursdays we have "orange chicken", dumplings on Thursday and I can't remember what day but during the week we are treated to a small omelet that is shared between 6 people. It's not bad, not great but better than expected.

The academy and the students are definitely not what I expected. Before coming to the Academy i had envisioned the training to be brutal, the food scarce and the global focus intense but at times it felt like a summer camp, which is nice but it's not what I came for. The way I looked at it, was because of the summer camp feel it actually is more of a test because if everyone was disciplined, there was no tv, the Masters were strict and the academy shop didn't sell sweets, crisps, ice cream and other crap it would be easy to be disciplined but with all the distractions it is more of a challenge.

China 7 months: Cheap DVDs and suicidal taxi drivers

It was the weekend and as is the routine of most students, i went to Yantai city and around Muping. We took a taxi van into town. The Chinese style of driving has to be experienced to be believed.

The taxi driver plays Chinese style happy hardcore with an 80's twist as his driving. At one point our taxi driver who has a similar glare to Clint Eastwood, with a hint of a Jack Nicholson (think One flew over the cuckoo's nest) expression, decided that driving on four empty lanes simply was not good enough. He crossed lanes into on coming traffic and played chicken with a lorry. It was the funniest thing. The thing is, his not an exception but the complete norm.

Wanna go for a ride kid.

A majority of the people i was with wanted to checkout the DVD store, so that's where we headed for. We arrived safely to find a store that had a second entrance behind one of its posters. Illegal DVDs galore and at 40p a pop, not bad. I did not buy any as I do not have any room in my back pack but everyone else when absolutely "nuts". I've never seen a group of people so happy. You could buy the box set of the 24 series 1-5 for only 6 pounds and it was good quality. We later asked the driver to take us to a restaurant that was cheap and good. We had our own private room. It was not flashy but nice. All we wanted was meat, veg and some rice. They brung in 9 plates of food, good food, and we each had about 4 drinks each and individually it cost less than 2 pound each.



I'm liking China and the other students. Starting to feel very much at home here.

China 7 months: Shaolin Step Crawling

Not far from the academy, about a 40min walk away is a cave where the 8 Immortals have said to have been and where Zen Buddhism started. To get to the cave you must go up the mountain near by (same place where Mantis is taught) and also up a long collection of steps. Tom and I decided to visit there after breakfast with the intent of crawling down the steps, old school Shaolin style, hardcore baby!

Hardcore Shaolin style

I had done a lot of crawling training before. It's fantastic exercise. I only did 4 main crawls; the Alligator, side ways, the Caterpillar and the bear but never down steps. So i was looking forward to trying something new.

I heard a couple of the guys here had done it and said it was one of the hardest exercises they have ever done. This made me curious.

We reached the top of the steps and caught our breath before entering the cave. Just walking up the steps themselves is exercise and it's also very humid here to. On entering the small cave we were greeted with 8 statues of the 8 immortals and pillows on the floor so as to kneel before the statues. I sat in a traditional Japanese kneeling pose and Tom in a cross legged position. It was so calm and peaceful in the cave. I felt my breathing slow and my heart drop about 10 beats. My mind was clear and relaxed; this is truly a wonderful place to visit.

After meditating for a while we climbed to the top of the mountain and took in the amazing view of the far reaching landscape of which included the Academy.

Loved the views.

The longest journey starts with the first step.

Came back down to the cave and started the crawl down the steps. Straight away my back started aching, then my shoulders, then my abs. I was in real trouble. About 15min in, the sweat started pouring off Tom and I which is understandable as it was about 30+degrees and the sun was unrelenting. We had a strategy of picking a point and having a 30sec rest when we reached it. My mind kept on telling me to stop but I knew that when I eventually make it to the end I would be a better human being than I was at the beginning. A very strong motivating thought.

"i will be a better Human Being, i will be a better Human Being"

About half way, just before the longest and steepest part of the crawl, a group of Chinese tourists came by and started taking photos and talking to us. I think it was a girls school. They must have thought "what are these crazy white boys doing". One of the teachers could speak a little English and was inquiring to what we were doing. We explained that this is traditional Shaolin training. He seemed interested. The girls seemed struck. I felt like David Beckham. They were taking photos, filming us and giggling every 5 seconds. I suppose we are a slightly unusual sight as we were English, crawling, had are tops off and Tom is covered in tattoos. It was real funny experience and gave us an fortuitous opportunity to rest.

It was hard going all the way, especially as I had cut my hand about half way and loss about 50% of water from my body from sweating. We finished in about 30-40min, felt awesome and had some food which was simply some nuts.


Tom and I agreed to train later in the day. It had everything, deadlifts, burpees, skipping, pull ups, press ups, sprints, bag beat and a lot more. Bag beat is lying a punch bag on the floor getting on top of it UFC style and beating it none stop for 45sec. I just pretend that the bag is someone who has tried to steal my steak. I suggest everyone try this as it is great fun. Remember you have to go all out psycho on the bag, otherwise there is no point. My veins had popped up, and adrenaline pumping after that session I was on cloud nine. Ori saw me and said I looked pumped I replied "it's the chi flowing."


It was 8pm and I finished the book "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. It was given to me for the trip from my work colleague Ken. It is a cool book, very easy to read and sums up and explains everything nicely. It is a spiritual/motivational type book. I would recommend.

The Four Agreements is a very simple book to read and understand. Don Miguel uses the knowledge and principles of the Toltecs; a ancient group of of scientists, artists and spiritualists to help people of today survive modern age.

Basically, four precepts are put forward in which the reader should try to implement into daily life.

These are:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Words

2. Don't Take Anything Personally

3. Don't Make Assumptions

4. Always Do Your Best


The author explains each one in such a simple way that you can immediately put the words into action or well at least try. Everything takes practice including the agreements.

What i really liked about the book is it's simplicity and straight forward approach. You can easily read this book over and over again and each time it will enforce what has already been learned.

Sleep by 9.

China 7 months: First Mantis Lesson

First session of Praying Mantis consisted of a 10min jog, static stretches, dynamic stretches and hip mobility exercises. First thing the Master did was put me in a horse stance with both arms up and i was told hold this pose. I held this pose for what seemed like an eternity. We were in a small, dark room, the sun was shining so brightly outside, sweat pouring from my body, my arms and legs were shaking. I knew I was in the right place.




The master made Seb, a new student, practice holding different stances for pretty much the whole session to.




The afternoon session was held up in the mountains. About a 30 min walk from the academy. It is always hot and it's up hill all the way; excellent.

This place looks amazing but is not as tranquil as it looks as there is a building site not too far away.I think a temple is being built as a future tourist attraction.



The Mantis students consisted of mostly English and one Canadian. All young guys. I and Seb being the eldest.

It was a good day.

China 7 months: First "Real" Day

Both Ori and I woke up for our first "real" day at the Academy. Arrived early for the Tai Chi class that starts at 6am. This gave us an opportunity to talk to some of the students that had also turned up early. Whilst talking we found out recently a student had broken his leg during sparring and another had dislocated his shoulder and quite a few had sprained or injured their ankles. This got me thinking a little, but wasn't phased at all.

Tai chi and chi kung were cool but the Tai Chi was a little slow and I felt pointless for me but chi kung I felt had a purpose. Breathing is the most functional movement and air and all the goodness it contains is the second in importance in my nutritional hierachy.

Breakfast consisted of over boiled eggs. They heat the eggs up every morning until the students have eaten them. Everyone seemed to have porridge which they bought from the city shops. The academy supplies soya milk powder to mix with the porridge and hot water.

Today was a tour of all the classes of which there is 1 Baji, 3 Shaolin and 1 Praying Mantis class. Firstly though was the introduction of Ori and I to the 30 or so students. Whilst outside we stood in front of the other students and introduced ourselves then one by one to the Masters and translators. After that it started to rain and one of the Masters shouted something and everyone started to run out of the school towards a near by hill. So I followed. As I was running over the rocky ground, in the rain, my blood pumping, lungs working, taking in the majestic view of the near by mountains I started to feel good.

Shaolin

After the run which was only about 10 min Rollend proceeded to show and explain each class to us.

I wanted to do Shaolin as that's the one i've heard of and upon viewing it's the most suited to my personality and physical attributes and Mantis just looks funny. Though one of the Shaolin Masters advised me to train in Praying Mantis as he felt i wasn't strong enough. A little strange as in my opinion i would be in the top 5 based upon athleticism out of the students of the school. But i went with the flow and agreed to a 2 week trial of Mantis. Ori chose Shaolin and was accepted without incidence.

Deadly but funny looking.

The day went pretty quick. Dinner consisted of a plate of rice, chopped onions, cabbage with meat that no one seemed to know what it was. I was expecting a bowl of watery rice so I was pleasantly surprised but pretty much every other student hates the food.

Later whilst shivering from the freezing cold shower in one of the dirtiest showers I have ever seen, I quietly smiled to myself and again felt good.

The shower i shared with the bugs and frogs

China 7 months: The Hike

As I was eating my boiled eggs on Sunday morning with Ori and Tom. Tom is a 20 year old from a town not to far from Middleborough and is going to be, in my opinion a "double hard bastard". Rollend (interpreter) comes to our table and asked in an excited voice "do you want to go for a hike". We all said yes, packed some supplies and off we went. The hike was to the Kunyu Shan National Park. Just walking to the national park was a worth while experiencing simply because the beauty of the surroundings. There is usually a charge for visiting the park but students from the academy get in free. This is an attempt to encourage foreigners over and turn the park into a tourist attraction which I feel will only lead to the downfall of this wonderful area.

Soon as we entered the park it was amazingly tranquil and stunning. I'm a city boy so was in awe of the place. Rollend mentioned that we are going to the highest peak in Yantai and we have to go up some stairs to get there. But before that there is about 1.5-2hr walk which was fine by me.

We walked past mountains, rivers, lakes and waterfalls and just chatted and took photos. It was an extremely hot and I started to feel a little sun burnt already. My ancestry is Irish so i'm not really built for the Sun. We checked out some cave like structures. It was fantastic. About 2hrs later we played around on a rope bridge which was by the steps.

Now you know what a potential "double hard bastard" looks like

The road to paradise

About an hour into the steps which seemed to go on forever and reminded me of the steps in Ace Ventura 2, we had sweat pouring off us all, except strangely energetic Rollend.

We passed a well and Rollend drops to the floor and fills his empty bottle with the well water which the local animals probably think twice about drinking. He jumps up and explains the virtues of the water whilst I, Ori, Tom and the Chinese around us look at him in amazement.

The steps that go on forever

The Chinese seem very friendly. As we were walking up uttering "ni hao" to all the Chinese they respond by smiling and repeating, some even spoke a little English and say "hello".

Love these views

We took a much needed quick break to admire the view. We were by a cliff edge over looking the mountains and forest. It was truly fantastic, utterly re energized me and strangely brought a tear to my eye. I almost felt like jumping straight off the mountain into the forest below.

Rollend said we are ½ way, we all thought he was joking but he was not. We stopped found a space by a tree and had lunch which consisted of cookies, nuts and dumplings. It was actually quite nice. After that we all jumped on a rock which was right on the cliff edge and again admired the sights and sounds.

About an hour later we had reached the peak, 923metres above sea level. The whole journey was worth it. We stood on top on what looked like an abandoned building. Tom, Ori and I and began performing chi kung. "Frigging quality" or as Tom would say "sound as".




Going down was so much easier then going up. On the way down Rollend literally started picking buds off a tree and eating them. I tried them they were ok, not great. We actually got back to the academy in about two hours. We had left at 8.45am and arrived back at 5.45pm. The whole experience was totally exhilarating.


I love that park.

China 7 months: First Saturday at the Kung fu Academy

Saturday is a day off for the students to relax and practice what they have learnt during the week.

My room mate Ori

Our wonderful room

I woke up about 4.30am in the room i was sharing with Ori and went for a walk, which was fantastic as we are up in the mountains and the views are stuning, did some chi kung with the mountain air really enhancing it, stretched, read some Buddha quotes from a book my fellow Asian martial art traveler Kemi gave to me before I left. It was 5.30 by the time I had finished so I just took in the view and relaxed until everyone else woke up for breakfast at 7.

Just outside of Academy; beautiful

I love waking up before everyone. After eating two boiled eggs I noticed one of the students started watching a DVD. Where breakfast is eaten there is a tv and DVD player . It was the comedy film Eurotrip. Everyone gathered round in a huddle and watched. It is a very funny film especially if watched in a group. Really started the morning nicely. It was a great, almost family like feeling watching the movie in the morning. Though i had just arrived i found the atmosphere welcoming and pleasant.

Entrance to Kunyu Shan Shaolin Martial Arts Academy

Later I found myself in a taxi heading for the city with 6 relatively new students to the academy including Ori. The Chinese are slightly suicidal in there driving manner. I'm not totally convinced that you actually need a driving license out here. Drivers are changing lanes, beeping every 5 seconds and narrowly missing the crossing pedestrians. The pedestrians don't even look at the on coming traffic but actually look the opposite direction. I will not be surprised if I witness a car accident whilst I'm here, I just hope I'm not involved. Though all this did make the hour long journey a little more entertaining.

We all decided a shopping trip was needed for supplies especially for me as I had brought so little. We went to a Walmart which turned out to be a good idea as the signs also had English on them. We split up and decided to meet in half an hour outside. At one point during shopping I was ready to sign autographs as everybody was staring at me. I don't think many foreigners come through here as we did not see any others and obviously neither had the other shoppers. The young and the old especially stare quite hard. I actually found it quite funny, smiled a lot and kept repeating ni hao which is hello in Chinese. At one point I was looking for deodorant and had 3 Walmart girls helping me. I pointed to my under arm and one of them went away and brought back wax and a razor. I laughed and with my hands gestured that this is not what I was looking for. The whole aisle section was paying attention to what I was doing and smiling. Eventually one of the girls brought me to the right section. Almost a comedy sketch. If your quite shy i don't think it would have been a pleasant experience but i loved it.

Some of the guys needed weapons for there Shaolin class. So we asked the cab driver to take us to a weapons shop. We arrived to find a little shop that sold every non-firing weapon available. For 2GBP people were getting two kicking pads and a staff. Because of the cheapness of the weapons people went a little crazy. One dude bought two swords and another bought a metal whip with what looked like a metal bullet that had been sharpened attached to the end of.


When we arrived back late afternoon we found that individually we had spent less than 20 pounds each. We basically did a weeks worth shopping, had a meal, bought weapons and hired a taxi for 6 hours, not bad. The funny thing is that we get charged foreign prices, which is more expensive.

Had a good day and met some of the faces of the Academy.

A Thank You, Plans, Leaving and Arriving Day (England to China, May 10th 2007)

A Thank You, Plans, Leaving and Arriving Day (England to China, May 10th 2007)


I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that saw me days before I left so as they could wish me happy travels.

A real heart felt thank you to Mum, Onna, Yuki, Peter, Simon, Charlotte, Claire, James, Michael & Merlene, Enrique, Kemi & Petra and everybody from work, Charmaine, Lucja, Tim, Vikash, Ken, Otaniyen & Janine, Amina and Lodi that came to my staff leaving meal and chipped in for my lovely 27oz steak. It was gorgeous.

A thank you to all my wonderful clients, work colleagues and anyone i may have forgot to mention.

Plans

I have two countries that i want to visit. China to study kung-fu and Thailand to train in Muay Thai. Apart from these two i really have no idea which other countries i want to see or what i'm going to do when i get there. I have no idea how long i will travel for either. I will simply go with the flow of life and see what it wants to show me.

Leaving Day

Leaving day was emotionally a lot harder than I imagined it would be. The whole day was a struggle, though for most of the time it seemed like any other day but with spells of tears. Yes, tears (what!).

Family photo.

It was Mum, Onna (sister), Peter (friend) and Yuki (girl friend) who came to the airport to see me off. I was in a very relaxed mood considering i was about to embark on a life changing journey that involved leaving everything i've grown to love and am comfortable with. At one moment I almost fell asleep in the café where we were eating. I sometimes become very relaxed when a situation has an emotional or volatile charge to it.

We arrived at departures and i gave everyone a hug I had to look up and away from their faces to stop myself from crying.

Whilst in the waiting room, the airport bus and in the plane, thoughts of, am I really doing the right thing kept passing through my mind. My life is filled with such beautiful people that I knew I would be feeling like this so I was a little prepared for it. When the thoughts were overwhelming I just quietened my mind and knew I was doing the right thing.
Whilst in mid flight I read a letter Yuki had written for me. It was beautiful and touching; thank you Yuki.

Arriving

The flight was about 9hrs from London to Beijing. Which was not too bad but Air China do not play movies which was a little disappointing. Had to wait for 6 hours at the airport for my transfer flight to Yantai.

Whilst walking around I had the feeling of being in an illusion and was slightly disorientated. Though I did wake up when I sat in a tea shop at the airport and asked for the price of a pot of green tea which the waitress replied 180 Yuan which roughly equates to 12 GBP. How lucky I felt. I had found the most expensive pot of tea in the world in an average looking establishment, in an airport, in China. So I showed her the $6 I had and she said I could have 2 cups of tea. It wasn't bad.

Even on the airplane to Yantai I felt a little disorientated and light headed. The flight was about an hour long and arrived at Yantai airport about 45min late. I was half expecting the translator from the academy that I booked to pick me up, not to be there. But he was. A bright faced, enthusiastic, smiling young man by the name of rollend greeted me at arrivals. Along side a very grumpy looking taxi driver.

On the same flight as me was another student of the name Ori, from America. The translator seemed shocked that I only brought a relatively small back pack. We waited for Ori to get the rest of his, vast in comparison, luggage.

Once in the car we had a q&a session, which Rollend seemed to be the instigator of. He was telling us about the mountains around the academy and the national park that is also close by. I just kept quiet and listened. Ori was very pleasant and talkative.

We arrived at the academy about an hour later which was around 10pm. Rollend and one of the Shaolin masters showed us around facilities which was very quiet as everyone was asleep. We were then shown our room. Went to sleep shortly after that but not before setting the alarm for 5:20am.

The whole day was a blurry, disorientating, exciting and a completely surreal moment in my life.