Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Help, I'm training in Shaolin...

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Help, I'm training in Shaolin...

    Hey Doc,

    I can't thank you enough for all your help your website has given me. I'm currently in DengFeng preparing for a training experience 3 months long. I brought some toilet paper for the journey too I'm getting so many different kinds of info from diff. people that it's quite confusing. Your website has helped me separate the wheat from the chaff.

    Quick questions:
    1. Is $25 US/day too much to get private lessons with Shi xxx.xxxx in the Shaolin Temple? I'm meeting with him tomorrow.
    2. I've been quoted $1000 US for training at the Wushu Guan for 3 months. I think that's an ok deal. Whatchu think? I'm gonna speak to xxxx xxxxx for more info.

    If you're in Henan, would love to meet you. You're a celebrity! We just won't go to any massage parlors together

    I'll be here till May '03.

    Take care,
    xxxxx xxxxx


    Just what I needed. An email from someone in Shaolin. Damn, and I was just telling Gene Ching yesterday that I was getting the itch to go back again. Already. (Just got home in December...., lol)

    OK, a few things:

    You brought toilet paper? I truly, am not impressed. Be a man like the rest of us and use one of those tiny pieces of soiled newspaper that you find on the floor. When you get to the point where you can hold it in your hands and read it first before you use it, then, you shall truly become one of the "greats". LOL.

    $25 a day for training is pretty typical, and is not a bad price. I strongly suggest that you do not "sign up" for a prolonged period of time. Pay day by day. Or, a week at a time. Do not pay for the entire experience up front. You might find that you don't like training with Defang, or, whomever else you might end up with. You might find that you develop other options as time goes on. You also might find that you don't want to stay for three months. Keep your options open. And stay away from my doc honeys.

    $1000 US for training at the wushu guan for three months is also not bad. That's about, oh, fifteen dollars a day? I'm assuming that does not include staying at the wushu guan hotel, world reknowned in the Shaolin world as a veritable shithole. If it does, it's a steal. But, the wushu guan hotel is not the nicest place to stay; the Feng Yuan, is much, much nicer. Problem is, the Feng Yuan is about 15 km away, which, at 30 yuan fare each way, and twenty minutes or so, it's going to wear you out. As you haven't made it clear to me where you're planning on staying, it's hard to give you advice. Also, since I don't know what you've budgeted for this trip, it's also hard to give you advice. Again, don't make any promises or payments for a long term stay. There is absolutely no guarantee that you're going to like this, like the area, or, survive, gastrointestinal wise. Pay as you go, don't pay everything up front. I'm good friends with the father of the guy who runs the wushu guan, though, I don't know the guy who runs the wushu guan himself. They need money, as they're currently reconstructing the hell out of the place (see my Journals in the forum archive). But, it's not my first option; I don't stay there no more. I stay at the Feng Yuan now, and train in the mountains with Shi De Cheng or Shi Xing Wei. If you're going to stay in the Feng Yuan, enjoy, say hi to manager Cui, and when you're at the Feng Yuan, stay the hell away from my doc honeys.

    If you want to stay at the Feng Yuan (a doc recommendation), you can either travel to Shaolin back and forth each day, which is doable, or you can train at other schools, such as my master's school, the She De Cheng Wushu Guan, near the Mt Taishi, (look up, it’s the big mountain behind you), near the Confucian temple. Ask any tuk tuk driver for the Shi De Cheng (pronounced "chung") wushu guan. Or, find the Feng Yuan manager (manager Cui), tell him you're my friend (always, always bring a picture of the great bald one), and have him direct you to Decheng's place. At Dechengs place, point to my picture, if it isn't in the trash by now, and say "wo de peng yo". (Peng pronounced as "pung"). It means, "I'm his friend." I think. I've used it a lot, and it gets me absolutely nowhere. Maybe you'll have better luck. His current rate, including food, training, and clean housing, is $25 a day. You might be able to negotiate lower; other's have. And when you're at Decheng's school, stay the hell away from my doc honeys.

    As for being a celebrity, thanks, but, hey, what goes up must come down. I'm either on the way down, or have hit bottom. It's nicer down here. In any case, I might, just might, in a frequent moment of doc insanity, get on a plane and head over. It all depends on what more shit the US government puts me through with respect to these visas. Shi De Cheng and Shi Xing Wei were planning on getting over here soon, but it all depends upon this security clearance nonsense that we're going through. You might, just might, see me in Henan one of these weeks. If you want to find me, keep an eye out for a rather large unattractive male with a shiny head, sometimes surrounded by a gaggle of giggling young Chinese women, usually on some creaky old imitation of a wooden bed in some underground filthy shithole. Don't be afraid to say hi to doc. He's mean looking, but really, kind of friendly. Sort of like an M&M. Hard and crusty on the outside, soft and squishy on the inside.

    And if you really know what's good for you, stay the hell away from my doc honeys. They're the ones with the dumb glazed look in their eyes.

    Have a great time
    doc
    Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

    "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

    (more comments in my User Profile)
    russbo.com



  • #2
    Doc,

    You kick ass. I was surprised to receive a response so quickly, and what a response too. Thanks so much for your advice. I'll try to break down my details as specific and systematic as possible, for just one more deep philosophical lesson from the great bald one himself.

    Here I go:
    I'm training here for 3 months. I want to learn effective self-defense that I can use in a street confrontation. I have no wushu experience, but I have a black belt in TaeKwonDo and Karate, and I have tried Jeet Kune Do for 3 months. So I want to learn effective techniques not just forms.

    This is what I'm narrowing it down to:

    Shaolin Temple (training with Shi xx xxxxx, brother of Shi xxx xxxx) $25 US/day. He said I would get temporary private lessons in this quiet bamboo courtyard, which is on the right side of the temple, up 2 flights of stairs. Then when his students get back in one week, we'll train in the mountains. Met him today. He seems genuine and gentle, like a "real monk" should be. I told him I prefer training with a group of 5 or more, so I can better learn from my own and other's mistakes. I will train from 9am-11am and 2pm-4pm, 4 hours a day, which seems good. De Fuhng said we will start out by developing my qi. Sounds great, just hope the qi will help me better defend against a knife or gun-wielding assailant (I'm from LA )

    $11 US/day. Training at Wushu Guan. My contact is xxx xxxx. My ex-girlfriend from Hong Kong is contacting him today to set up a meeting. I have no details as to who I will train with, or scheduling. But the Wushu Guan seems like a pretty safe choice. My travel agent, xxxxx xxxxx, said the Wushu Guan doesn't have "real" monks. It's really tough to figure out who to believe.

    $15 US/day (?- just for training)-Shi de Cheng's school. Sounds like a great place. As for my training desires, would the de Cheng's school best fit my criteria as a beginner of wushu, who wants to learn how to effectively incapacitate someone within 2 hits?

    1400 RMB/3 months- Tagou. Gonna check it out. 1st impression- Seems kinda like a mass boot camp.

    1500 RMB/3 months- Henan DengFeng Shaolin EPO Wushu Zijuan Xiu Yuan, run by Liang Yiquan. While in Zhengzhou, I met with the General Sectory of the Zhengzhou Wushu Association, Liang Shaofei, which supposedly oversees all the DengFeng schools. He said the 2 best schools in this area are this one and Tagou. But of course Liang Yiquan's is better.

    So difficult to choose. Maybe I should just train with one of those guys who says "hullo" to me when I get off the #1 bus, and learn effective pressure point manipulation from the massage girls

    I'm gonna play it smart, safe, and patient. No paying upfront for a month. It seems like there aren't so many tourists or foreigners around, so I have a bit of buying leverage.

    As for accomodation and food, I'm a "xiao huangdi", and the FengYuan is very comfortable and clean. Good food across the way for 20 RMB, got my laundry cleaned for 95 RMB across the street, net cafe across the street is 2 RMB/hour, and a damn good massage for 30 RMB (local price!). Only thing is I've been paying 160 RMB/day for a standard room, when a single (120 RMB) would do fine.

    And don't worry, even though it's Valentine's Day here, just "smile sex" for me.

    Best wishes, blessings, and all that good stuff,
    xxxxxxxxx



    What's this about a "damn good massage" for 30 rmb?

    I, the great bald one, full of tons of philosophical lessons for all those unfortunate enough to want to hear, pay 100 rmb for a "damn good massage". For a "damn good" hour. And, I give them a "damn good" tip.

    ****ing little whores.

    Just not going to listen to their "more to rub" nonsense.

    You know what man? Even though it's Valentines day, and all you're looking for is "smile sex", doc has a present for you.

    You can have all the doc honeys. Doc has no need for them no mo. Please tell them that it's over. Out of my mind, out of my heart. Imagine, 100 rmb....

    LOL, ****ing little whores. They're all yours baby, all yours. Hope you enjoy them. LOL

    Hey, looks like you've been doing your homework over there. A few pointers:

    Tagou is like a boot camp, but, if you get to know them, you might arrange "one on one" lessons, which, I highly recommend. You can get the same at the wushu guan, but, remember, if you're staying at the FengYuan, which is much easier to live at, traveling to Shaolin will be time consuming. And I don't recommend staying at the wushu guan hotel. Decheng's school is an excellent option; you'll really enjoy training one on one with his coaches. I think that he's going to France Feb 20th, and, Xingwei should be coming here, to the US, in March. But you'll still learn just as well, if not better, from Decheng's coaches. They have his teaching philosophy, as opposed to what you might find at the wushu guan. Again, remember, the monks at the wushu guan are kind of hit or miss; you might find one that spends a lot of time with you, you might find one that doesn't give a shit. That will be anywhere, for that matter. I just haven't seen that type of behavior at Decheng's school.

    I guess a lot depends upon where you plan on living. If you plan on remaining at the FengYuan, (recommended), then train at Decheng's. If you plan on living in the wushu guan hotel, then train at the wushu guan. As for Tagou, it's big, it's moving, and I don't know much about the quality of training there.

    As for learning effective self defense, don't expect it. It's not a common thing in China to learn "applications". They expect that after you've practiced the maneuvers ten thousand times, you'll figure out the applications on your own. As I don’t expect to live long enough to figure them out on my own, I've had Decheng teach them to me. That's going to be hit or miss, depending upon who you learn from. Regardless, it's all good shit to learn. Train hard where ever you end up, and it will be a worthwhile experience.

    Oh, and stop paying someone to clean your laundry. Be a man and throw it into the tub like the rest of us. Be even a bigger man, and get in the tub with them. Wiggle around for a while, and eventually, all comes out "clean". Or, you can do what I sometimes do, and get yourself a doc honey to clean your clothes. (In the tub of course....) Since when I've just "given" you all my doc honeys, this concept of paying for laundry, should never show its ugly face again!

    Have a safe time over there. Imagine, me coming over there in March. What a concept. Warn the FLW's. I just might show up....

    doc
    Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

    "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

    (more comments in my User Profile)
    russbo.com


    Comment


    • #3
      Practicing a little yesterday with xxx xxx got me interested in Qi Gong. I have years of training in Taekwondo and Karate, and the concept of Qi remains somewhat mysterious to me. I'm wondering, though, whether if I could develop my Qi, given the 3 month time I have here, whether I could effectively use it on the street. Maybe that's unrealistic. Curious, about your experience training with him, and your skepticism about Qi Gong. I was thinking of starting training possibly this Friday, or maybe Monday to make sure I'm fully recovered.

      The way I got in contact with the Wushu Guan was through Anthony Goh, president of the US Wushu Association in Baltimore. He hooked me up to xxxx xxxx, and got me a "discounted" price of $1000 US for 3 months training. Seems like the average going rate around here for "laowei". So how can I go around Mr. Guo? xxx xxx doesn't speak English, so that's why I needed to speak to Mr. Guo. I somewhat know you mean though, cause my American friend spoke to xxx xxx for 1.5 months of training, for like $50 US/month, and xxx xxx was hinting that they would do Qi Gong in my friend's room at the Wushu Binguan. I'm just wondering if I go through xxxx xxxx without Guo where we would train, and whether that would cause any problems with all the politics that goes around here.

      Yeah, I love the Fengyuan. The flw's really like me, and I like them. My room is perfect, and I'm super comfortable.

      Btw, I believe history is in the making for Shaolin. Yesterday, I saw at least 20 shops pack up all their merchandise within a matter of hours and transport them down to Dengfeng. Over the loudspeaker at the Wushu Guan, a propagandistic female voice was ordering shopkeepers to leave. Push came to shove, and finally, Shaolin will restore some of its integrity. The government is really cracking down on this whole prostitutizing of the Shaolin name. I think it's good in a way, to separate the wheat from the chaff.

      See you soon,
      xxxx


      My view on qigong is not fully established yet. I've got all sorts of feelings about it. We'll discuss if further if I ever make it down to Shaolin. I'm here in Beijing, but I'm still not feeling up to par yet. Got to get this damn health under control.

      And oh, if I do make it, save one of those flw's for me. And not an old bitch either. I hate when you younger guys throw me the old unwanted hags. Makes me feel, well, old.

      May see you soon. Hi to xxx xxxx. Haven't trained with him for a year.

      doc
      Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

      "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

      (more comments in my User Profile)
      russbo.com


      Comment


      • #4
        Btw, Manager Cui no longer works at the FengYuan. The new staff is really, really cool though. Don't worry, there are enough youngin's to pass around. What amazes me about China is the huge service industry in restaurants and hotels that employs many, many young girls. So many, so young, and very cute.

        I hope you get better,
        xxxxxx


        Manager Cui just called yesterday and asked about me. Are you sure he's no longer there????

        Watch out for the young ones. They grow up to be old ones. I don't want to have to tell you what happens when they become old ones.

        I'm getting better.
        doc
        Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

        "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

        (more comments in my User Profile)
        russbo.com


        Comment

        Working...
        X