Shaolin Kungfu Blog

[blooming lotus]

It was said to me recently that you folks might get a laugh out of my adventures to find Kungfu and shaolin while here in China. Please feel free to contribute your own experiences....

At the moment I've only been here for comming on 1 wk. So far I have a taiji master, free of charge and a "date" with the shaolin temple....being that may 1-7 here is joyously laborday holiday......


I am at the moment teaching english in in Zhengzhou (jungjoe)....and everyone, young old, ...very very old...female andmale seems to have had some experience....

I was practicing taiji, sparring and just mucking about in general with my vice-principal the other day and he let this crazy comboed snake, crane, pubu, come lohan-looking combo in what must've been half a breath...I caught it with a side kick and some dim making hands but I was caught off-guard seeing so many styles in the one set...and he 's apparently not even that good......lol...

haven't really got back to full training here yet, but doing some circuit and walking just about everywhre for up several hrs cummlatively a day most days....it's likethat here....in western countries you have a car..but here, it's two feetand a hearttbeat...the best part is, because I'm always lost,I don't realise how far I've walked until I either get home with a rager of an appitite ...or wake up the next day, do the squat toilet, and go "oh ...that was pretty far...lol"......

electricals here always drama, but looking forward to getting the video / dvd player running to check out my new omei vid..and pilates...seriously missing pilates...but if you havea machine, regardless of whether it has cords, my school seems to think It'll be just fine ....lol

taiji lesson 5 tommorow and should have news on the what schoolmy pa has booked me into in shaolin...



let you know how I go

[blooming lotus]

ok...still nonews...but just did an obligatory diner with te dean and am so *****d I can bearly find the keys...short walk my as*....anyway,,uncovered some good history ....as soon as I'm functioning, be happy to share, godamme amicable. business relations....now which way was home?????

[GeneChing]

What part of Zhengzhou are you in exactly? How's the teaching facilities? Are they taking good care of you? I know a lot of people have asked about teaching English near Shaolin, so your experiences will be valuable to them.

Stay safe and have a great time!

[canglong]

Sounds interesting bl thanks for sharing the experience.

[blooming lotus]

Originally posted by GeneChing
What part of Zhengzhou are you in exactly? How's the teaching facilities? Are they taking good care of you? I know a lot of people have asked about teaching English near Shaolin, so your experiences will be valuable to them.

Stay safe and have a great time!

Thanks Gene. I am extremely lucky where I am.. I'm in a great school in Xin Zheng city...new city of longhu...long=dragon...hu=lake..

I pulled a great school with respectable faclities and the food is great ( except the local alcohol they keep trying to feed me :()

the toilets aer on the floor in most public areas (including the school) but our apartments are fitted with western styled toilets....it is extremely comfortable and I feel I have everything I need to live, work and train happily for a long time to come.

The school has a gymnasium, so yesterday I decided to check it out. I entered the main room near the entrance with a row of table tennis tables where many folks were playing...and kindly asked them to show me to the workout room...ie:boxing bags...weights etc....but they thought that was extremely funny because there was none :(

luckily in China everything is very inexpensive, so for about $20, I can pick up my own. There is other equiptment, like bars and jazz...and I'm looking forward to getting a new routine on.

Next week shaolin temple and dengfeang...I'll try to find adigital camera and if I can manage it, I'll post some pics of my week.

[mickey]

Hi blooming lotus,

Don't forget to keep it fun!

mickey

[blooming lotus]

always ;)

just a little seedy from last nights meeting.....no more local alcohol!!!

[blooming lotus]

just lucked into a loacl tradition chinese history teacher....again...all for free :D :D :D

I think this could potentially be good news for us all!!!

gotta run, let you know how I get on

[blooming lotus]

speaking of local history....

my tutor tells me that the legendary "shilouette" of damo is maybe only a myth...he says it "changes with the weather"...(though not literally)...and maybe you would ned to sit in the cave as long as he did to see it....

Gene...I know you've been there...have you seen it???

I plan to go in the nxt several days myself, ...so I'll see what turns up....or doesn't ......


My pa here has been intouch with a few schools in DengFeng...I herar shideCheng is in Italy, but his school is still operating....nothing solid, but looks like I found my school.....accomodation included.....my pa's negotiating price, again I'll let you know :cool:

[GeneChing]

The Tamo stone resides in Shaolin Temple, towards the back in one of the right side altar rooms. We ran the poem in Shaolin Special 2000 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=152) along with a pic. The last time I saw it, it was behind some smoky glass, so it was hard to see. I've always seen Tamo's head in the the upper right corner, a small image, like a traditional Chinese painting. But they added this diagram a few years a back (I don't know if they still have it) which showed Tamo's face like a big cartoon which took up most of the rock. Very Zen that. :rolleyes:
Anyway, as for the changing colors, I've never heard that about the stone. They say that happens in the lohan mural hall, but I'd attribute that to the changing light more than anything. The light inside the altar rooms is quite moody and brings out very different colors at different times and seasons.

[Banjos_dad]

Come on BL, we're ready for more!
You're not suffering from a Chinese hangover are you?

I've heard tell that if they think you're lagging or not putting enough care in your training, they'll smack you with a stick.:(
Is it really true?

Your friend in martial arts, B_d.

[blooming lotus]

I'm about to find out....;)
we have just gone on 1 wk holiday here and as soon as my friend arrives from Beijing we'll head out to shaolin...

I know that they're not even half shy hereto throw afew combos at you andwait for your response...yesterday ay our schools' sport carnival I had 1 teacher and our rather chunky vice-principal tst my iron shirt...throwing a few punches to my torso...lol...all good fun..

have aquired a boxing bag, mat, shuttle kicking doobie, and some focus mits...

the pricipal here tells me when we return, he will teach me some of his gong fu daily before my morning taichi....I also hear that in a local park less than 5kms away there are many masters practicing daily...sounds like a good reason for a run....they tell me that I will likely be taught for free...

also have been noticing on the basketball court out front of my apartment, at various times durig the day, people practice hand conditioning, omei stlye on the iron poles of the ring....slowly builing a new routine and hope to work this one in with some hiit work on the courts....

point of note...abs here are often not ripped...especially in girls ..but rice here is like veg at home...eat your rice...if nothing else..eat your rice..seriously high carb diets here...maybe that 's why so few are very ripped...

love my ripped torso myself ( which coincidentally haven't seen for a few wks...lol....but feeling optimistic about its speedy return anyway)

have camera organised for my upcomming trip, so I'll get back to you with snaps asap...plan to trek up shongshan, visit damos' cave, shaolin si, meditate with some monks, check out a few local schools and will stay at shidechengs' school w/ accom/no food for ...US$100 p/wk

looking forward to sharing what I learn :cool:

[norther practitioner]

Have fun in Dengfeng and Shaolin BL... looking forward to some snap shots... :D

[blooming lotus]

thx to everyone...just hit dengfeng and now is 11 ish pm...soo many good threads at mo...wish I had more time...don't have as many days here as I would like but plan to come on my off days 4/14...tonight not so muh action...several shops and restaurants open but will posts pics tommorow ( pending IT availiablity???)

feeling the qi already and totally buzzed out!! have chinese native freind here to interperet so this time should not be so harsh....

more tommorow

bl :D :D :D :p :cool:

[Shaolinlueb]

do tell of the very few monks left and all the disciples looking for people wanting autographs and pictures, and tell about the warrior monks in their leather jackets and girlfriends hanging off their arms.......

[blooming lotus]

went to shaolin si early this morning...opens 8:30 am ...entry Y40...this allows you into the gates beyond shaolin temple tagou martial arts academy..liu boashan s' school...(awesome sight !!more on that in a sec)..where you can pay to be robbed blind every few meters ....everything is very expensive here comparitively to elsewhere, but remember it is now more a tourist sight than much else :(

This becomes immediately obvious as soon as you arrive...there are shops, foodstalls and a public toilet only steps away from the temple entrance....locals will sell you their best "genuinine " merchandise for only 3x normal prices...more if yu're a foreigner...but as far as I'm concerned, this is the deal with the govt. at present, and if this keeps shaolin si open, I'm happy to contribute what I can....

unfortunately digital camera was not working so for Y99 picked up a cheapy from local store in dengfeng...and for your convenience you can have these developed directly in front of the temple....

it's like a big estate with guards and police at the base of songshan...security is huge and police presence is strong....

walking through the temple, I was getting increasingly excited to visit the martial monks of shaolin si....you think I could find one ???..no word of lie..there were maybe 6 total brown robed (?) monks scattered ( and we're talking huge peice of property..many buildings or halls)...through-out the temple, some ringing bells and others available to offer you blessing in return for small donation (Y60 ish)....they are generally happy to answer your questions but time and language are both factors...

you can for fee included in admission catch a show by a smaller local school on saffron gear similar to traditional shaolin training clothes, and there is a hall with many photos of martial monks and tours abroad on display, so you would be totally forgiven for thinking they were actually monks...sorry to dissappoint

most of the monks now live or have schools in dengfeng...Gene was right...they are everywhere!!!

did the huge looking ( but in reality not so far or half as hard) walk up to Damos' cave..where you can visit on of the shaolin nuns who spends her days in there giving readings simlar to I-ching also for a donation....it is not neccessary to do this but don't quote me, but I think it's fairly obvious they live off donations, as siddartha guatama ( forgive spelling) (sakyamuni)(buddha)so if you have any interest in shaolin, it probably a very kosher and respectable thing to accept..her words are chinese but inspire many people....when the reality of their humble situation became apparent later, on my way back down....I wished I left more..and vowed to return often with contribution....
:cool: ;)

before you come to damos cave ( damo dong)...you find ( besides very small displays of local wares scattered on the mountain from food to buddhist statues..postcards etc ( wtf with that...but it all helps keep these people alive and shaolin also....good investment...just don't get carried away )....as I was saying, you come to a building that housed the greatest surprise of my day...there are 5-6 shaolin nuns ...living, breathing, meditating, gongfu practicing shaolin nuns!! twas very cool....you can also pay donation here and pay homage to a staute of damo ( with three bows or kotos..(head to knee/floor..while on your kness)...I'm glad I had my friend with me here because I had no idea what I should do....so take note..you will want to know that if you come here...

the nuns are great and will also talk to you freely...they have this great look in their eyes and I have no doubt they are extremely satisfied and at peace with their world.....although they seem to value their individual privacy and try to avoid any photos...pls respect their wishes.....

then you get to the top of the mountain, past damo dong, and you get this great panaromic view of the whole of songshan and the vallyes and lake below...you can also buy refreshments here ...pics to come asap....

I easily used nearly four rolls of film...on the temple, tagou early morning training( more in a sec), the views, the halls etc etc...

the school in traning is extremely cool to watch...they are spilt into several groups scattered on various fields and alot of the school ground...you can walk right to any of these groups and watch them practice....I'm not sure how acceptable it is..but group shifus saw me and didn't seem to mind..in fact I was greeted with great cheesy grins and cheery neehaos from many students also interested in the curious foreigner...

most of them are tiny...well ..maybe 7-8-10 ish up to about 18....some of the little dudes are very very good....I saw alot of weapon training ( stick, pole and some extremely exellent varied swords)...don't be too intimidated to come though by their skill because some are begginners and there are lvls to accommodate everyone......

also saw some average, and some less average - quite good displays of boxing .....the takedowns were a very good watch...I think I have pics of some of those....did I mention their aerials...the most impressive display of skill here...together with sword...awesome stuff !! foreigners cannot train with these folks though because their instruction is in chinese...the school doers offer classes for foreigners ( at present abot 20 foreign strudents...various ages and skill)...your intsruction will not be from a monk, but you can learn shaolin styled gongfu here for now US 600/mth or US 24 a day...room is included food is not...

Still haven't made it to dechengs as phone is disconnected...lucky kfm provided us with a map of dengfeng in the shaolin special...which IO still have and brought with me...so tommorow I will take a cab here...taxi dengfeng to shaolin >40 rmb.....20 iof you're lucky...double if you're foreign and alone ;

food is good...coffee hard to find....have been mainly eating chillied fish or soup w/ something green..noodles are as good as Gene would have believe ! :D
accommodation...deposit Y400 , room 178 standard room...respectable and clean...rm service available respectable hrs....oh...and no turtle in sight for anyone who wondered....lucky for donatello 'cause I prepared to eat ;) :p

more later
amitoufo

[GeneChing]

If you like the hikes, ask to get someone to take you to the hanging bridge.
If you like nuns, ask to go to Yongtai Nunnery. It's between Shaolinsi and Dengfeng.
If you like noodles (and aren't vegetarian) try the muslim mutton noodle soup - there's a good place near Decheng's school on the corner of Shao Shi Lu and Bei Huan Lu.

[blooming lotus]

lol...the islam restaurant near cits???...done...y10 for 2 people...no liu cha but soup was not so bad...just had pic with wang yu min...and bought feiyues, kicking target, tracksuit, pants & gloves only several stores away for less than Y200!!!!
also went to see dechengs' school :D ...he is out of the country at present but will be back 25th may...can only train for 4/14 days...work calls..but for 1 on 1 training + accommodation...Y400...extremely happy...met shifu and watched a class..met french student studying here for 5 mths...seems more than acceptable and am very very happy...
oh..saw your pic on the wall ;) :D ..nice to see a familiar face :cool:

forgot to mention last post, yesterday at shaolin si came across an out - of- bounds- to - visitor area...have just now found out there are 80 ish martial monks here...would love to 've spent time with them but when you realise how little space they actually have left for private and sincere study and training, no matter how enthusiatic...you wouldn't think to deny them this.....:(

hanging bridge...yongtai nunnery Gene?? thx for the tips...will check it out and let you know...

also will post pics of recent travels asap and let you know how training progresses....

have gone from in recent months up to 12 hrs training a day to only several most days...lokking frwd to working my sorry foreign butt off!! ;) :D

amitoufo
more later

[GeneChing]

Wang Yu Min is a great resource, but he sees so many foreigners all the time that it might take a will for him to notice if you're earnest. If you're earnest, and he can see that, he can open all sorts of doors for you.

Also Dr. Russell is headed out to Shaolin next week. I hope to see in in SF when he passes through. I'm sure he'll be headed to Decheng's.

[blooming lotus]

Originally posted by GeneChing
Wang Yu Min is a great resource, but he sees so many foreigners all the time that it might take a will for him to notice if you're earnest. If you're earnest, and he can see that, he can open all sorts of doors for you.

Also Dr. Russell is headed out to Shaolin next week. I hope to see in in SF when he passes through. I'm sure he'll be headed to Decheng's.

I remembered Wang from last year. He came out to Aus with shi yan zhong for some seminars....I think he was pretty surprised to see me in his neck-o-the-woods and I coulda sworn he ever said "no sh*t!!!"...lol...I understand he must see a lot of fly -by-nighters come through DengFeng but I have a funny feeling we'll be seeing a bit of each other over time...right now I have noplans to leave and if I can swing it will chase a discipleship over the next yr...or whatever it'll take.....

next time I'm there ( hopefully in a week or 2) I'll be happy to pass on your regards

Ps...also received message off rich..will be in Beijing june...after thart hopefully dengfeng...we'll all be happy to see him ;)

gotta fly
BL

[blooming lotus]

having a bit of hard time consistently accessing facilities etc at the moment and work outs are becomming a mission justto think about....I feel very sad about this.

Of course I cando some floor stuff and cardio, still have taiji etc, but I expected that by now I would have a serious regime happening....could just be having an off day, but I'll mei xing ( meditate) and see how I feel tommorow......

also does help teaching long eradic hours and having several litlttle hottie students and teachers wanting my time...could turn them all away but it's against my buddhist nature if they are in genuine need of assistance or comfort....

I know there's a line to tread there, and thx in advance, ...I'll take of myself...........

internet acces or lack of, and other electrical availability is a constant on/off battle....routine???...that's almost funny.....you rely onpower or a working peice of equpitment and it falls through with no time to resched.......tht's china...nd don't get me wrong, because my school gives me the best that'savailable...for a gongfu buddhist ded...I'm just not sure it's going to cut it....In aus, I may not have had monks and nuns to study with...but 4/6/10/12 hrs training plus work or study was breezey....i put alot of work into getting here and gave up many things to makeit possible...in serious self-discussion..........

bl

Ps...no scanner ( or even printer) to speak of ( as in just about the whole of freakin China), so unless I can the pics to you another way...?????:(

working on it :cool: