Less than 2 weeks left!

We've been busy packing things up, giving stuff away, making arrangements to travel, and of course a little training too!

We sent our weapons yesterday which was the toughest task and now we're almost ready. Just one more box to pack and send a few days before we go. I've been having trouble sleeping this week. I just have so much to look forward to! I don't feel nervous about leaving here, I'm ready, but there's excitement and just a lot of busy thoughts. Some of my classmates have found it hard to stay motivated for training but for me, it's a welcome distraction and there's really not much else to do around here anyway. I still get a bit bored sometimes, it feels like I'm just waiting for September 1st, but I just train harder and try to keep busy in the free time.

It feels so good to be letting go of things (material and immaterial) that I'm actually really enjoying the process of preparation. I've realized that I'm a lot like my mom, she loves to organize, and purge once in a while. I finally get it mom!

I've been doing the Pimsleur Thai language audio course, in fact I'm almost half finished. It's 30 lessons total and I'm about to do lesson 15. It's really interesting, but very challenging. Thai is another tonal language, like mandarin, but with more tones and some sounds that are really quite foreign to me. I don't think I'll really be able to say much after I finish the course but I also wouldn't want to be learning any faster than I am, it's tough enough as it is. It is really fun learning a new language though, besides Chinese, I am so sick of Chinese. Sick of Chinese and sick of China! I'm sure after being home for a while I'll get over it, hopefully anyway. I haven't been studying my classical Chinese at all lately, I think I'll wait until I'm home and have fonder feelings about this place. It would also be nice to take an actual class, if there's one available, I've just been learning on my own all these years but I think learning some new methods would be really helpful at this point.

It's rained and cooled off quite a bit so we're all much happier and sleeping better. I have my fingers crossed that it'll stay cool at least for another few days.

Less than 4 weeks!

SO HOT!

It's hard to think of anything else to say. It's that hot where you don't want to eat and you wake up all sweaty in the middle of the night. I wouldn't mind training in the heat if I knew I had a comfortable place to shower and sleep. Once again, I am reminded how fortunate I am at home.

Well, I had a wonderful week off. Simon and I stayed in a fancy hotel on Hainan island in the south China sea and we really relaxed while we were there. Lots of swimming, eating, watching a few movies, and just spending time together before he moved home to Texas and I came back here for the last month and a half of training. We ended up staying an extra day due to a huge typhoon that cancelled all flights to and from the island for a day. It was nice to have an extra day but also insane to be in the middle of a crazy typhoon and then deal with re-booking flights and all that jazz. I still dream about the storm, I guess it made a really big impression on my unconscious mind.

So now I'm back here at the school just in time for the peak of summer heat, Mel's gone on her trip so I'm alone in the room, which is peaceful, but I'd enjoy it more if I wasn't sweating 24/7. It's actually hotter here than it was in Hainan and there's no refreshing ocean breezes. So it's not always hotter the closer you go to the equator. Who knew? Only another 6 weeks though so I just keep reminding myself of that. The fact that I know Simon is already at home starting his new life makes it harder to be here, I really want to go home too, but I do have Thailand to look forward to.

So that's the recap. Had a good trip....sweating up a storm in Wudang...counting down the weeks.

We booked our flights to Thailand yesterday. Mel and I are both very excited. I can't believe it's only 2 months away. Those two months will fly by too. Next week I'm taking a week off and then, when I get back, Mel will leave a few days later for her vacation. By the time she gets back it'll be August and we're going to have lots to do to get ready to leave. So basically, we're almost done.

I am enjoying training though, in spite of the summer heat, and we've got even more freedom now. It's great because everyone can focus on what they choose for this last little while. Many of us have got little projects we're working on in class and outside of it which is good because we all really want to get out of here! Having something else to think about is important. So far this year I've definitely made a lot of progress on my goals to be healthier and happier, I'm learning more about myself and what I need to do to reach a great physical and mental state. These lessons we learn about ourselves while we're here are what's really important. More important than speed or strength.

We found out this week that swords can no longer be shipped in the mail from China so now our whole class is getting ready to leave, packing up and sending things home and it really throws a wrench in things. Mel and I really wanted to avoid having to take our practice weapons to Thailand with us but we may have to in the end. It's not a huge deal but it is pretty frustrating, just another thing to dislike about living here. I had a little rant when I found out but I was really only annoyed for about 15 minutes, which I thought was pretty alright. My mental/emotional state seems to have improved so much in the last couple years, all that meditating and tai ji must be paying off! I think I'll really notice the changes when I get back home and start living a relatively normal life again. I hope I can find a way to continue to improve. Scratch that, I know I can find a way, because it's important to me. Then, later, I can help others to do the same.

It's been several weeks since I blogged so I thought I'd better get back on that wagon. Our internet's been a pain in the butt lately, China has increased it's firewall due to political stuff and now the internet is ridiculously slow. I know there's no guarantee of fast internet with no interruptions at home but there's a tendency after living here for so long to attribute all problems to simply the fact that 'this is China'. We say that A LOT.

Summer has officially started. We're all sleeping with our fans on and eating more ice cream. One of the students who's staying here is a TCM herbalist and masseuse and on his recommendation I've started taking a herbal formula to "clear heat and dampness". So much of what I hate about summer here is a difficulty on my part to physically adapt to changes in the environment. It's hard to sleep, I get frequent stomach problems, lethargy, irritability, etc. and these symptoms in TCM can be attributed to excess heat and damp. I'm just taking a very low dosage but it seems to be working quite well and I'm more comfortable and more pleasant to be around....so far anyway. Herbal medicine can be so cool.

Less than 3 months left now. Pretty exciting....

The meditation retreat went very well. I ended up doing it for 5 days and I kind of wanted to keep going but also felt the need to get moving again. It felt really good to go to training after sitting so much.

It was so much easier to go without food when I was just by myself, normally I get kind of grouchy if I don't eat but it actually felt really good to eat so lightly. It was also so much easier to sit without being crammed into a room with 20 people. If I was in pain I could stand up and walk around for a minute and it was much more comfortable after that. I sat for as long as I wanted to each time, sometimes longer than others, I read a lot, wrote in a journal, I went for a few walks on the mountain behind the school, it was so nice. Being alone so much was amazing in itself. Overall I had a great experience.

As far as my goals went, I think I definitely achieved them. I did cleanse physically but I think emotionally and energetically as well. I feel so much lighter now and just more...myself. It's hard to explain but I felt like I was holding on to some stuff and that I couldn't fully relax and be natural. It took a few days but eventually I was able to release it. My other goal was a little more vague, to get in touch with some inner guidance, but I managed to do that too. It's actually even more difficult to explain but I was able to figure a couple of things out on my own, without consulting a book, teacher, or even friend. I'll need to do a lot more of that after returning home so I wanted to get started now and kind of get to know my inner teacher.

Speaking of inner teachers, everyone should watch the movie Kumare. I've seen it 3 times, it's amazing.

This week I'll be doing a meditation retreat, the first time I've ever done anything like this alone. Not that I'll be far from people, I'll still be in the school, just steps from my neighbors, but my classmates won't be meditating together with me. I'm curious to see what difference that makes in my experience, real alone time is something pretty rare around here. I'm also setting my own schedule and tailoring certain aspects to suit me more. Normally we restrict ourselves to consuming mostly medicinal teas and fruit, occasionally the school will make a special 'light' meal for us but it's usually still pretty oily and salty (like all food in China) so I don't like it much. This time I'm experimenting with reducing my sugar intake even more by eating less fruit and replacing it with herbal vegetable broth. I'm not sure but I think that will be more nourishing and warming, thus easier on my digestive system.

My intention here is to combine a bit of a physical cleanse with a mental/emotional one. I wouldn't say I'm someone with a lot of baggage but anything as challenging as these last 5 years have been is bound to cause growing pains. I'd like to let go of some of that stuff. Hopefully in doing so, I can continue to grow in as healthy as way as possible (my main goal for this year was to be happier and healthier). In releasing my past I'd like to become more relaxed and aware in the present and learn to trust in my own guidance.

I'm not sure how long this retreat will last, I'm going to play it be ear, but I'll be sure to write a bit about it after I'm done.

It's May 1st here and that means it's only 4 months left until we're done. I've been making so much progress since I've started practicing on my own more and it's so exciting! In a way it makes the 4 months seem too short, wish I'd done this a year ago. haha.

So with all this freedom, I'm working on fixing some bad habits I have, healing my old injuries, and some strength and flexibility stuff which is all really great. The best thing of all though is that I have the chance to really discover my own style, my own way of doing things that best suits my body and my temperament. For years I have been struggling to imitate my teacher as much a possible, an important step, but now in order to truly become a 'master' I need to integrate those lessons into who I am as a person and a martial artist. I'm finally starting to get a hint of what that is, there's a long way to go still but it's already making a huge difference in how I feel about my kung fu. It's a little like the movie Kung Fu Panda when he finally gets the scroll and it's empty, Tigress tells him that the 'secret is you' and he sees his reflection. I know it sounds cliche but I really understand how he felt in that scene. I am just starting to get a sense of my kung fu and I have a growing confidence that it is enough and good and right for me.

Just a few thoughts that have been floating around in my head lately.

It's been raining a lot these past 2 weeks or so and as a result we've mostly been training indoors. It's basically impossible to do weapons forms or a number of empty hand forms in our space, even just finding a few square feet can be a challenge. Our training is a lot different, for basics we might still do kicks or stances, but we might also practice jump kicks, rolls, or acrobatics. There are a few weights (with missing pieces of course) and a chin up bar, as well as a whole bunch of smelly, old pads we can use. As a result I've been doing more strength training and acrobatics (if you can call what I do acrobatic that is) and less forms and stretching. It's kind of fun to have a shift of focus like this sometimes. I still have quite a bit of time to myself and I'm enjoying that too. It'll feel really good when it clears up to train outside again though, I'm looking forward to that.

A good friend will be arriving here this week so I'm excited. I miss my girlfriends at home sometimes and she sort of fills that gap when she's here. I love my classmates but there is something different about spending time with women that I miss out on while I'm here. Thank goodness for Mel! It can be hard to make female friends here because some of the guys are always in such a competition to try to get close to the ladies. It's ridiculous to watch, actually. Anyway, I'm happy Rachael will be here.

I just thought I'd include an update on the glute strengthening program I started almost a month ago. Originally, I started researching how to strengthen my lower back but I came across a really interesting article which said that proportionally weaker gluteus muscles could contribute to lower back pain and also knee pain (both of which I have suffered from on many occasions) along with lots of other problems. Here is the link to that article:

http://functionalresistancetraining.com/articles/re-activating-and-strengthening-the-gluteal-muscles

So after reading that I scoured the internet for exercises I could try that would strengthen these muscles. I read a lot. I tried a lot. I noticed a difference after the very first day. My knee pain was gone almost immediately. My lower back pain was gone quickly too. I embarked on a quest to learn how my glutes worked, what it felt like to use them, and try to correct a long time imbalance. I practiced walking slowly, doing tai chi, and climbing stairs while engaging my gluteus muscles, I became obsessed and talked to anyone who would listen about it. I was so excited to finally have found a solution to not just one problem, but many!!

Here's my favorite of all the exercises, I do this in 3 sets of 12 or 15 twice a week:

http://www.inspiredfitstrong.com/2012/blog/the-single-leg-deadlift-why-to-do-it-and-how-to-do-it/

So check out the first article and if it sounds like you, give some glute strengthening a try. It could be life changing!

Sometimes I run out of stuff to say and then I want to blog but sit here staring at the screen blankly first.

I was talking to my mom today about our family trip to Thailand in September, I'm very excited about it. We're starting to research places to go and such, which makes it seem more real somehow. One of my classmates is leaving a little early since he starts school in the fall and he says it feels really weird to be so close to leaving here. I can only imagine how that will feel, I'll have to wait a few more months though. I'm really looking forward to starting a new life again, it's still pretty far off though.

This week I did some spring cleaning and went through my cupboards and gave some stuff away. It feels so good! It's gone remarkably well, but I'm really looking forward to not having to share a room with Mel. I'm 32 years old, a little too old to be sharing a room with my sister. I really don't act my age in a lot of ways though, so I guess this is no stranger than most of the stuff I do. Sometimes I wonder how bizarre I must seem to family and friends at home. haha. I have a feeling that won't change too much after moving home either, I'll always be a bit of an oddball. I'm totally ok with it though.

We got back from our short class trip to Xi'an on Tuesday evening. It was a really fun and relaxing time. I barely thought about kung fu at all, never mind talk about it, which I think is a really great way to re-charge. They say a change is as good as a rest, and I had both. I got a fancy new paintbrush and it was so much fun to test it out yesterday, I fell in love with it as soon as I tried it in the shop.

If you're ever in China, check out Xi'an, it's the coolest city I've been to here...so much history.

Oh, and while we were there, guess who else was there to see the terracotta warriors? Michelle Obama! They shut down the entire exhibit just for her. I didn't see her or anything, it was just a weird coincidence that we happened to be staying in Xi'an at the same time.

So back to training tomorrow and I am renewed and filled with vigor!

Tomorrow we leave to go to Xi'an for 4 days, our last class trip. We've already been there but we didn't have the time (or funds) to go on a bigger trip so this place is easy to get to and we know it's  a lot of fun already. I'm already really looking forward to the food, it'll be so nice to eat something different! The hostel we're staying at has this pesto chicken sandwich that is to die for....yum! It'll also be nice to take some time off of training, I'm enjoying doing my own thing more now but I'm pretty sore after this past week. Some of my classmates have been here since the start of December and they really need to get out of here for a couple of days, they're starting to lose it.

So in my next post I can write all about the delicious food I got to eat. Yay! FOOD!

It's been sunny and lovely all week so everyone is much more cheerful in general. I don't really mind cloudy weather but a month straight, with rain, is a bit much.

I went through all my forms videos to pick out some of the things I want to work on during class time. The main flaw I saw was that my side kicks were too rushed, I hadn't really finished the kick before I was on to the next movement. I'll be working on really defining those kicks. It actually ties in well with something I've figured out this week: I have an imbalance between the strength in my quadriceps and the gluteus muscles. I've been relying too much on my strong (and tight) thighs and it's caused some problems. For a few months now I've noticed some weakness in what I thought was my lower back and I've been having periodic knee pain for a really long time. I thought these were unrelated but apparently they're both symptoms of underdeveloped glutes. So, guess who's going to be doing lots of deadlifts and leg extensions? This gal. It should also give me more power on those sidekicks too so it all goes together quite nicely and now that I'm doing so much individual practice, I should really get a chance to fix this stuff. It's gotten me all jazzed up for the next week of training!

Today is the first sunny day we've had in weeks and you could really feel the difference in the mood of everyone here. The simple things really make a huge difference sometimes, don't they?

Before the afternoon class today I happened to look out the back window of the school and into a little park area that's back there and I saw one of the new students maybe 12 years old or so back there practicing some moves, fighting imaginary enemies, and what looked like pretending to be Bruce Lee, sound effects and all. It was so cute and funny but it also made me feel really happy and reminded me of something very important that I sometimes forget; Kung fu is fun! Thanks kid, you made my week.

So we had a talk with Shifu 2 days ago and asked him about our last 6 months here. It went a bit badly at first but eventually we came to an understanding and I think everyone felt better afterwards. I said I'd really like to practice on my own more and focus on myself more than the group stuff and really just try to enjoy the time we have left here and he gave me the go-ahead. He said he wanted us to be happy and healthy. So now I have a whole 6 months to devote to my own training goals and I'm really excited. I may still have a few questions I need to ask him but I'll be left to figure a lot out by myself. I think this will be an important step on the road to becoming a master myself. I'm really looking forward to it, it's been a long time since I felt this positive about being here. It's such a nice change.

Yay!

It's hard to think of anything to say that's not just a complaint about how cold it is in my room.


The countdown is down to 6 and a half months left.


Training has been nice (other than the icyness) in that we've been able to practice solo rather than doing group forms most of the time. I always love that. I really hope it continues for the rest of the 6 program.


I got a really cool calligraphy scroll from my painting teacher, it says "sword spirit" and it's pretty awesome. He is such a nice man too. It's so nice to have so much positive feedback.


Soon the chinese kids will be back from their break. Nothing against them personally, but I really prefer how peaceful the school and training is when they're not around. It's so much quieter at night when I'm trying to sleep too.

That is all.

It's gotten very cold, it's been snowing for 2 days and we're back to seeing our breath in our room again. That means it's chilly.

Last week we took a little trip to the city and went to an unexpectedly interesting local museum, stayed overnight in a lovely hotel, ate japanese food, and took lots of baths. It was really nice, in fact, I wish I was there right now sitting in a nice, hot bath. I'd been having some pain in my hip that I just couldn't get rid of, well 3 baths took care of it. It is amazing what a hot bath can do, don't take your bathtubs for granted people!

While we were in the big city, we went to a supermarket and picked up a box of delicious chocolate cappuccino truffles (imported from Italy). What were they doing in the middle of nowhere China you ask? I have no idea....but I sure am glad to have them. I'm eating one right now and the texture is divine, melt-in-your-mouth decadence. Luxuries like this become otherworldly here. In eating one of these truffles, I really do enter an altered state of consciousness. My cup of morning coffee is like that too. We brought the beans from home, sometimes we get them sent. We grind them in a crappy blender, and brew them in a really nice insulated french press that a friend gave us and then each morning have a life-changing cup of real, good coffee. I like coffee, but at home I could easily go without for a few days and I do, but here..... it becomes nectar of the gods!

So, even with snow falling, 4 layers of clothes on indoors, and only enough hot water to wash my hair or my body (but not both), I'm doing alright.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone. I hope this year turns out well for us all.

We had so many fireworks that it was hazy and foggy for 2 days afterwards. I hope everyone at home celebrated in much more environmentally friendly ways. haha.

Last fall I started taking chinese ink painting classes. The teacher is a local artist who teaches painting and chinese calligraphy to quite a few students at our school. I started on a bit of a lark with zero art experience beyond childhood crayon drawings but ended up loving it! I wrote a little about it last year.

When I first came here, I knew almost nothing about daoism (taoism...whatever) and honestly it wasn't what interested me the most. I love kung fu and the physical side of things is what appealed. Over the years however, things have changed. I still love to practice kung fu, tai ji, etc but now I also love learning about daoist philosophy, chanting the daoist chants, and.....painting. It may seem strange but Chinese culture is all kind of mixed up together so that daoism influences music, which influences tea culture, which influences chinese medicine, which influences buddhism, and so on and so on forever. It makes attempting to learn more about this stuff both challenging and so very interesting. Anyway, I really feel like my painting teacher (who lived in a daoist temple when he was younger) helps me to take a love and reverence for nature and put it to paper. Somehow, painting a tree, or some mountains, I really feel a connection with nature that seems extraordinary. It's changed the way I interact with my environment. I don't mean to belittle the education I've received here, but these handful of painting classes have helped me to understand daoism more than any lecture that Shifu has given or any well-written book I've read. I don't know why, I can barely even start to explain how it feels, but I'm so very glad I decided to give painting a try.

All I can say about this week is that I will never again take indoor heating for granted.

The first week back is done. It rained a little but for the rest of the time it's been sunny and not super cold.

The first few days of training were brutal! I forget how hard we work most of the time. After your body adapts to the routine, it starts to feel pretty easy, relatively speaking, and you forget that it actually takes a lot of strength, stamina, etc to get through an average day here. Well after 2 months off, I've been unpleasantly reminded. By the 4th day or so though, it's already started to get better and I feel less like a clumsy elephant.

There are a few things that I really missed, noodle soup for breakfast, how peaceful the temple can be on a weekday morning (when there aren't hundreds of tourists), and how my body feels when I'm always moving it. There are lots of things that I can't stand though, but now I can count down, only 8 months....only 8 months....

Feels so good!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW7XMWLnizw

Well, we're back in China now.

It was an awesome break and I'm very ready to get started on these last 8 months and get it over with. As soon as I got back on Chinese soil, the allergies and congestion started. Today I've been sneezing pretty much non-stop and runny nose and eyes on top of that. The air here just really gets to me. I never have any problems at home. So I'm looking forward to not having to deal with that, as well as any number of other things. So, though I'm glad to get back into the routine, I'm just looking ahead to the end.

We start training tomorrow so I should have some more interesting things to say next week.