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.
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