ATTN: Peeps who've spent time in China

[scotty1]

Hello
Exciting news. I may be teaching at a school in China by September. ****ing September man!!

There are maybes, ifs and buts but I thought I'd ask anyway:

There are regions and presumably towns I can choose from where I'd like to teach. Anybody have a particular region which they think is beautiful/friendly etc?

Also, are there martial arts schools in most towns? What are the chances of the town I end up in having a good kung fu school?

And finally, are Kung Fu styles exclusively taught in their historical region of origin? Like, if I want to learn Wing Chun do I have to choose a Southern town?

Thanks for your time....

[dezhen2001]

hey scotty :)

If you're just looking for places to visit and things, why not go over to http://www.russbo.com as Doc's put up a lot of stuff about his travels... some cool pics as well.

As to learning gong fu - don't have a clue mate! Dunno how prevalent learning Wushu is there etc. I would say you will probably find more wing chun around the south, GuangDong, Foshan etc. maybe Rene or someone can help u there? Theres also the language barrier and things as well as i know from friends that literally NO ONE except high school kids speak ANY english...

good luck, i'm sure it will be a great experience,
david

[scotty1]

Cheers David. Rene has already given me some excellent advice regarding WC. When I find out the list of places I could go to I'll post them and see if anyone knows anything.

[scotty1]

BTW, when I say teaching at a school I mean English, not Gongfu!

:D

[dezhen2001]

i know English - but u'll still have to be able to talk to them in mandarin to explain what things mean right? High school level is not so great... like i said GOOD LUCK! :D

david

[scotty1]

"u'll still have to be able to talk to them in mandarin to explain what things mean right?"

No. Its not a criteria for being eligible to teach, I think they use 'total immersion' methods.

Thats not to say I won't try and learn a bit before I get out there, and try to study while I'm there. Its not like I'll be kicking back watching Eastenders, I'll probably get a lot done.
I would like to go somewhere warm and sunny.

[dezhen2001]

Scotty - u ever talk to WangSiZhong? He teaches English in China right now... maybe he can give u some pointers? I know he';s not really posting anymore, but maybe u could email him or something thru KFO?

later,
david

[scotty1]

I didn't know he was teaching....

Cheers David.:)

[GeneChing]

What regions and towns are available to you?

[Kristoffer]

I'm going to Beijing Gene, pretty soon and I was just wondering about the city, what u think I should visit. Stores, weapon shops (?), museums, is there a movie theatre?


I'm a grade A tourist over there so anything would be cool. Thx :D

[wangsizhong]

scotty1,
teaching english in china has its ups and downs
high school is rough because the kids often don't want to learn. classroom management is a huge issue, and knowledge of kungfu isn't usually enough to impress students ;)
you don't need the language to start teaching, but once you start to pick some up, its fun to try to use it in the classroom. you'll get some laughs but you'll also get some helpful pointers from the students.
as for kung fu, its not as widely available as you might think. the universities i've been to have virtually zero wushu presence. i know people who have studied it at university, but you kind of have to look around.
a useful phrase is "(insert city name) you mei you wushu guan?"
pronounced: yo may yo woo shoo gwan
obvious cites include zhengzhou for its proximity to shaolin and chengdu for its proximity to emei shan. actually, chengdu is kinda far from emei, but i dont know the names of the nearest towns big enough to sustain english teachers.
post the list of cities and i might be able to get more specific
-wang si zhong

btw, chengdu isn't sunny and its really cold in winter. if warm and sunny is a real criteria, might i suggest thailand? i hear they have some good muay thai ;)

[joedoe]

My girlfriend spent 7 months in China last year doing exactly what you are about to do. She loved it and found it very rewarding, but it wasn't easy.

She said that the students were pretty good - much more disciplined and well behaved than western students.

The group she went over with were really well organised and provided a support network for you. She found that a) they seemed to have a fair bit of clout and b) it was good to have the support network particularly when people are trying to jerk you around, or when you are feeling lonely.

Also, as a westerner you will become a bit of a novelty if you go to an outlying province (She went to Jilin which is near the North Korean border - smallish city). I am assuming you are caucasian? If so prepare to be stared at, pointed at, poked, and prodded :).

As for kung fu, she didn't really say much except that some of her friends that had gone to larger cities like Shanghai had no trouble finding teachers. Like anywhere, you are less likely to find a wide selection of schools to pick from in the smaller towns and cities.

If you want to know more, email me on jdoejnr@yahoo.com.au and I can try and get more info from her for you :).

[scotty1]

OK, thanks everyone for the responses so far. I can't wait to change my location to ....., China.
Here's the list of places: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Daiqing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Xian, Shenyang, Shenzen, Tianjing, Chengdu, Kunming, Haerbin, Dalian, Jinan, Wuxi, Changchun, Wuhan, Chongqing, Zhenzhou, Qingdao, Lanzhou, ShiJiaZhuang, Urumqi, Jinzhou, Taiyuan, Shaoxin.

I would prefer to go somewhere Southern (sunny and nice, prefer Southern styles) then North (a bit bleak/industrial/cold).
Ideally I would like to train Wing Chun.

A lot of places on the list seem to be of the industrial/cold/bleak variety, and a few of the Southern places quite toursity. But I have to live here for 6 months at least, so I'd rather be somewhere tourist and nice.

So far the main choices seem to be Shanghai, Kungming and Hangzhou. I have to submit 3 choices in rank order.

So, what do you think?

Joe Doe, did your gf go with the EF English First organization?
Apparently they're the Worlds largest private run educational organisation, and I'll be teaching in one of their centres, so no worries about Chinese "contracts", and I'll have a good support network. :)

Actually Wang, I heard the Muay Thai in Thailand is pretty crappy:D

[dezhen2001]

wow, that's weird... i posted and it didn't show up:confused:
i'll try again:

Hey mate, glad things are going well for ya :) Guangzhou and Fuzhou sound good, bur Harbin will be very different (far north east). Harbin has some d@mn fine gals though (at least the ones i've met over here), so i guess u just have to get the balance right :D

On the Muay Thai front, i guess it's just like learning gong fu/wu shu. The skill will be different depending on if you are a native learning in their environment, or a 'foreigner' learning from a coach there... best be careful about your £££'s that's all i can say :) I have heard some horror stories about people going to china to train.

david

[scotty1]

Hi David, thanks:)
Yeah Harbin has extremly cold winters, like average -25 degrees, so I don't really want to go there.
You're right about Guangzhou and Fuzhou, they do sound nice.
My list of places so far is Shanghai (because I've never lived in a big city), Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Kunming and Hangzhou, and that's just off the top of my head. But of course everyone is going to want to go there, so I think I should probably have a list of places I don't want to go rather than ones that I do. :(

I was joking about the Muay Thai BTW!!

[wangsizhong]

the following comments refer to actual experience or that of close friends:

Shanghai--so modern/futuristic you'll expect to see flying cars at any moment (almost a direct quote from a friend)

Guangzhou--bone up on your cantonese. this is the new name for canton. gotta be access to tons of training...

Xian--home of the terra cotta warriors. super touristy.

Chengdu--good little city. access to mcdonalds/pizza hut/kfc/shopping/etc. close enough to my old hometown (dujiangyan) that you could go find my old teacher. bus takes about an hour (15 yuan) so you wouldnt go everyday. there's a wushu middle school somewhere nearby.

Kunming--i'm told its beautiful. i've been there twice but wasn't interested in touring about. known for its stone forest.

oops, i accidentally deleted a few cities. changchun is north east and cold. and yeah, industrially.

Zhenzhou--isn't this the obvious choice? super close to shaolin.

Qingdao--believe its a port city. used to be a german colony. home of the famous qingdao beer.

i have friends who have been to the other places, but it wouldn't have been recent enough to give an accurate representation (china changes completely about every five years).

wang si zhong

[scotty1]

Cheers Wang (may I call you Wang?:) )

Zhenzhou is the obvious choice for training, BUT, wouldn't it all be Shaolin style? Plus, with it being so close to Shaolin do you think it would be fair to say that the schools would be kind of geared towards tourists? At least in a city perhaps not so renowned for its Kungfu the school might be a bit more, erm, genuine?

In addition to that, a nice place to live is paramount, training comes second. I will live in a nice area and take the best training available locally rather than live in a hole because it's close to a good school. Primarily because I am going with my gf, and although she wants to train I don't think she'd want to sacrifice an opportunity to live in a beautiful Chinese town to do it!
So I do have to compromise on that. Which is fair enough.

Just a couple of things:
"there's a wushu middle school somewhere nearby. "
Are we talking, you know, wushu?

"bone up on your cantonese. this is the new name for canton"
:confused: the school offers free Mandarin lessons, would this be pretty useless in Guangzhou?

Thanks for your time, everyone.

[dezhen2001]

in S China (from what i know from my chinese friends), they speak both Mandarin and Cantonese. Mandarin is the national language after all... but many people still speak cantonese...

david

[dezhen2001]

forgot to say before: most of the schools around shaolin, dengfeng etc. are all PRC wushu and some northern shaolin, so not much chance of finding wing chun there...

for schools around dengfeng go to www.russbo.com for the write ups :)

c ya,
david

[GeneChing]

If you can figure out the trains, you can get anywhere. It's a good starting point, but I personally, I can't breathe there. Really bad air quality. But the eats in Bejing, man, you can eat like an emperor for next to nothing.

As for museums, of course, you must hit the sights like the forbidden city, great wall, etc. There used to be a weapons display in the forbidden city, but the last time I went, I couldn't find it. There also used to be a cool display at the sports museum, but that too was under reconstruction that last time i was there, so I couldn't tell you if it still stands.

As for travel precautions, I'd say they are pretty much the same as any foreign country. Know where your embassy is, protect your valuables, and be smart. I've never taught abroad, but I have heard a wide range of experiences, both great and lousy. One major precaution you must be sensitive of is guanxi - connections. Everything is done in china through connections. Good lessons, train tickets, you name it, it's all about who your connection is. If you go there with no guanxi, it'll make you pretty vulnerable, so find some other people who might have guanxi in Beijing and get some recommendations. Once you penentrate that, China really opens up to you. Bejingers are the rudest people in a crowd because the city is so dense, you have to get rude. But as individuals, they are really warm and sweet, once you meet them personally. bon voyage!

[wangsizhong]

"bone up on your cantonese. this is the new name for canton"
the school offers free Mandarin lessons, would this be pretty useless in Guangzhou?

while mandarin (putonghua--"the common language") is the national language, its like speaking english in quebec. even chengdu uses more than a fair share of sichuan hua (sichuanese) and i'm told shanghai is the same way. local dialects are used everywhere, but you can get around it with mandarin. depends how widespread the dialect is. like in hong kong you'll be using cantonese and since guangdong province (home of guangzhou) is the home of cantonese (guangdong hua) you're going to run up against a dual language system. at least the writing is the same. here in tibet, the local dialect is actually a different language (but i can still get around in mandarin). the point is, the locals like when you can speak the local language. it'll be a great help with bargaining.
as a guideline, if you speak english in lhasa, you get charged 200 yuan. if you speak mandarin, you get charged 30 yuan. if you speak tibetan, i'm sure you could get it even less.

other notes of caution: people spit EVERYWHERE. they'll spit on the floor in your classroom if you don't make a rule. they spit in the street (even "respectable" ladies). they spit on the bus (not out the window--on the floor). just be ready. at least they don't spit on people.
--there is no such thing as a line up/queue. you push to the front and wave your money. this goes for train/bus stations, restaurants, and sometimes stores. be sure you know what you want and push to the front. it isn't rude, just different.

as for beautiful cities, i'd probably say kunming is the most famous for its beauty. my friend hates chengdu but loves kunming. it gets a fair bit of sun and is in the south so its warm enough. even in the winter its still spring-like. don't know about training opportunities, but yunnan (the province) is home to a number of minority groups that are of interest. also, kunming, if memory serves, is close to the southern border of china making out of country trips relatively easy. (thailand is really close, as would be burma (now called myanmar), and i think vietnam. check a map.

-wang si zhong

[scotty1]

Thanks for all the long posts everyone.
Wnag, keep it up, the more info the better.
Gene, good info about connections, rather than just walking into a MA school I think I'll wait until I get a guanxi to get in somewhere.
Stumble fist, you've scared the crap out of me now. I don't know if you meant to do that, but thanks for loking up that info on English First. I haven't given them any money yet so I think a little more research is in order.

Any and all information is GREATLY APPRECIATED, keep it coming.

[wangsizhong]

i'm not going to argue the language issue. you now have enough info to go on in that regard.

its true that contracts are not always honored, but i've never had problems in that regard. i've never been anywhere that hasnt been more than accomodating. i finally got my passport back after two months of waiting for a residence permit, but that's just administration stuff and not any ill will on the part of my school.

don't be afraid. but don't be arrogant. the more respectful and humble you are, the better you will do. remember, you're the learner now. none of this "this isn't the way we do it at home" business or they'll be happy to help you get back home (or at least wish you were). guanxi is a big issue like gene said, but you can develop your own guanxi by being pleasant, helpful, and undemanding.

*that's not the same as letting people take advantage of you.*

be aware though,that there is no such thing as a free lunch. your students or their families will give you things and invite you places. sometimes it is to thank you for your teaching...other times it is so that you will be obligated to teach their whole family the king's english (or something of the sort).
people will meet you once and want to be your best friend--be selective. they can be very, umm, persuasive.
"can i have your phone number?" "can we be friends?" "why can't i come, too? i'm your friend too right?" "can you introduce me to some western women?"
you might hear these ACTUAL questions on your first or second time meeting someone. they're serious.

sorry, this has nothing to do with kung fu. just some typical cross-cultural stuff that i would hope your organization would train you in. pretty basic stuff really. if your org. isn't providing you with this information, shop around.

wang si zhong

[scotty1]

I just went and checked out that whole board that Stumblefist posted a link to above.

Man, its not very inspiring, in fact, from those posts about English First and most of the others being about how you can't live on 2000RMB a month and how China is generally quite an unpleasant place to live I don't even know if I want to go anymore:(

Although on the other hand I think if I want to go, I should go and find out for myself how difficult it is, then I can say that i've done it and at least found out for myself.

Dude, what a head fu(k.

[scotty1]

Thanks Stumblefist, for the contacts in China.

I'm going to be phoning English First for some more specific details of the scheme later.

Questions like: do I have to pay for the air ticket up front?
what is the medical insurance scheme?
how is the accomodation sorted out? how many people to a house? does it have running water/electric/a kitchen etc?
how do the wages get paid?

Can you think of any more?

Wages are 2000 RMB, is that enough? Bearing in mind that your accomodation is free.

The reason I give them money is for training in TEFL, as I have no experience or qualifications in this field. Its about £150, plus a training fee of £200 (I think) which you get back.

[wangsizhong]

alright stumblefist, you know best.
enjoy your trip scotty1

wang si zhong

[scotty1]

Hey now Wang, don't stop giving me advice because Stumblefist disagrees with you!!

This is the internet, I don't know who I can, or if I can, trust anyone, so I need lots of different views to compare.

C'mon man, help me out.... :)

[chingei]

Originally posted by Stumblefist
", is that all those LARGE companies are usually swine.
Now learn to eat bitter and you can have a real good time.
i'll email you some personal peeps i know who are absolutely honest and reliable, with honest (err... in the chinese sense ) and reliable schools.
... lying cheating school administration is an oxymoron. If you are a wimp. they will walk all over you. If you got solid eyes, don't let a detail go by complain, complain, then chinese businessmen will sit up and bark.
Why? Because they need you 10,000 times more than you need them. You just don't know that.
And they know when you don't know it.
And they know when you do know it.
The law here is the law you assert. You push or you get pushed. If they can walk on you they will. If you complain they "save face" and nothing happened and they bark for you.
Sorry Wang but China's a place for smarts and that phoney respect will get you nowhere and your advice will string someone out to dry.
No!! You develop your own guanxi by trading favors and making the right friends. never make any assumptions and always assert yourself and forsee every loophole.
Make your own appendix to ANY contract, and if they don't like it ...dump them. Never sign their own (blank) contract.
- open your eyes.

man! sounds like battered child syndrome!

[chingei]

Kunming is mighty nice

Chengdu has great eats

Xi'an has friendly folks

for whatever my opinion may (or may not) be worth

if you're at a University, you will have lots of opportunities to get to know students. Some waiguoren become paranoid and never interact with their students because "you won't get something from me for free you *******s!! my time and the wonderful sound of my voice are like gold! gold I tell you!!!"

if you meet some students who are local to the area, and maybe sporty-types, they may be able to get you an introduction to some local teachers. and yes, you should be humble and deferential to any teachers you get the chance to study under.

don't over-plan. ride the changes

[scotty1]

Well, I just found out that EF schools are franchised and a lot depends on the local owners.

Apparently the general feel amongst teachers of EFL is that EF are a reasonable organisation, even though what they pay their teachers is a small fraction of what they charge their students.

Keep it coming everyone, thanks for the thoughts Chinghei!:)

[GeneChing]

Are you in contact with any mainland masters right now? They might be able to set you up with a guanxi. Surely everyone know someone in Beijing. If you can get someone to write you a letter of recommendation, that will help a lot with opening doors to a good school.

[chingei]

Originally posted by scotty1
Well, I just found out that EF schools are franchised and a lot depends on the local owners.

Apparently the general feel amongst teachers of EFL is that EF are a reasonable organisation, even though what they pay their teachers is a small fraction of what they charge their students.

Keep it coming everyone, thanks for the thoughts Chinghei!:)

:D

EF is a giant company. a possible benefit to you might be that if they have schools all over China, you could transfer to another school if your first assignment doesn't work out for some reason.

[chingei]

Originally posted by Stumblefist
"That is battered China syndrome. But if you don't recognize that you have to be assertive in business in China then you have had very limited experience.
China works on a system of corruption. No company here is exempt from that. no matter where you are and who you are taking to, You might sometimes be disappointed to find out that the friendship was just business (to learn english) keep in mind that simply "talking in English" is a commodity and decide from there what to give people and what to trade it for (and if you are smart you can get just about anything you need by talking for it) and how to develop your friendships.
...Some people are comfortable to put up with being abused rather than to assert themselves.

No chance...

you see chief, this is what I was refering to. some folks react to challenging circumstances by building their own little cocoon of self-centeredness and suspicion.

be careful and be aware, but don't let bitter, paranoid, insecure people ruin your experience before you even begin. keep your eyes and your heart open and you'll be alright.

[chingei]

Originally posted by Stumblefist
"
Nuts! What bitterness? You "don't-want-to-see-no-evil" people are a little bit like Marie Antoiinette or ostriches. I work hard and play hard and enjoy every bit of it. "

some people enjoy their bitterness

"You see both the good and the bad: that's reality. It makes your life strong and better.
Some people don't want to see "bad". Nothing can be done.
One man's heaven is another man's blindness."

your homemade fortune cookies suck, obi-wan.

got anymore empty platitudes?


"...
I've helped dozens of people land and adjust to their contracts and placed several scores in schools as well as martial arts training camps.
..
Just what have you done?"

yes, I'm sure that you are a beacon of light for all the ignorant masses you save...

typical insurance salesman. "Hello sir, how are you today? Good? NO! YOU ARE NOT GOOD! Sir if you had the benefit of knowing what I know, you would spend your every waking moment in terror! No sir, you are not good. Nor shall you ever be until you procure for yourself the security and peace of mind that can only come from 'Iloveme insurance, co. inc. If you want to ignore the daily horrors that await you, well sir, be my guest. But if you want real security and assurance for yourself and your loved ones there is only one choice, 'Iloveme insurance. "

this guy is playing upon the insecurity of newcomers to inflate his own ego, and it ain't pretty.



"...
Here are your opnions from (no) deep exerience...
-------------------------------------------
"Kunming is mighty nice

Chengdu has great eats

Xi'an has friendly folks"
-----------------------------------------------
Oh really informative, like NOT. That applies to all cities... sounds like a 2 day tourist. How about some reports on the living conditions, what eats and where, western or chinese, climate, upscale, western orientation, modernization, toughness of the local FA or PSB?"

Oh, I like this part. this is where we see who can pee the most on the same tree.

I would never compare my brief years to your infinite wisdom.

I know you were discovered by mao in a basket floating down the Yangtze, and no one has as intimate an understanding of the country, its people, or its institutions as you do. so all must fall at your feet and beg for guidance...



transparent.

[chingei]

Originally posted by Stumblefist

Now you haven't been watching too much of CCTV-4 have you?
It's a good study of propaganda techniques.
...
One reason you make sure you get a vcd player in your accomodation.: you can rent movies for about 12 cents US, usually copies of movies made about one day before they hit the theatres. :) (Hey, don't blame me. it's the only game in town, there is no such thing as legal rental.)
Of course you may prefer to watch any of the CCTV channels number 1 to 12, on cable TV. Each one has the Zhang Ze Min Comedy hour every day (aka 6 o'clock news).
---



good lord! the tv schedule! I...I never imagine the depth of the insight.

take as gospel anything this prophet says!

[scotty1]

Dudes! :D

Getting a little off topic here... Why can't you just ignore each other, that way I get three different viewpoints rather than 5 pages of insults!! :D

Seriously, thanks to EVERYONE who's responded, its is very much appreciated.:)

Now, some thoughts:

GENE: Unfortuantely there are no EF schools in Beijing, and I have no mainland contacts. Well, apart from Stumblefist...
But thankyou for the info anyway, I'm sure I will be seeing Beijing before I leave China.

STUMBLEFIST: Thanks VERY MUCH for the offers of contacts and placements in schools. I would not at this moment say yes or no to your generous offer as I still have a lot of discussion and research with my girlfriend (who is coming too!) to do yet. But it has been noted as a serious option.

The thought which is in my head about EF is that they are the largest private school org. in the world, and you can't get to that position by completly screwing every teacher that works for you.

The money that I give them (£150) is for a one month course with a TEFL certificate at the end of it (taken in England, may be a Trinity TESOL) with a possible training charge of £200, which is repaid upon completion of contract. The only money which I give them that they keep is the £150 for the TEFL, which is fairly cheap I believe, esp. if it is a Trinity College TESOL.

Sorry if I gave the impression that is was otherwise.

Here is something else dodgy as well...
Did you see another post on Daves Cafe slating EF in Harbin?
So that's one is Tinajin, one in Harbin, both saying working for EF was complete hell on earth. They are both written by the same guy, Shaun Rogers. Doesn't that seem slightly strange to you, why would he stay with EF if his experiences were that bad?
Unless he transferred in the hope of it being better. But he doesn't mention that, nor does he mention in his posts the fact that he has worked for EF before. Maybe he is working for another company, surely he wouldn't be so stupid as to sign with the same name twice?

Won't the kungfu around Zhengzhou will be Shaolin style and PRC Wushu, as David pointed out?

Whereabouts are you in China Stumblefist? Perhaps we could meet for a Tsingtao?

Chinghei - I appreciate your contributions, are you in China also?

[scotty1]

Dude, how long are you staying out there?

Fighting Taiji, sounds cool.

Whats the weather like around there?

I hit a real low patch yesterday about the EF thing. But now I have it in perspective, and I think with anything there's going to be some risk, I may just go for it. There are a lot of benefits to going with them (ie. free stuff), but I am not 100% yet at all. I still have a LOT of questions to ask them.

The thing which I keep thinking is that - it's only 6 months. It'll be a hell of an experience either way, and surely if it's that bad I can walk out, although I would stand to lose some money.

They have a site, www.englishfirst.com, but most of my info is from a pack that they sent me.

But don't think I'm not thinking about your offer, because I am.
My gf doesn't even know about that yet, so it needs some serious discussion.

Thanks for the research on EF offer too, PLEASE man don't forget or something, you guys in China are the best source of info for me.

My private mail is katenscott@hotmail.com, but its disallowed at work and that's mainly where I'm on the net. So if this thread drops, start a new thread or something yeah? Word on the street in China about EF would be sooooo good. :)

Cheers Captain, I'll buy you a beer.

You're teaching yourself over there, right? How long have you been out there, how long you going to stay etc?

[chingei]

Originally posted by Stumblefist
"baichi"
It means Stumblefist.

one man's dolt is another man's idiot.
One man's nightmare is another man's utopia.
One man's savior is another man's demon.

ping yongde


Chinglish you've run out of your reserve. You've got nothing left but the personal attack. You've lost the argument.

hahahahha
if you say so, o great one.

It was interesting sparring with you



'sparring'? hahahaha ok.

transparent

[chingei]

Originally posted by scotty1
Dudes! :D

Getting a little off topic here... Why can't you just ignore each other, that way I get three different viewpoints rather than 5 pages of insults!! :D

Chinghei - I appreciate your contributions, are you in China also?

where's the fun in that?

I'm not in China now. It was some years ago that I lived there fulltime. Although I do travel there on business from time to time.

[scotty1]

Where did you live Chingei? What was the kungfu like in your area?

Oh yeah, do the Chinese call it all 'wushu' or do they differentiate between 'wushu' and 'gongfu'?

[chingei]

Originally posted by scotty1
Where did you live Chingei? What was the kungfu like in your area?
Oh yeah, do the Chinese call it all 'wushu' or do they differentiate between 'wushu' and 'gongfu'?

I lived in Xi'an for about 2yrs back in the mid 90's.
Studied Tai chi quan with Chen Quanzhong every morning outside the city wall, and studied northern long fist at a small school tucked away in the muslim quarter.

One day Chen Quanzhong was giving some free demonstration lessons at the University where I worked. I slipped in with the students and tried to follow along (yeah, right!). Of course, I didn't 'blend in' very well and he noticed me (lone pale face in the group). We got to talking, with the help of some of my students, and ...

My students were very kind and helped me with alot of things. One of my students learned that I was practicing tai chi quan and we got talking on the subject of what other stuff I was interested in learning (yeah, everything was called 'wushu' to the best of my knowledge). A few weeks later, out of the blue he announced that he had arranged an intro for me with a highly respected teacher at this small school in the muslim quarter. I was quite pleased at the opportunity to learn and to grab eats in the muslim quarter (great stuff). I learned a lot of drills, some forms, staff, applications, etc. a wonderful experience.

Far as I know, 'gongfu' refers to any exhibition of physical skill and energy. 2 examples:

one night I was heading back to my apt. by taxi. the university kept the gates to the 'compound' locked at night so if you got back late you had to kind of scale a 8+ foot wall to get back in. Well, as I was hoping to impress the young lady who was in the cab with me (she would continue on in the cab to her U). I did my best Jackie Chan-type run up the wall (amazingly without falling and breaking my ass). I could hear the cab driver yell "hao!" "gongfu" as I slipped over into the compound (I was so pleased with myself)

another case: At the wushu school one day my trainer (younger guy who kicked my ass all the time at the behest of the master) found out from one of my students that I was a wrestler. So, in true China style, the whole school stopped what it was doing to come watch a 'demonstration' (not what I had hoped for). anyway, one of the other students at the school came at me and I shot a pretty basic outside single (quick as I could, knowing the eyes of the world were upon me) and took him down gently. Again, 'gongfu' was used in the above mentioned context.

Well, that's some interestingtonoonebutmyself info. other martial training type opportunities came up often while I was in Xi'an and/or traveling around the country. like anything else, its a matter of making the most of these opps as they come up.

In general, I've found that the eyes and ears work better than the mouth when it comes to recognizing opps

[scotty1]

Isn't Xian really smoggy?

A friend told me he had to bathe 3 times a day - bit of an exaggeration?

What's it like to live, bearing in mind I'm only going to be there over the winter.

You boys play nice while I'm gone. :)

[chingei]

Originally posted by scotty1
Isn't Xian really smoggy?


that's for sure. spend the day cruisin' around the city and when you get home, you blow your nose and its just black. nice. but if you get out of the city and head north a bit, its unbelievable. some of the mining towns, just being outside for a couple of hours will turn a white shirt dark grey.


A friend told me he had to bathe 3 times a day - bit of an exaggeration?

I never had water available that consistently.


What's it like to live, bearing in mind I'm only going to be there over the winter.

hmmmm. cold, but not unbearable. on a nice cold evening, sitting around the night markets with some hot kebabs and beer (or baijiu) is a good thing. there is a local dish called yon ro pou mo, or something to that effect, that I had every day in the winter. its soooooooooo good. nice n' hot too.

pretty decent folks in Xi'an if you ask me

[Uchimata]

Hi guys, I am a judoka or judo player from canada and I will be visiting China, Beijing and Shanghai for 2 months. I would liek to continue to train judo in those cities. Anybody know anything about hte judo scene in those cities ? Dojos? Places to train? References ?

[joedoe]

Sorry I haven't replied - been away on business. :)

My GF went to China with an organisation called Council Exchanges. I think they are a worldwide organisation, and her opinion was that they were very good. I think she paid for her airfare, then they looked after everything else.