This week was very...different. We trained normally one day, did a short T.V. demonstration the next, then for the following 2 days we were part of an "audience" in a Chinese martial arts movie being made here in Wudang. It was pretty boring actually, just sitting there in the cold for about 8 hours pretending to be interested in the cheesy fight scenes being acted out onstage. Then we trained normally again on Tuesday but I think we all felt really weird and out of sorts from the drastic change in activity level. Wednesday we had to get up and get ready for another performance on the mountain. We waited for the bus to come pick us up for over an hour and then finally just left, in classic organized Chinese showbiz style, they didn't have the transportation worked out properly ahead of time. Then on Thursday (our day "off") we had to get up early and go to the temple for an exchange with some Canadian tourists. These exchanges are when a group shows up with martial arts background and we take turns showing each other forms and visit for a while, a pretty fun activity actually when it's not on the day off. This morning we were in the middle of our early morning practice when we were told to be ready to leave in 15 minutes for another day in the "audience". sigh. Off we went for another long day.

On top of all of that, the power was out for one day and then the following day our internet stopped working for 3 days. It finally got fixed this afternoon.

What a week! Craziness!

Monk spade.......tired.....only 1 month left......

Well this week has been grueling. I'm hoping I'll continue to get better and stronger and that the hard part is over.....yeah.

Not much else to say this time. Maybe next week will be a little more exciting.

Monk Spade

This week we started learning the monk spade (fangbian chan) basics and the form. We started by building them last Thursday. It was a lot of work but a pretty fun process all things considered. When we bought them we each got a hardwood staff as well as the head and the base. We just had to cut the staff to size and then shape the ends so they were tapered to fit inside the shovel and base. Then we nailed them together. It was time consuming but Shifu was helping us and gave us lots of good advice.

Then it rained so a few days later we started practicing it. It is really challenging! I estimate it weighs about 20 pounds or so and it's difficult to maneuver. I thought I was pretty strong for my size but after the first day I was feeling really disappointed in myself. It seemed like it was so much easier for everyone else (plus my shoulder was extremely sore) and I wasn't too happy. I guess I have a lot of room for improvement but the second day was a bit better. I started to understand the technique so I didn't have to use as much brute strength. It's still definitely not easy though. Shifu was having a few laughs at the faces I was making as we were practicing. He said it'll take a lot of work for my arms to get strong enough to do the form well but I kind of expected that would be the case anyway. I really hope this week is better, luckily I have the break to look forward to!

If you want to learn more about the Wudang Monk Spade check out the schools page:

http://www.wudanggongfu.com/kungfu/monkspade.htm

They've been doing renovations at the temple we train at for a few years already but this week they did something kinda cool. I don't know what it means but they put these brass knobs all over the big red doors we go through each day. They certainly look much more impressive now! I keep meaning to ask Shifu what they're for but I've forgotten in all the excitement of halloween....


We had a really fun Halloween party here with lots of fun and games. Everyone had a really great time. There were activities like pumpkin carving, face painting, mask making, games, and then we danced to some awesome music played by a D.J. who happens to be training here right now. Though the Chinese students thought it was a little strange, they seemed to really enjoy it. Even shifu scratched on the turntables for a while and played a little. It was definitely the best party we've had here by far.

These are a few photos from the competition a few weeks ago. Me, Mel, mom, and dad cheering everyone on and one of me helping out in the pre-start mayhem. I was sure glad to have my parents there, it made the whole thing a lot more fun!

Well after all the excitement of my parents being here and the competition this week has been kinda bland. We're all waiting with bated breath for Shifu to announce what form we'll be learning next but he's really drawing it out. He likes to do this, I think it's on purpose, to mess with us. If anyone asks him he's just really vague and then walks away. Classic shifu. Hopefully he'll give us a break and let us know tomorrow.

So sorry to everyone about my long silence. My computer was on the fritz and is still in the process of dying a slow death so I had no keyboard...kinda hard to write a post without letters! A lot has happened over the past month or so. My parents came to visit for a few weeks (luckily they brought me a new laptop which is what I'm using now) and we've been busy, busy, busy. First Mel and I met them in Xi'an where we stayed for 4 days. After that we took the train to Chengdu for another 4 days of touristy stuff and then we took another train to Wudang where we live. I think my parents really liked both cities and I hope they enjoyed our little town too. It was so fun to have them at class and I feel like now they understand better what exactly we're doing here. My mom enjoyed training with us, Dad, not so much. He liked watching and taking some pictures but never did have much interest in martial arts. It was great having them here though. They left early this morning and I know I'll miss them but it's only another couple months until I see them again so it seems like nothing. I haven't traveled with my parents since childhood and it was really refreshing to see them outside of their usual environment.

We also had a tournament here in town that most of my classmates participated in. I didn't have much time so I just hung out with mom and dad and we watched and cheered everyone on. Our school did really well but it almost didn't seem fair to compete with other foreigners who have jobs and families. We do this full time so it wasn't much of a contest. It was really interesting to watch though, I just hope the people who came from far away had a good time too.