After suffering through the heat, the sickness, and all the annoyances of rural China last year, I decided it would be a good idea to go back and experience it all again. Just like last year, I could only spend 2 weeks at Shi Decheng's school. The first two days made it seem like 2 weeks would be much too long, but by the end of the trip, I didn't want to return to Japan. In fact, I was pretty sad to leave.
Taking the train from Beijing to Zhengzhou, I had started to worry. Shifu hadn't returned an email in over a month. Would he be there? Where would I train if he wasn't? But much in the same way as many things in my life happen, things would work out just as long as I showed up. I actually found Decheng on the bus going from Zhengzhou to Dengfeng; turns out he was just returning from some wushu festivals and his email wasn't working. He attempted to greet me in Japanese and I attempted to greet him in Chinese, and then he laughed and punched me in the arm. I thanked my lucky stars I ran into him and then thanked them again that he remembered me. What a great way to start my 'vacation' in Dengfeng.
For the next two weeks, I lived and trained at the school. This turned out to be a much different experience than last year, when I had stayed at a hotel (complete with a massage parlor, a sauna, and nice toilets). This year I felt I had really breathed, ate, and ****ted kung fu. This year's training was also much different in that there were so many more foreigners, most of them just beginning, and a few them very experienced and athletically gifted. It was really great to see Shifu weave in and out of Chinese, English, French, Italian, and now a little bit German as he taught.
The best part for you guys, however, is that I took plently of notes on my observations on training methods, chinese culture, kung fu culture, and life in general. Also, the exposure to all the other foreign students gave me a look at how shaolin is developing around the world (both the good and the bad).
Oh, and Doc, there are some pretty girls in Dengfeng, just not at the Feng Yuan anymore. In fact, a couple pretty ones showed up at the school. It was a strange coicidence though that my coaches told me to practice in the back by myself after asking me for a pen and some paper. Life's funny, huh?
Taking the train from Beijing to Zhengzhou, I had started to worry. Shifu hadn't returned an email in over a month. Would he be there? Where would I train if he wasn't? But much in the same way as many things in my life happen, things would work out just as long as I showed up. I actually found Decheng on the bus going from Zhengzhou to Dengfeng; turns out he was just returning from some wushu festivals and his email wasn't working. He attempted to greet me in Japanese and I attempted to greet him in Chinese, and then he laughed and punched me in the arm. I thanked my lucky stars I ran into him and then thanked them again that he remembered me. What a great way to start my 'vacation' in Dengfeng.
For the next two weeks, I lived and trained at the school. This turned out to be a much different experience than last year, when I had stayed at a hotel (complete with a massage parlor, a sauna, and nice toilets). This year I felt I had really breathed, ate, and ****ted kung fu. This year's training was also much different in that there were so many more foreigners, most of them just beginning, and a few them very experienced and athletically gifted. It was really great to see Shifu weave in and out of Chinese, English, French, Italian, and now a little bit German as he taught.
The best part for you guys, however, is that I took plently of notes on my observations on training methods, chinese culture, kung fu culture, and life in general. Also, the exposure to all the other foreign students gave me a look at how shaolin is developing around the world (both the good and the bad).
Oh, and Doc, there are some pretty girls in Dengfeng, just not at the Feng Yuan anymore. In fact, a couple pretty ones showed up at the school. It was a strange coicidence though that my coaches told me to practice in the back by myself after asking me for a pen and some paper. Life's funny, huh?
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