Mondays the World ’Round

Monday is appalling, even at Kung Fu school. Nay, especially at Kung Fu school! It froze after the rain— winter, like a frosty sock on the clothesline, refuses to let go. I ran my laps indoors this morning to avoid the treacherous ice cover on the courtyard. Tom and Charlie opted to run right over it, which was plain stupid. Charlie almost paid for it. Maybe he hasn't enough experience slipping to know what he’s messing with. After all, he comes from Africa.

I was so sore this morning, so stiff. Everything still hurts from Friday. That, along with residual fatigue, contributed to a number of slip-ups in the morning drills, which did little to improve my mood. The master was out of sorts as well, probably also due to the cold. He disappeared for a while, right around Chi Gung time, but he was happy to see me conditioning my hands alone when he returned, and that seemed to be the turning point of the day. I acquired a small injury to my right index finger during hand conditioning today. Responding to impact stress, my finger has swollen a bit around the first joint. I assume this serves as sort of natural, inflatable, splint to keep the connection stable. The master was quite happy about this, hopefully only because it shows I’m not slacking.

I’m starting to get the hang of the conditioning. Like most everything in Mantis Fist, it’s all about relaxing. We draw one hand at a time over our heads and bring it falling (more like whipping) down into the bean-bag. What’s important is keeping the shoulder relaxed, because if the shoulder is tense it effectively separates the body’s inertia from the hand— which is the part that delivers the smacking and, so, wants all the force it can get. Relaxing is also the key to our punching power, kicking drills, and, obviously, stretches. I am really making strides in relaxing during tough stretches. The body naturally tenses up in response to pain, and these stretches hurt terribly, but practice makes perfect.

In the afternoon I learned a ton of new movements for my second form, so many I may have trouble remembering them all. Perhaps I’ll practice before dinner, but maybe not . . . probably not. I’m still writing, for one thing, and I’m at a suspenseful part of “Breaking Bad,” a series I started yesterday.

Ending notes— the new cook continues to outperform, the master is showing me how to scrub my shoes later, and its so, so cold. I had to bring my frozen socks in onto the radiator, and my poor, drenched towel into the furnace room. And, to Aunt Sue, you’re very generous, but I fear shipping coffee to China might be a big hassle. I can surely find something here, eventually.

First Chinese Rain

I planned to write something on the one-month anniversary of my trip, but it slipped my mind and today will have to do. Today, I have been gone one month and three days. It’s a rainy Sunday and the laundry, once so close to being dry, is getting another wash cycle. No dry no socks remain, and no dry towel, so I probably need to bring some in onto the radiator. I don't want to, since it will funk up the room, but no other choice presents itself. For now, however, I’ll stay in bed.

Staying in bed is normal behavior at the camp, at least on weekends, but today it’s just Tom and I. Bernard’s girlfriend is in town, so he’s rented a room someplace to take a break from camp life. I don't know where Lion is. And as for Charlie, he invariably retreats to his Korean girlfriend’s apartment every weekend. The lure of heat and home cooking is strong. All I’ve managed today is to eat, call home, read some articles, and give my shoes a wash. The shoes I received are still bigger than I would like, and I may have to buy another pair. Hopefully, a wash in hot, hot water will do something for them. If not, the world won’t end. They only cost five or six dollars (about a third as much as the same shoe costs online in the states, even excluding shipping).

I’ve discovered the convenience of Internet radio. It’s free, with less advertising than traditional radio, and it relieves the burden of choice on my part. Listening and playing Go passes the time quite well when I need it to. I’ve yet to secure a board for the school, but I definitely will. I also need to get some coffee, even instant will do. It’s hardly the weekend if one can’t have coffee in the morning.

Blue Sky Friday

Mmmm, what a great day it’s been so far. I got to bed nice and early yesterday, woke up about as happy as possible, went to breakfast, watched Starcraft (in the early morning there’s plenty of bandwidth), and went out to train. It was sunny— not exactly warm, but breezy and refreshing for the morning jog. Training went smoothly. The master complimented my punch, we worked on forms, and went to Chi Gung, which was amazingly successful. There was some Korean chicken curry for lunch too, things are peachy in Yantai today.

After lunch the master called a meeting to explain that this afternoon will be power training (lots of exercise, but not much Kung Fu). If we train hard with weights on a normal day, the next day’s training will suffer, so from now on Friday will be our power-training day. I’m not looking forward to it, but it’s only two hours, and nothing holds us to the regimen besides the honor system (easily marginalized by rationalization).

My room is very clean this week, the master told me I needed to keep tidy or I wouldn't be able to rest properly. His room is spotless and practically empty, save for his blankets, which lay folded and stacked during the day. I’ve noticed the master also eats every last grain of rice from his bowl at meals, and so do I now.


P.S. Thanks to the commenters, it’s fun knowing you’re reading, and I appreciate the encouragement.

Edit-- We were not left to the honor system, that training was tough! I got to laugh it up some though, because I got to watch Charlie and Tom try the stretch the master makes me do ^__^.

Business as Usual

I can see the school is preparing to accommodate another student. During the past few days a room near mine has been stocked with bedding, cleaned, and painted. I’m not sure exactly when he will arrive, but I look forward to the day. It’ll be fun having someone to practice with, perhaps even after hours.

I haven’t written in several days. This partly because not much of note has happened, and partly because, after some final throes of unruliness, the Internet in my room is now stable, and so is my VPN. At last I have something to entertain me in the off hours besides dated BBC travelogues. Consequently, I am writing less. This keyboard is a hassle and the Internet is tempting. I really must buy a supplementary keyboard, because writing this way is a total chore.

Training continues at a steady rate. I spend most of the morning working on a particular movement that gives me a lot of trouble. I need to take a step forward, and let my back foot sort of slid up behind me. Doesn't sound so bad, does it? The issue is that it’s difficult to get the stability needed for sliding that foot up without leaning over my front knee. This is one of the relatively few instances where my leg is supposed to extend in this manner— much like a spider’s leg. There are also arm movements accompanying those motions, which add to the difficulty in not leaning forward. Oh well, it will probably come along in time. Chi Gung lasted a long, long time today. Keeping a clear mind is harder when one’s muscles are burning.

Today I stretched as far as I ever have. Master told me to take a rest, so I decided to do a stretch (the sort where you sit on the ground and spread your legs as far as possible), because the normal training doesn’t allocate much time to static stretches like that, but I still want to keeping working on them. However, the master took an interest in my activity and decided I needed help. First he and Andy grabbed a leg each, then they pushed them apart. That was ok, but then then he sat opposite of me doing the same stretch, except for that he was leaning back instead of forward, pulling me into the stretch. I was honestly very worried by the overly stretched sensation I was getting, and because when I would say “enough!” the master would only reply, “relax, relax!” And I knew if I relaxed as requested he would only feel like pulling harder. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if my legs were near 160 degrees.

I also discovered today that the only remaining part of the form I’ve been practicing was the bow! So I finished it, and started in on a new one. The master also mentioned that he wants to take me to a competition in july. Right now that doesn't sound like a great idea, but maybe things will progress faster than I imagine.

Today we were joined by a new cook. In fact, the same one I mentioned a few days ago. I don't know why the old one is leaving. Hopefully he’s not being pushed out of the job, but I am glad to have the other fellow on board.

Uh, I’m tired, don't have much to say after all. Maybe tomorrow will provide some interesting topics.

Last Week of Leisure

After receiving a call from my Dad, Daniel told me to use his room until the Internet is boosted. He’s normally away from the school, since he has an apartment and another business to run, so I can use it practically every evening, hooray! Yesterday was the last day of the Spring Festival, a big party day for the Chinese, so afternoon classes were cancelled. The cook was away celebrating the occasion and somebody else filled in for dinner. Daniel should hire this man. He laid out some delectable dishes for us— thin sliced pork cooked in a garlic-y sauce, some Hoisin and soy-sauce cabbage with beef, steamed buns, thin sliced potatoes (hard to describe), egg fried rice, and some sweet rice dumplings in a dish of thin, opaque sauce. The rice dumplings were chewy on the outside, incredibly sweet and strangely starchy on the inside, and had a flavor I just can’t pin down. Afterwards, I spent the better part of the night happily watching Starcraft for the first time in forever. Normally the others torrent movies, thereby clogging the bandwidth, but they were away. About an hour after their departure my DL speed rose from around 15 kbs, on average, to near 200 kbs.

Last night was a special occasion, so I made an exception, but starting this morning I’m going to watch what I eat more carefully. The food is so good and abundant here that it’s easy to overeat. I have definitely gained weight since my arrival, despite the extensive exercise, and I won’t tolerate it any longer. To be truthful, this has been sneaking up on me since the holiday season began back in the states. It shouldn't prove too difficult to correct things though, not in this environment.

Gah, I’m glad it’s finally Friday, this week has gone on long enough. My body didn't want to loosen up this morning, probably on account of the leg exercises I did yesterday. I couldn't even stand in the relatively easy Chi Gung pose without feeling immediate fatigue in my legs. What will I get up to this weekend? I’m not sure, but I won’t complain if it’s not too intense.

Starting on Monday the master will be here full time, and I haven’t any doubt training will get tougher. It’s a lot easier to slack when he’s not supervising. He’ll also be bringing me a pair of Feiyue Kung Fu shoes which will make practice easier, not to mention more beneficial, just by the wearing of them. The master also intends to secure a conditioning tool— a bag full of small metal bits and Chinese traditional medicine to whack my hands against. He says after a week of that I should be able to break a brick (the bricks here are weak though), and after a hundred days I should break a slab of rock. He has to request that his old master he make one for us, so it will be a time before I start. That's fine by me. The others are also doing a similar conditioning, but their bags are full of beans.

Lastly, good news to top off the week! Andy’s mother didn't like the idea of him working so far (I guess it was going to be far) away. He’s going to stay here at the camp after all. Also, according to Daniel’s mother in law, there should be a new Mantis Fist student coming in about two weeks! This is good news because motivation grows with company, and I’ll have somebody besides the master to practice drills with. He tries to tone it down, but his arm is like a metal bar— not so comfortable to drill with. I just spoke with Bernard at lunch. He confirms that another student is coming. A friend of his, in fact, who “never did any martial arts, never even any sports.” I think his name is julian (I can copy-paste the j, but I can’t find a capital one, sorry julian).

Our Training Venue

I tried to upload some pictures of the halls where we train the other day. It was a failure, but here goes another shot.

This is the main, empty, hall where we spend most of the time:



Some wooden training dummies:



Indoor punching bags (they are sooo heavy, punch one at your peril) :



Dinner time, I will have to add the others later.

Andy, We Hardly Knew Ye

After my friend Lars spent a year in Australia he returned with a liking for country music and a new appreciation for the ol U.S.A. I’ve been absent less than a month, yet already I’m experiencing similar feelings (sans the country music).

China really is a foreign land. Big discovery, I know. I knew that, I know that, but still the local way of things grates at my sensibilities. For instance, there is the traffic. Anyone who has been here before, or knows a bit about the country, knows that to drive in China is madness. They have a total disregard for traffic laws here, and absolutely will not slow down, no matter what lies ahead— be it pedestrians or a city bus, everything is expected to make way. I’ve been in five cabs since my arrival, and all of them have either driven the wrong way down a one-way street, or deliberately taken roundabouts the wrong direction. I cannot believe I haven’t seen an accident— or should I say crash? I doubt the driving deserves the word “accident.”

I learned today that Andy is leaving us inside the week. He is going to drive a truck in his family business. I asked him why, and he said he likes the life he leads now, but that he can’t say no to his family. His older brother, who drove the vehicle until now, recently married, and apparently his wife cannot abide Yantai. Thus, they are moving away, his brother can no longer pilot the truck, and Andy is obliged to take his position. I asked if they couldn't simply hire someone who isn’t Andy. He said, yes, it was possible, but that it would cost his family a good deal of money. I didn't voice it, but I thought, “this would never happen in America.” It feels unfair that Andy has to give up the work he’s found himself, the work he enjoys, and go drive a truck full time, alone, on his parent’s account— as opposed to practicing English and exercising all day with us. Perhaps this does happen in America and I have been too privileged to experience it, and perhaps Andy’s parents are in dire straights and actually can’t afford somebody else. Perhaps, but it still sucks for Andy and it still sucks for us.

On a totally different topic, training went quite well today. I practiced my form a lot. Also, I’ve decided to try working around those troublesome push-ups with free weight exercises and hindu-push-ups, which are lower impact. The master wasn't here today, so I didn't get a chance to discuss it with him, but I intend to at the first opportunity.

This is a morning post, outside the guard is shouting at the dogs, “zho! zho!”