WU LIFE 236
THE shang-HAI LIFE
ahhh, the dreaded train.. 26 hours of filthy, stinky, spitting, and screaming.. great fun. this last trip wasn't so bad though.. there was a really sweet young lady that got on the train with me, and we managed to talk about mucoid plaque for a majority of the ride. granted, i'm not exactly fluent with chinese.. so i couldn't fully express myself in regards to this (fecal) matter,.. but with all my excitement and the help of a few pictures from my book, i think i got the point across. in all, the train ride went well - lots of MP3s, reading, and resting. i did, however, get my usual sinus slam from all the recycled air on the train - but aside from that, transit wasn't too bad this round.
by the time i got in.. i had a day to play before ramadhan, so i had super spicy ginger soup with every meal to try and smash my sinus slime.. for the most part, it worked, and by the next day, i was ready for ramadhan.
MY FIRST RAMADHAN
i've been hip to the month long daylight fast for many many years now.. i remember teasing friends with lunchtime cupcakes and pizza in grade school whenever this month long fast came around.. i remember it being especially difficult for my friends when day light savings would hit. i thought to myself.. 'these people are crazy! why don't they just eat something?' ..now, 15 years later, here i am embarking on my first ramadhan.
funny thing is, i've been wanting to observe ramadhan for the last four years now, but i always seemed to find out about it halfway through the season, so i would always just skip it. this year, however, i got the heads up three months in advance, so it seemed that this time would be the right time. to make it even better, i also plan to do my first colon cleanse as soon as i get back to the states.. ramadhan rocks.. what a perfect time to flush my gut and reset some internal harmonies.
it's now day three of the sunlight fasting. my brother sam, whom i'm staying with here in shanghai, is also observing the season with me. we are both regular fasters now, so that, teamed with a little martial discipline is making this thing a breeze. by the time sunset drops, the meal time becomes such a meditative practice,.. slowly enjoying each carefully calculated chew, appreciating every taste sensation, grateful for every swallow... i love fasting, it always helps me remember how much i love food, and how little gratitude i show for it. ramadhan rocks.
I'M LEAVING ON A JET PLANE
in less than 12 hours, i'll be on a jet plane to travel over 6000 miles across the pacific ocean back to my home in the bay. i have lots to look forward to. i would like to thank everyone that put up with my weekly generic journals over the course of these nine months.. just think, soon you'll get a chance to slap me for clogging your inbox all these months.
there is, however, a typhoon right now in shanghai.. i hope that it doesn't effect my travel plans. anyway.. i'm heading home.. see you soon!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
wu life 235
WU LIFE 235
TEACHER'S DAY
this last monday was teachers day here in china - this is a pretty big holiday for the chinese. in traditional china, being a teacher is probably one of the most respectable positions in society.. there is even a saying here,.. 'a day your teacher, a lifetime your father.'
with teacher day in mind.. i was present to all the teachers that have helped influence my path. of course there are my teachers from my childhood education that helped set my foundation for learning, then there are the teachers that i found in high school that helped me see past the richmond city streets to a greater possibility of being. in college, i was further blessed with brilliant teachers that helped refine my skills and broaden my knowledge. then of course, there are my martial, cultural, and spiritual masters that have helped me develop my interest of the arts into a bountiful passion that drives my existence towards a higher purpose for being. i would be nothing without the skillful guidance of such masters.
off the bat, i can name several teachers that have blessed my path.. Bruce Chu, Dr. Y.C. Chiang and his wife Hui Liu, Randal Enos, Dr. Robert Santee, Christine Atkins-Brooks, Au Seng, Dr. Alex Feng, Dr. Brian O'dey, Dr. Michael Reed Gach, Joyce Thom, Jason Frye, Sam Tripp, Joe Dolan, Lance Skewis, Loc Huynh,.. the list goes on all the way down to my current master Yuan Xiu Gang, the man whom i have committed my life of practice to.
outside of that long list of realized masters, daily i am graced with other instructors as well.. each day i learn from friends, experiences, and situations.. i was once told that 'when the student is ready, the master will present himself.. and if the master is not present, then the student should learn to be humble and be present to the masters that were there all along.' i am blessed to have been presented with so many remarkable teachers along my path.. most especially my mom - my first teacher. all my love.
TIME'S UP
this is it, i leave wudang tomorrow morning. from here i make my way to shanghai for a brief layover and then i shoot back to the states to embrace my family and loved ones. to look back at my last nine months is rather overwhelming.. thankfully, i have each week documented in a Wu Life journal! (smile)
each week has just been a power packed experience of personal growth, and i would like to thank each and every one of you that have taken the time to read all my generic journals along the way. next week, i will be writing a short entry from shanghai, and then from there, i will be giving shorter sporadic entries to keep track of my colon cleansing and the workshops i host. next year i will start with the 300 series..
THE LATEST
thank you all for your generosity with my chip in account.. i now have enough to purchase my plane ticket to hawaii - i'm sure the other funds i need for food, shelter, and training will fall into place in their own time,.. as they always do. for those of you that would still like to help (dad), you can follow this link to make a contribution via paypal:
donationbox.blogspot.com
as for the the other news.. i have a whole line up of workshops lined up and ready to rock. the first off will be in berkeley late september.. then, the next few will be set one per week in november - hawaii first, santa rosa second, san louis obispo after that, and possibly LA after that. busy body. for more information on those, you can follow this link:
wudangworkshops.blogspot.com
the last bit of news is the taoist conference in oakland. i am scheduled to make two appearances this year. the first talk will be on iron body qigong, and the second will be on foundation exercises of the internal martial arts. for more information on my work, and the work of the other masters that will be presenting you can follow this link:
http://www.thetaoistcenter.com/conference2006/index2006.html
well.. that is it ya'll. this chapter is up and i'm off on a twenty-six hour train ride to embark on the next bit. stay tuned for the further adventures of david wei..
i love you all.
-zi rong
TEACHER'S DAY
this last monday was teachers day here in china - this is a pretty big holiday for the chinese. in traditional china, being a teacher is probably one of the most respectable positions in society.. there is even a saying here,.. 'a day your teacher, a lifetime your father.'
with teacher day in mind.. i was present to all the teachers that have helped influence my path. of course there are my teachers from my childhood education that helped set my foundation for learning, then there are the teachers that i found in high school that helped me see past the richmond city streets to a greater possibility of being. in college, i was further blessed with brilliant teachers that helped refine my skills and broaden my knowledge. then of course, there are my martial, cultural, and spiritual masters that have helped me develop my interest of the arts into a bountiful passion that drives my existence towards a higher purpose for being. i would be nothing without the skillful guidance of such masters.
off the bat, i can name several teachers that have blessed my path.. Bruce Chu, Dr. Y.C. Chiang and his wife Hui Liu, Randal Enos, Dr. Robert Santee, Christine Atkins-Brooks, Au Seng, Dr. Alex Feng, Dr. Brian O'dey, Dr. Michael Reed Gach, Joyce Thom, Jason Frye, Sam Tripp, Joe Dolan, Lance Skewis, Loc Huynh,.. the list goes on all the way down to my current master Yuan Xiu Gang, the man whom i have committed my life of practice to.
outside of that long list of realized masters, daily i am graced with other instructors as well.. each day i learn from friends, experiences, and situations.. i was once told that 'when the student is ready, the master will present himself.. and if the master is not present, then the student should learn to be humble and be present to the masters that were there all along.' i am blessed to have been presented with so many remarkable teachers along my path.. most especially my mom - my first teacher. all my love.
TIME'S UP
this is it, i leave wudang tomorrow morning. from here i make my way to shanghai for a brief layover and then i shoot back to the states to embrace my family and loved ones. to look back at my last nine months is rather overwhelming.. thankfully, i have each week documented in a Wu Life journal! (smile)
each week has just been a power packed experience of personal growth, and i would like to thank each and every one of you that have taken the time to read all my generic journals along the way. next week, i will be writing a short entry from shanghai, and then from there, i will be giving shorter sporadic entries to keep track of my colon cleansing and the workshops i host. next year i will start with the 300 series..
THE LATEST
thank you all for your generosity with my chip in account.. i now have enough to purchase my plane ticket to hawaii - i'm sure the other funds i need for food, shelter, and training will fall into place in their own time,.. as they always do. for those of you that would still like to help (dad), you can follow this link to make a contribution via paypal:
donationbox.blogspot.com
as for the the other news.. i have a whole line up of workshops lined up and ready to rock. the first off will be in berkeley late september.. then, the next few will be set one per week in november - hawaii first, santa rosa second, san louis obispo after that, and possibly LA after that. busy body. for more information on those, you can follow this link:
wudangworkshops.blogspot.com
the last bit of news is the taoist conference in oakland. i am scheduled to make two appearances this year. the first talk will be on iron body qigong, and the second will be on foundation exercises of the internal martial arts. for more information on my work, and the work of the other masters that will be presenting you can follow this link:
http://www.thetaoistcenter.com/conference2006/index2006.html
well.. that is it ya'll. this chapter is up and i'm off on a twenty-six hour train ride to embark on the next bit. stay tuned for the further adventures of david wei..
i love you all.
-zi rong
Thursday, September 6, 2007
wu life 234
WU LIFE 234
THE GHOST FESTIVAL
It was a cold and stormy night,.. well, not quite.. but it was pretty cold and misty. i had to wear my jacket.
brother jeff and i, led by our tour guide cathy, shot up the mountain one night to observe a taoist ceremony - the ghost festival. originally, we went up thinking it was some sort of devil day, and we were excited at the possibility of seeing a taoist exorcism, or better yet, A GHOST!!! but alas, there was nothing of the sort.. what there was, however, was a beautiful ceremony held in honor of our ancestors past. money was burnt and offerings of fruit, crackers, and soft drinks were made. the event itself was held at the mystical purple heaven palace, and it was truly amazing to witness such a ceremony.. ghosts or not. to make it even better, we ran into so many of our martial uncles that night, and we even got to burn some money for our loved ones passed - i hope my grandma and grandpa enjoy the red envelopes i sent em.
that night, there was no way to get off the mountain, so we stayed in a small hotel for the night. the next morning, was so damp and misty that you couldn't even see 20 feet ahead of you - it was so awesome. after a short breakfast, cathy led jeff and i to a small temple cave that was inhabited by one old monk. seeing the monk was so surreal.. he rocked the classic taoist robes with a taoist cap that had a hole for his taoist top knot. his weathered, wrinkled face was highlighted by his deep glowing eyes,.. and further accented by his long, gray, knotty beard. his smile lines creased as he chuckled a welcome, revealing his crusty, toothless grill. his steps were light and soft,.. he gracefully glided across the rocky ground before inviting us to have a seat on two old meditation cushions. once seated, he disappeared into the temple for a moment only to come out with apples for everyone - apples that had been blessed from the previous night. we sat and chatted for a while, and he told us how numerous legendary masters such as zhang san feng and xuan wu had cultivated and trained at that very cave. jeff and i could hardly contain ourselves. as a parting gift, the monk pulled out a couple hand carved jade pieces and handed them to us with a smile. he walked us about half way down the path before fading back into the forest temple cave. i'm still in awe.
after all that goodness, jeff and i walked back to the purple heaven palace and checked out all the halls and temples,.. we stopped in each one to make small offerings and to give our respects to the deities. at the top of the temple grounds we found the parental hall, so jeff and i took a moment to go in and give an offering of honor to our parents,.. it was especially cool because there was a nun inside that rang a small gong each timed we bowed.. it was magical. from there, we chatted with a sweet old nun that was feeding the turtles and fish in one of the octagon elixir pools - there were two, one for the sun, and the other for the moon. before leaving, we took the time to take a couple kung fu pictures along the steps like good tourists. in all, the whole experience seemed like a fairytale - it was nothing short of amazing.
MONKEY VALLEY MADNESS
earlier this week, the government invited our school up the mountain to the mouth of monkey valley to enjoy a competition. that day was extremely cold and wet, and it rained nearly all morning as they set up for the show. to kill time, we all just chatted with students from the mountain schools and did our best to keep from getting soaked. the funniest part of the morning had to be this director that yelled orders at everyone.. you could even see his face get red, it was cute. once the event started, we were shocked to see that wu ben, the master of jet li, was invited as a judge - and here we are sitting just a few feet behind him! could this week get any better?
the event itself was rather boo boo. there was only a short martial arts demo, most of which was contemporary wushu - which is more like a flash dance than kung fu - there was even a guy that was trying to move like bruce lee.. really, really boo boo. after the martial arts demo, there was this silly event where the participants had to sing or dance.. now that was really cheesy. everyone that sang, blatantly lip synced, and the only cool dancers were these two dudes that did a breaking routine. all the rest were horrible. the whole show was more like a 'star search',.. it was nothing like a traditional kung fu competition. to boot, the event ended with a rigged vote to see who would win some fancy sword.. well, if anything, it was entertaining,.. but i would have rather been training.
TIME IS WINDING DOWN
i am now officially down to my last 8 days in wudang. from here, i shoot over to shanghai for a couple days, and then i'm on a jet plane across the pacific to my home by the bay - richmond, california.
once home, i'll be running a weekend workshop in berkeley - and just in time for the autumn equinox on the 23rd.. i'm really looking forward to it! it will be a three day program, saturday and sunday morning, and one monday evening to close. i plan to share a lot of goodies including taoist yoga, breathing, meditation, qigong, and more. you can find more information about this program here:
www.WudangWorkshops.blogspot.com
as for my hawaii fund raising.. i am still just 200 shy of a plane ticket. hopefully, i can get that taken care of before i leave china. if any of you would care to contribute (dad), you can do it via paypal here:
www.DonationBox.blogspot.com
alright, that's it for this round. now i gotta get back to packing up my winter gear for storage and breaking down my office here.. time is almost up. catch you all next week for my last wu life in wudang.
aloha
THE GHOST FESTIVAL
It was a cold and stormy night,.. well, not quite.. but it was pretty cold and misty. i had to wear my jacket.
brother jeff and i, led by our tour guide cathy, shot up the mountain one night to observe a taoist ceremony - the ghost festival. originally, we went up thinking it was some sort of devil day, and we were excited at the possibility of seeing a taoist exorcism, or better yet, A GHOST!!! but alas, there was nothing of the sort.. what there was, however, was a beautiful ceremony held in honor of our ancestors past. money was burnt and offerings of fruit, crackers, and soft drinks were made. the event itself was held at the mystical purple heaven palace, and it was truly amazing to witness such a ceremony.. ghosts or not. to make it even better, we ran into so many of our martial uncles that night, and we even got to burn some money for our loved ones passed - i hope my grandma and grandpa enjoy the red envelopes i sent em.
that night, there was no way to get off the mountain, so we stayed in a small hotel for the night. the next morning, was so damp and misty that you couldn't even see 20 feet ahead of you - it was so awesome. after a short breakfast, cathy led jeff and i to a small temple cave that was inhabited by one old monk. seeing the monk was so surreal.. he rocked the classic taoist robes with a taoist cap that had a hole for his taoist top knot. his weathered, wrinkled face was highlighted by his deep glowing eyes,.. and further accented by his long, gray, knotty beard. his smile lines creased as he chuckled a welcome, revealing his crusty, toothless grill. his steps were light and soft,.. he gracefully glided across the rocky ground before inviting us to have a seat on two old meditation cushions. once seated, he disappeared into the temple for a moment only to come out with apples for everyone - apples that had been blessed from the previous night. we sat and chatted for a while, and he told us how numerous legendary masters such as zhang san feng and xuan wu had cultivated and trained at that very cave. jeff and i could hardly contain ourselves. as a parting gift, the monk pulled out a couple hand carved jade pieces and handed them to us with a smile. he walked us about half way down the path before fading back into the forest temple cave. i'm still in awe.
after all that goodness, jeff and i walked back to the purple heaven palace and checked out all the halls and temples,.. we stopped in each one to make small offerings and to give our respects to the deities. at the top of the temple grounds we found the parental hall, so jeff and i took a moment to go in and give an offering of honor to our parents,.. it was especially cool because there was a nun inside that rang a small gong each timed we bowed.. it was magical. from there, we chatted with a sweet old nun that was feeding the turtles and fish in one of the octagon elixir pools - there were two, one for the sun, and the other for the moon. before leaving, we took the time to take a couple kung fu pictures along the steps like good tourists. in all, the whole experience seemed like a fairytale - it was nothing short of amazing.
MONKEY VALLEY MADNESS
earlier this week, the government invited our school up the mountain to the mouth of monkey valley to enjoy a competition. that day was extremely cold and wet, and it rained nearly all morning as they set up for the show. to kill time, we all just chatted with students from the mountain schools and did our best to keep from getting soaked. the funniest part of the morning had to be this director that yelled orders at everyone.. you could even see his face get red, it was cute. once the event started, we were shocked to see that wu ben, the master of jet li, was invited as a judge - and here we are sitting just a few feet behind him! could this week get any better?
the event itself was rather boo boo. there was only a short martial arts demo, most of which was contemporary wushu - which is more like a flash dance than kung fu - there was even a guy that was trying to move like bruce lee.. really, really boo boo. after the martial arts demo, there was this silly event where the participants had to sing or dance.. now that was really cheesy. everyone that sang, blatantly lip synced, and the only cool dancers were these two dudes that did a breaking routine. all the rest were horrible. the whole show was more like a 'star search',.. it was nothing like a traditional kung fu competition. to boot, the event ended with a rigged vote to see who would win some fancy sword.. well, if anything, it was entertaining,.. but i would have rather been training.
TIME IS WINDING DOWN
i am now officially down to my last 8 days in wudang. from here, i shoot over to shanghai for a couple days, and then i'm on a jet plane across the pacific to my home by the bay - richmond, california.
once home, i'll be running a weekend workshop in berkeley - and just in time for the autumn equinox on the 23rd.. i'm really looking forward to it! it will be a three day program, saturday and sunday morning, and one monday evening to close. i plan to share a lot of goodies including taoist yoga, breathing, meditation, qigong, and more. you can find more information about this program here:
www.WudangWorkshops.blogspot.com
as for my hawaii fund raising.. i am still just 200 shy of a plane ticket. hopefully, i can get that taken care of before i leave china. if any of you would care to contribute (dad), you can do it via paypal here:
www.DonationBox.blogspot.com
alright, that's it for this round. now i gotta get back to packing up my winter gear for storage and breaking down my office here.. time is almost up. catch you all next week for my last wu life in wudang.
aloha
Sunday, August 26, 2007
wu life 233
WU LIFE 233
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS ... AND GREAT NEWS
i suppose i should share the bad first. well, it turns out that the 700+ year old temple we train at every day is currently undergoing refurbishment. this means, they are taking a beautifully preserved national treasure that has lasted for nearly a millennium and making it fancy with cheap plaster and neon lights (obviously, i'm not excited). the other downside to this 'beautification' is that our school has been kicked off the temple grounds and forced to train elsewhere - which is really boo boo. now, we will have to carry on our practice in the school facilities, which is cool, but it kind of takes away from the magic and mystical awe of being here in wudang,.. "yeah, i came to wudang mountain to train on a basketball court" - not very majestic.
as for the good news.. my master went to a meeting held by the local government the other day and came back in a really good mood. apparently, the government is about to start pumping a lot of money into the development and promotion of wudang gong fu,.. there is going to be an international campaign to promote wudang wushu to the world - and at the same time, the government is going to distribute funds among the schools to help them grow and expand their programs. on one hand, i am not too excited about wudang getting all commercial.. but on the other hand, i know that there are several steps being taken to assure that the system remains traditional and authentic. in all.. i think this is a good thing for wudang wushu, and i think it's a great time to be a disciple.
speaking of being a disciple.. now i'll share the great news.. my new kung fu brother jeff has just been accepted as a fellow disciple and has been given his official taoist name - zi he. jeff, an american from rhode island, is one smooth dude,.. he has an amazing sense of humor, his martial foundation is very well developed, and his training ethic is inspiring. he has a beautiful character and he gets along with everyone in the school.. really a great guy. rarely does our school get students of this caliber, and i am honored to have him join the ranks of the discipleship. to celebrate, the two of us went to eat with our master and martial uncles and had a grand old time. good, good fun. now the discipleship includes - in order of seniority: sam tripp - zi hao (infinite horizon), me - zi rong (endless capacity), kris olsvik - zi hong (bottomless ocean), and now jeff reid - zi he (harmonious balance),.. together, we represent the 16th generation of the zheng san feng lineage. tao about it.
(on a side note.. there are four other foreign disciples that came before us.. but i don't know them or their taoist names, which is why i chose to omit them from the list.)
FLUSH THAT GUT
i got a lot of interest stirred from my blog about impacted fecal matter last week, so i figured i'd drop a little more this round. now, i hate to sound like a new-age hippie, which i am, but i will now explain the energetic effects of having this toxic layer of mucosal plaque in our bodies.
imagine if you will, a lonely friday night.. sad about not having a social life and digging into that bucket of ice cream while watching tv. or how about another scenario, taking your significant other to a romantic dinner and getting into an argument that results in a breakup halfway through the meal. what do these two events have in common? intense emotional overtones while either eating or digesting a meal. when strong, harsh emotions are present, the body is more concerned with digesting those feelings than that food.. so what happens to the food? it sits in your stomach - a dark, damp, and warm place - where it rots and turns, just like it would in any other dark, damp, warm place. that rotting food is toxic to your system so the body immediately coats the intestinal lining with a layer of mucus to protect itself and to help lubricate the path for that crap to get pushed out. sadly, some of that grub gets trapped in the process.. but the toxic food isn't the only thing that gets trapped.. those toxic emotions are trapped too. now this may sound far fetched, but if emo outbursts are common place for you, they may be associated with the emotional patterns that have been trapped and programmed into your body via this villainous mucosal plaque. crazy, right?
anyway, back to physical reality for a moment,.. even if you don't buy that emo stuff, it is clearly of tremendous benefit to get that crap out of your gut. once that stuff is out, you can enjoy better nutrient assimilation and more regularity in your movements - as a result, you'll need to eat less, and you'll have fewer cravings for sugars and other quick energy foods. on the vanity side, your skin will be softer and smoother, and your eyes will be big and bright - you will literally glow form the inside out. oh, and did i mention that people typically drop anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds after dumping that stuff! all of which being mucous and impacted fecal matter! yum! and finally, if you really do buy that emotional stuff, getting rid of all those negative emotional patterns that have been trapped in that crap is probably the best way to take steps towards a brighter outlook on love and life - far better than zanex or zoloft that only add to the toxicity of your body.
as i stated in my last blog.. it is believed that over 90% of americans have this plaque in their guts.. but just to be sure you fit in that 90 percentile, here are a few ways to know cleansing is right for you:
-if you are irregular.. more than 3-5 poops a day, or less than 3-5 poops a week are signs of severe irregularity.. flush your gut.
-if you are overweight.. it's not due to genetics or stress, well.. maybe a little, but the rest is probably compacted fecal matter.. flush your gut.
-if you spend more than five minutes grunting and pumping only to push out poop pebbles.. pooping should be swift, sweet, and substantial.. flush your gut
-if you eat meat and/or dairy daily or lived off the atkins diet for any length of time.. the average meat eater has 5-10 pounds of undigested meat in their colons.. flush your gut.
-if you have chronic arthritis or joint pain.. you ain't old, that's toxicity buildup.. flush your gut.
-if you are tired or have low energy.. well, you're probably carrying 5-10 pounds of poop in your belly.. flush your gut.
-if you get sick regularly.. that plaque is the perfect home for bacteria and germs.. flush your gut.
-if have acne, eczema, or other skin irritations.. that's the body kicking out toxins trapped in your belly.. flush your gut.
-if you have bad breath or offensive body odor.. that's probably because you're packed with poop.. flush your gut.
-if you are good buddies with general mills, hamburger helper, big mac, extra-crispy chicken, taco supreme, nestle, mars, coca-cola, pizza hut, frito lay, or the likes.. flush your gut.
-if you, or someone you know, has a severe medical condition.. it will probably be of great benefit to flush that gut.
now granted, i'm no doctor, and i've only read a few books.. beyond that, i have yet to go through with this gut flush myself.. none the less, i still urge you to look further into this matter, find more information, and decide for yourself. as for those of you that are either extremely ill, or on a cocktail of medications,.. please consult a health care professional before taking on such a cleanse - preferably an integrative naturopathic or a traditional chinese medicine doctor.
with that said.. i will be flushing my gut for the entire month of october while i frolic in the mountains of northern california. for anyone that would like to maintain communication in regards to this (fecal) matter, or exchange poo poo pictures.. hit me up. thus concludes my rancid rectum rant.
AN UPDATE OF SORTS
the first three day workshop in cali is set for the weekend of the fall equinox, late september. it is likely to be held in tilden park, berkeley. i will have the finalized information up by the next wu life for those of you interested in participating.
beyond that, i will also be speaking at the fourth annual taoist convention this year in oakland. this event is hosted by the zhi dao guan taoist center and will be held around the end of october.. you can find more information here: http://www.thetaoistcenter.com/conference2006/index2006.html
oooh, and then i have another workshop scheduled for thanksgiving weekend in san louis obispo, i will send out more information on that as things solidify.
then there is the hawaii trip.. the workshop there is still in the works, but the reiki training is a go. i have already confirmed it with my master there and he is anxious to give me the attunement. the cool thing is that my kung fu brother, sam the saint, will be joining me for his reiki training as well. party. as for the fund-raising, that is going well too,.. i am just 175 shy of my plane ticket, and then the rest of the funds will go to my tuition and living expenses. for those of you that would like to help contribute, there is a chip in site here: donationbox.blogspot.com
well.. that is all for this week. next week should be juicy,.. i plan on going up to the mountain to observe 'the day of the devil.' this will be my chance to see some cool taoist ceremony and perhaps run into a few demon spirits.. only joking of course.. but i'll let you all know how it goes.
all my love,
be tall.
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS ... AND GREAT NEWS
i suppose i should share the bad first. well, it turns out that the 700+ year old temple we train at every day is currently undergoing refurbishment. this means, they are taking a beautifully preserved national treasure that has lasted for nearly a millennium and making it fancy with cheap plaster and neon lights (obviously, i'm not excited). the other downside to this 'beautification' is that our school has been kicked off the temple grounds and forced to train elsewhere - which is really boo boo. now, we will have to carry on our practice in the school facilities, which is cool, but it kind of takes away from the magic and mystical awe of being here in wudang,.. "yeah, i came to wudang mountain to train on a basketball court" - not very majestic.
as for the good news.. my master went to a meeting held by the local government the other day and came back in a really good mood. apparently, the government is about to start pumping a lot of money into the development and promotion of wudang gong fu,.. there is going to be an international campaign to promote wudang wushu to the world - and at the same time, the government is going to distribute funds among the schools to help them grow and expand their programs. on one hand, i am not too excited about wudang getting all commercial.. but on the other hand, i know that there are several steps being taken to assure that the system remains traditional and authentic. in all.. i think this is a good thing for wudang wushu, and i think it's a great time to be a disciple.
speaking of being a disciple.. now i'll share the great news.. my new kung fu brother jeff has just been accepted as a fellow disciple and has been given his official taoist name - zi he. jeff, an american from rhode island, is one smooth dude,.. he has an amazing sense of humor, his martial foundation is very well developed, and his training ethic is inspiring. he has a beautiful character and he gets along with everyone in the school.. really a great guy. rarely does our school get students of this caliber, and i am honored to have him join the ranks of the discipleship. to celebrate, the two of us went to eat with our master and martial uncles and had a grand old time. good, good fun. now the discipleship includes - in order of seniority: sam tripp - zi hao (infinite horizon), me - zi rong (endless capacity), kris olsvik - zi hong (bottomless ocean), and now jeff reid - zi he (harmonious balance),.. together, we represent the 16th generation of the zheng san feng lineage. tao about it.
(on a side note.. there are four other foreign disciples that came before us.. but i don't know them or their taoist names, which is why i chose to omit them from the list.)
FLUSH THAT GUT
i got a lot of interest stirred from my blog about impacted fecal matter last week, so i figured i'd drop a little more this round. now, i hate to sound like a new-age hippie, which i am, but i will now explain the energetic effects of having this toxic layer of mucosal plaque in our bodies.
imagine if you will, a lonely friday night.. sad about not having a social life and digging into that bucket of ice cream while watching tv. or how about another scenario, taking your significant other to a romantic dinner and getting into an argument that results in a breakup halfway through the meal. what do these two events have in common? intense emotional overtones while either eating or digesting a meal. when strong, harsh emotions are present, the body is more concerned with digesting those feelings than that food.. so what happens to the food? it sits in your stomach - a dark, damp, and warm place - where it rots and turns, just like it would in any other dark, damp, warm place. that rotting food is toxic to your system so the body immediately coats the intestinal lining with a layer of mucus to protect itself and to help lubricate the path for that crap to get pushed out. sadly, some of that grub gets trapped in the process.. but the toxic food isn't the only thing that gets trapped.. those toxic emotions are trapped too. now this may sound far fetched, but if emo outbursts are common place for you, they may be associated with the emotional patterns that have been trapped and programmed into your body via this villainous mucosal plaque. crazy, right?
anyway, back to physical reality for a moment,.. even if you don't buy that emo stuff, it is clearly of tremendous benefit to get that crap out of your gut. once that stuff is out, you can enjoy better nutrient assimilation and more regularity in your movements - as a result, you'll need to eat less, and you'll have fewer cravings for sugars and other quick energy foods. on the vanity side, your skin will be softer and smoother, and your eyes will be big and bright - you will literally glow form the inside out. oh, and did i mention that people typically drop anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds after dumping that stuff! all of which being mucous and impacted fecal matter! yum! and finally, if you really do buy that emotional stuff, getting rid of all those negative emotional patterns that have been trapped in that crap is probably the best way to take steps towards a brighter outlook on love and life - far better than zanex or zoloft that only add to the toxicity of your body.
as i stated in my last blog.. it is believed that over 90% of americans have this plaque in their guts.. but just to be sure you fit in that 90 percentile, here are a few ways to know cleansing is right for you:
-if you are irregular.. more than 3-5 poops a day, or less than 3-5 poops a week are signs of severe irregularity.. flush your gut.
-if you are overweight.. it's not due to genetics or stress, well.. maybe a little, but the rest is probably compacted fecal matter.. flush your gut.
-if you spend more than five minutes grunting and pumping only to push out poop pebbles.. pooping should be swift, sweet, and substantial.. flush your gut
-if you eat meat and/or dairy daily or lived off the atkins diet for any length of time.. the average meat eater has 5-10 pounds of undigested meat in their colons.. flush your gut.
-if you have chronic arthritis or joint pain.. you ain't old, that's toxicity buildup.. flush your gut.
-if you are tired or have low energy.. well, you're probably carrying 5-10 pounds of poop in your belly.. flush your gut.
-if you get sick regularly.. that plaque is the perfect home for bacteria and germs.. flush your gut.
-if have acne, eczema, or other skin irritations.. that's the body kicking out toxins trapped in your belly.. flush your gut.
-if you have bad breath or offensive body odor.. that's probably because you're packed with poop.. flush your gut.
-if you are good buddies with general mills, hamburger helper, big mac, extra-crispy chicken, taco supreme, nestle, mars, coca-cola, pizza hut, frito lay, or the likes.. flush your gut.
-if you, or someone you know, has a severe medical condition.. it will probably be of great benefit to flush that gut.
now granted, i'm no doctor, and i've only read a few books.. beyond that, i have yet to go through with this gut flush myself.. none the less, i still urge you to look further into this matter, find more information, and decide for yourself. as for those of you that are either extremely ill, or on a cocktail of medications,.. please consult a health care professional before taking on such a cleanse - preferably an integrative naturopathic or a traditional chinese medicine doctor.
with that said.. i will be flushing my gut for the entire month of october while i frolic in the mountains of northern california. for anyone that would like to maintain communication in regards to this (fecal) matter, or exchange poo poo pictures.. hit me up. thus concludes my rancid rectum rant.
AN UPDATE OF SORTS
the first three day workshop in cali is set for the weekend of the fall equinox, late september. it is likely to be held in tilden park, berkeley. i will have the finalized information up by the next wu life for those of you interested in participating.
beyond that, i will also be speaking at the fourth annual taoist convention this year in oakland. this event is hosted by the zhi dao guan taoist center and will be held around the end of october.. you can find more information here: http://www.thetaoistcenter.com/conference2006/index2006.html
oooh, and then i have another workshop scheduled for thanksgiving weekend in san louis obispo, i will send out more information on that as things solidify.
then there is the hawaii trip.. the workshop there is still in the works, but the reiki training is a go. i have already confirmed it with my master there and he is anxious to give me the attunement. the cool thing is that my kung fu brother, sam the saint, will be joining me for his reiki training as well. party. as for the fund-raising, that is going well too,.. i am just 175 shy of my plane ticket, and then the rest of the funds will go to my tuition and living expenses. for those of you that would like to help contribute, there is a chip in site here: donationbox.blogspot.com
well.. that is all for this week. next week should be juicy,.. i plan on going up to the mountain to observe 'the day of the devil.' this will be my chance to see some cool taoist ceremony and perhaps run into a few demon spirits.. only joking of course.. but i'll let you all know how it goes.
all my love,
be tall.
Monday, August 20, 2007
wu life 232
WU LIFE 232
FASTING
it's been a minute since i took a break from eating, so i settled into a short three day cleanse this week. i started off with an afternoon of apples and asian pears to help ease in, and then it was right into the master cleanser solution (maple syrup, cayenne, lemon, water) for three whole days. i was prepared to go seven to ten, but yuan shifu always gets mad when i try to go longer than three days - and it goes without saying that i don't like it when my master is mad at me.
my fast this round was so easy. i don't know if i'm just used to it now or if i'm getting cleaner on the inside.. but i had no problems what so ever - no hunger pains, no dizzy spells, nothing. i did, however, take this herbal supplement that shifu gave me for more energy - but other than that, i was surprised to see how good i felt. it was so nice, i spent most of my time resting, reading, writing, and meditating on love and light.. i'm such a hippie. on the last day, i broke my fast with a couple apples in the afternoon and then i had some soup that evening. yum.
GET IT OUT
while fasting, i was motivated to read a book - 'cleanse and purify thyself' by dr. richard anderson.
man.. this book let me know a few things. i've been hip to internal cleanses for a little while now, and i thought that i knew enough, but this book absolutely blew my mind. dr. anderson goes into great depth about a substance found in the intestines which he calls mucosal plaque. for those that aren't hip to this stuff.. please put down your sandwiches for a moment and read on.
mucosal plaque is a mixture of mucous, undigested food, and compacted fecal matter that has accumulated over time along the intestinal wall. it is primarily found in the colon, but can coat the entire intestinal track from the tip of the tongue to the anus. yum. this plaque not only clogs your gut and inhibits nutritional assimilation, but it is also the perfect home for bacteria, yeast, and parasites. yum. 90% of americans have this plaque in there bodies to various degrees, and this internal toxicity is responsible for a plethora of ailments and diseases. yum. both elvis presly and john wayne died with nearly 40 pounds of this crap in their guts. yum.
what is the cause? acid. poorly planned meals, processed foods, meats, sugars, table salt, white flour, dairy, even negative emotions, all contribute to internal acidity. as a defense mechanism, the internal organs coat themselves with a thin layer of mucous until the acid subsides.. this is completely natural and normal,.. but when bad habits persist, the body does not have time to shed this layer of mucous, and eventually, layer upon layer upon layer is added until it solidifies and hardens into mucosal plaque. yum.
to get it out, there are several methods. just eating a salad or two is not good enough,.. even fasting can't get that crap out. one can either have a series of colonic irrigation treatments, or.. if having a tube put up your butt doesn't sound appealing, you can also take any number of the herbal remedies on the market.. colonix, for example ( drnatura.com ) is a very popular product. but,.. once that stuff is out, a fresh layer can grow back in just a matter of minutes if one does not take actions to change their dietary habits and lifestyle.
if you are interested in undergoing such a cleanse.. there are a few things to look for. first, make sure your program includes a parasite treatment. often times when the plaque is shed, the parasites no longer have a home, so they will burrow into the intestinal wall.. not good - so be sure there is some sort of de-wormer included in your treatment. you also want to make sure you get plenty of pro-biotics to replace your friendly flora that may be lost, and you also want to be sure you are getting all your essential minerals and electrolytes as well. super green foods for some of that good chlorophyll is a plus too. above all, it is of vital importance to take efforts to change your lifestyle and dietary habits to keep the mucous down.. but if that is not an option.. regular cleansing every 6 to 12 months is cool too.
for those of you that don't know too much about this stuff... i highly encourage you to do your research and look further into this topic. for those of you that are hip.. let me know - am i forgetting anything? for those of you that want to be grossed out with pictures of plaque that has been successfully removed.. follow this link: http://drnatura.com/picture_gallery.html
yum.
ALMOST DONE
i am officially down to my last month here in china and it is so hard to believe. in four short weeks.. that's four wu life's.. i'll be on a plane back to babylon. my time will be extremely pressed between teaching workshops, traveling, and making money, but i look forward to the opportunity to see all of you at least once before i shoot back over the international date line to further my learning next january. speaking of learning, i already have two workshops confirmed in california and one in the works in hawaii.. if any of you would like to participate and learn some taoist healing arts - drop me a line. oh.. another update.. my chip in account has successfully raised $50!!! yippee. it is still open for contribution, and if any of you would like to donate to my learning you can follow this link: donationbox.blogspot.com
all my aloha. i love and miss you all.
be tall,
-zi rong
FASTING
it's been a minute since i took a break from eating, so i settled into a short three day cleanse this week. i started off with an afternoon of apples and asian pears to help ease in, and then it was right into the master cleanser solution (maple syrup, cayenne, lemon, water) for three whole days. i was prepared to go seven to ten, but yuan shifu always gets mad when i try to go longer than three days - and it goes without saying that i don't like it when my master is mad at me.
my fast this round was so easy. i don't know if i'm just used to it now or if i'm getting cleaner on the inside.. but i had no problems what so ever - no hunger pains, no dizzy spells, nothing. i did, however, take this herbal supplement that shifu gave me for more energy - but other than that, i was surprised to see how good i felt. it was so nice, i spent most of my time resting, reading, writing, and meditating on love and light.. i'm such a hippie. on the last day, i broke my fast with a couple apples in the afternoon and then i had some soup that evening. yum.
GET IT OUT
while fasting, i was motivated to read a book - 'cleanse and purify thyself' by dr. richard anderson.
man.. this book let me know a few things. i've been hip to internal cleanses for a little while now, and i thought that i knew enough, but this book absolutely blew my mind. dr. anderson goes into great depth about a substance found in the intestines which he calls mucosal plaque. for those that aren't hip to this stuff.. please put down your sandwiches for a moment and read on.
mucosal plaque is a mixture of mucous, undigested food, and compacted fecal matter that has accumulated over time along the intestinal wall. it is primarily found in the colon, but can coat the entire intestinal track from the tip of the tongue to the anus. yum. this plaque not only clogs your gut and inhibits nutritional assimilation, but it is also the perfect home for bacteria, yeast, and parasites. yum. 90% of americans have this plaque in there bodies to various degrees, and this internal toxicity is responsible for a plethora of ailments and diseases. yum. both elvis presly and john wayne died with nearly 40 pounds of this crap in their guts. yum.
what is the cause? acid. poorly planned meals, processed foods, meats, sugars, table salt, white flour, dairy, even negative emotions, all contribute to internal acidity. as a defense mechanism, the internal organs coat themselves with a thin layer of mucous until the acid subsides.. this is completely natural and normal,.. but when bad habits persist, the body does not have time to shed this layer of mucous, and eventually, layer upon layer upon layer is added until it solidifies and hardens into mucosal plaque. yum.
to get it out, there are several methods. just eating a salad or two is not good enough,.. even fasting can't get that crap out. one can either have a series of colonic irrigation treatments, or.. if having a tube put up your butt doesn't sound appealing, you can also take any number of the herbal remedies on the market.. colonix, for example ( drnatura.com ) is a very popular product. but,.. once that stuff is out, a fresh layer can grow back in just a matter of minutes if one does not take actions to change their dietary habits and lifestyle.
if you are interested in undergoing such a cleanse.. there are a few things to look for. first, make sure your program includes a parasite treatment. often times when the plaque is shed, the parasites no longer have a home, so they will burrow into the intestinal wall.. not good - so be sure there is some sort of de-wormer included in your treatment. you also want to make sure you get plenty of pro-biotics to replace your friendly flora that may be lost, and you also want to be sure you are getting all your essential minerals and electrolytes as well. super green foods for some of that good chlorophyll is a plus too. above all, it is of vital importance to take efforts to change your lifestyle and dietary habits to keep the mucous down.. but if that is not an option.. regular cleansing every 6 to 12 months is cool too.
for those of you that don't know too much about this stuff... i highly encourage you to do your research and look further into this topic. for those of you that are hip.. let me know - am i forgetting anything? for those of you that want to be grossed out with pictures of plaque that has been successfully removed.. follow this link: http://drnatura.com/picture_gallery.html
yum.
ALMOST DONE
i am officially down to my last month here in china and it is so hard to believe. in four short weeks.. that's four wu life's.. i'll be on a plane back to babylon. my time will be extremely pressed between teaching workshops, traveling, and making money, but i look forward to the opportunity to see all of you at least once before i shoot back over the international date line to further my learning next january. speaking of learning, i already have two workshops confirmed in california and one in the works in hawaii.. if any of you would like to participate and learn some taoist healing arts - drop me a line. oh.. another update.. my chip in account has successfully raised $50!!! yippee. it is still open for contribution, and if any of you would like to donate to my learning you can follow this link: donationbox.blogspot.com
all my aloha. i love and miss you all.
be tall,
-zi rong
Saturday, August 11, 2007
wu life 231
WU LIFE 231
FAREWELL SAM
sadly.. sam the saint will be heading back to shanghai tomorrow afternoon. the last month-plus that i have spent with him has been really fun,.. lots of bad jokes, veggie dumplings, foot massages, good music, crazy training, and epic conversations. it will be hard to see my disciple brother off to the train station tomorrow, but in about one month's time, i'll be going through shanghai before returning to the states - that means more amazing indian food and more good times with brother sam. we still have one more night in wudang though.. so that means a really big vegetarian meal with our master and a super fabulous foot massage. such a hard life.
PALM CHANGE FOUR
in conversation with master yuan, we have both decided that it is probably best that i only learn half of the bagua this year, and learn the other half next year when i return to the mountain. on one hand i am sad that i am leaving without finishing,.. but on the other hand, i'd rather know half really well, then force feed myself the rest of the set just for the sake of finishing.
at any rate, i've started palm change four the other day and it is absolutely disgusting. the motion starts with a swift swivel of the hip that rolls into a double throat stab. after that, you step back and quickly drop into a crouching dragon posture to strike the groin. from there you spin up on a pivot to strike the sides of the neck with both forearms all before taking a really cool stance on one leg as if to avoid a sweep. from there, you take a short step forward to get in range for an explosive palm strike to the rib cage. after all that, you close with a few more circular throat stabs and a torquing stab to the liver. as nasty as all that sounds.. it's really beautiful and elegant. i can't wait to share it with you guys when i return.
REIKI ROCKS
this fall i intend on visiting my first martial master, bruce chu, in hawaii to receive my second level reiki attunement. for those of you that are unfamiliar with reiki, it is a method of channeling universal energy for the purpose of healing. i was attuned for reiki level one several years back and i have noticed that this skill has been a tremendous compliment to my massage practice. i never really told people that i had this skill, and i never really went around using it - i simply went about my massage practice as usual, all while being present to the healing capacity that i had been attuned to. consequently,.. i would get amazing results.. i would uncover unknown pains almost intuitively, i would be drawn to old injuries and sore spots almost instinctively, i could emit an amazing amount of soothing heat from my palms along the course of my sessions, and i could give instant relief to chronic pains and traumas after only a few moments of touch. of course these things didn't happen each and every time with each and every client,.. but it happened enough for me to take note of it and recognize the healing energy that has been transmitted through my being.
so, that is all reiki level one, hands on healing - reiki level two is pretty much the same thing except an individual is then able to transmit this healing from a distance.. which is particularly useful for me since i will be traveling the world for the next few years. i know it may seem far-fetched to some, but experiencing this energy first hand has made me a believer - so much so, that i have dedicated myself to mastering this method of healing. beyond that, having a strong foundation in healing is the perfect compliment to all my bagua groin strikes and throat stabs. (smile)
i'm sharing all this because i have set up a fund-raising tool through chipin.com. for those of you that would like to help me get to hawaii this fall to continue my healing work,.. you can easily contribute to my practice by pitching in a few bucks via credit card or pay pal. i have the chip in page set up on blogspot - simply follow the link bellow if you would like to help out.
www.DonationBox.blogspot.com
ALOHA
that's all for this week. i may not be able to give an update next week because i plan on spending a week on the mountain to fast and cleanse. however, your letters and love are still welcome and they will be received and reflected back in all their brilliance. till next round.
FAREWELL SAM
sadly.. sam the saint will be heading back to shanghai tomorrow afternoon. the last month-plus that i have spent with him has been really fun,.. lots of bad jokes, veggie dumplings, foot massages, good music, crazy training, and epic conversations. it will be hard to see my disciple brother off to the train station tomorrow, but in about one month's time, i'll be going through shanghai before returning to the states - that means more amazing indian food and more good times with brother sam. we still have one more night in wudang though.. so that means a really big vegetarian meal with our master and a super fabulous foot massage. such a hard life.
PALM CHANGE FOUR
in conversation with master yuan, we have both decided that it is probably best that i only learn half of the bagua this year, and learn the other half next year when i return to the mountain. on one hand i am sad that i am leaving without finishing,.. but on the other hand, i'd rather know half really well, then force feed myself the rest of the set just for the sake of finishing.
at any rate, i've started palm change four the other day and it is absolutely disgusting. the motion starts with a swift swivel of the hip that rolls into a double throat stab. after that, you step back and quickly drop into a crouching dragon posture to strike the groin. from there you spin up on a pivot to strike the sides of the neck with both forearms all before taking a really cool stance on one leg as if to avoid a sweep. from there, you take a short step forward to get in range for an explosive palm strike to the rib cage. after all that, you close with a few more circular throat stabs and a torquing stab to the liver. as nasty as all that sounds.. it's really beautiful and elegant. i can't wait to share it with you guys when i return.
REIKI ROCKS
this fall i intend on visiting my first martial master, bruce chu, in hawaii to receive my second level reiki attunement. for those of you that are unfamiliar with reiki, it is a method of channeling universal energy for the purpose of healing. i was attuned for reiki level one several years back and i have noticed that this skill has been a tremendous compliment to my massage practice. i never really told people that i had this skill, and i never really went around using it - i simply went about my massage practice as usual, all while being present to the healing capacity that i had been attuned to. consequently,.. i would get amazing results.. i would uncover unknown pains almost intuitively, i would be drawn to old injuries and sore spots almost instinctively, i could emit an amazing amount of soothing heat from my palms along the course of my sessions, and i could give instant relief to chronic pains and traumas after only a few moments of touch. of course these things didn't happen each and every time with each and every client,.. but it happened enough for me to take note of it and recognize the healing energy that has been transmitted through my being.
so, that is all reiki level one, hands on healing - reiki level two is pretty much the same thing except an individual is then able to transmit this healing from a distance.. which is particularly useful for me since i will be traveling the world for the next few years. i know it may seem far-fetched to some, but experiencing this energy first hand has made me a believer - so much so, that i have dedicated myself to mastering this method of healing. beyond that, having a strong foundation in healing is the perfect compliment to all my bagua groin strikes and throat stabs. (smile)
i'm sharing all this because i have set up a fund-raising tool through chipin.com. for those of you that would like to help me get to hawaii this fall to continue my healing work,.. you can easily contribute to my practice by pitching in a few bucks via credit card or pay pal. i have the chip in page set up on blogspot - simply follow the link bellow if you would like to help out.
www.DonationBox.blogspot.com
ALOHA
that's all for this week. i may not be able to give an update next week because i plan on spending a week on the mountain to fast and cleanse. however, your letters and love are still welcome and they will be received and reflected back in all their brilliance. till next round.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
wu life 230
WU LIFE 230
MORE VISA ISSUES
so, it turns out that i was the first of many students to have visa troubles here in wudang. now.. three other students are faced with the same dilemma that i had last month - the worst of which has to be for my disciple brother kris. kris has been here training for nearly a year now, and when he attempted to extend his visa one last time before moving on with his training in nepal, the local government only gave him ten days instead of the two months that he paid for. beyond that.. they also held on to his passport for four days extra.. leaving him with only six days to make arrangements to leave the country. such drama. luckily,.. kris is ridiculously blessed.. everything just happened to work out in his favor and he will be able to make it out with one day to spare.. the other two students, however, may not be that lucky. with as much we foreigners contribute to the local economy, one would think that the government would be more supportive of us being here,.. but sadly, that's just not the case. no worries though.. for those of you intending to visit at some point, a three month tourist visa should be good enough to cover you for short stays - and for those of you interested in longer stays.. my kung fu brother sam's friend can set up business class visas in shanghai for up to a year. can't knock the hustle.
I LOVE BAGUA
as you all probably know by now.. i have been practicing bagua zhang, 'eight trigram palm,' for the last several months. i am absolutely in love with this set, but training it is a tremendous challenge. what makes it even more challenging is that i am learning it in the 'traditional' way.. this means i get very limited instruction, and LOTS of time to practice - so, while other students may get 15 to 20 minutes of personal instruction per class, i'm lucky if i get 5 minutes per week. obviously, this can be very frustrating. the other day, however, was my chance to get my five minutes of schooling, and shifu dropped a gem on me.
'now you are learning bagua.. bagua zhang is not like tai chi. in tai chi, the movements are slow, soft, and expressive.. bagua, on the other hand, is big, fast, explosive, and destructive. the movements flow like a swimming dragon ripping and coiling through the clouds in huge circles and spirals. bagua is one of the best forms to develop both internal and external coordination, timing, balance, and power. everyone can learn bagua, but bagua is not for everyone.. it is a very high level form..
'there are several points to be aware of in practice.. particularly in the hips, waist, and shoulders. the forward momentum comes from the hips. the hips must remain level and strong yet fluid and free,.. the practitioner must be able to sit back comfortably in his stance and glide gracefully throughout the movements. next is the waist,.. all the power comes from the waist. the waist torques and twists like a swivel on a pivot. the waist is the core of the body, all movement originates from this point and returns to it. the shoulders are also important. with the shoulders rounded and relaxed, the power generated from the core can be released and expressed through the arms like whips. when these external elements are in harmony, then you are beginning to understand bagua..'
THE GEAR
a few brothers and i have been frequenting the local tailor for some custom threads lately. man,.. i can never wear normal clothes again - i just wish i could afford to have all my clothes custom from now on. anyway,.. the latest round of threads came just in time for kris's departure, so all of us got together for one last epic photo shoot. now, we've been doing these shoots about once every-other month or so, and they are lots of fun.. but it's really cool to see how each of us are improving - kung fu can really transform a person's body, mind and soul,.. my brothers and i are living testimonies to the miraculous benefits of continued practice.. plus, we look really sharp in our kung fu clothes.
if you would like to peruse the pics,.. a small selection has been posted on picassa.. peep em.
http://picasaweb.google.com/chinagiant
FIN
that's all for this week. i love you and miss you all.. especially YOU MOM.
kris is leaving today,.. sam is leaving in another week or so, and then i'll be gone just a few short weeks after that. the countdown continues - i will see you all very soon.
all my aloha,
-zi rong
MORE VISA ISSUES
so, it turns out that i was the first of many students to have visa troubles here in wudang. now.. three other students are faced with the same dilemma that i had last month - the worst of which has to be for my disciple brother kris. kris has been here training for nearly a year now, and when he attempted to extend his visa one last time before moving on with his training in nepal, the local government only gave him ten days instead of the two months that he paid for. beyond that.. they also held on to his passport for four days extra.. leaving him with only six days to make arrangements to leave the country. such drama. luckily,.. kris is ridiculously blessed.. everything just happened to work out in his favor and he will be able to make it out with one day to spare.. the other two students, however, may not be that lucky. with as much we foreigners contribute to the local economy, one would think that the government would be more supportive of us being here,.. but sadly, that's just not the case. no worries though.. for those of you intending to visit at some point, a three month tourist visa should be good enough to cover you for short stays - and for those of you interested in longer stays.. my kung fu brother sam's friend can set up business class visas in shanghai for up to a year. can't knock the hustle.
I LOVE BAGUA
as you all probably know by now.. i have been practicing bagua zhang, 'eight trigram palm,' for the last several months. i am absolutely in love with this set, but training it is a tremendous challenge. what makes it even more challenging is that i am learning it in the 'traditional' way.. this means i get very limited instruction, and LOTS of time to practice - so, while other students may get 15 to 20 minutes of personal instruction per class, i'm lucky if i get 5 minutes per week. obviously, this can be very frustrating. the other day, however, was my chance to get my five minutes of schooling, and shifu dropped a gem on me.
'now you are learning bagua.. bagua zhang is not like tai chi. in tai chi, the movements are slow, soft, and expressive.. bagua, on the other hand, is big, fast, explosive, and destructive. the movements flow like a swimming dragon ripping and coiling through the clouds in huge circles and spirals. bagua is one of the best forms to develop both internal and external coordination, timing, balance, and power. everyone can learn bagua, but bagua is not for everyone.. it is a very high level form..
'there are several points to be aware of in practice.. particularly in the hips, waist, and shoulders. the forward momentum comes from the hips. the hips must remain level and strong yet fluid and free,.. the practitioner must be able to sit back comfortably in his stance and glide gracefully throughout the movements. next is the waist,.. all the power comes from the waist. the waist torques and twists like a swivel on a pivot. the waist is the core of the body, all movement originates from this point and returns to it. the shoulders are also important. with the shoulders rounded and relaxed, the power generated from the core can be released and expressed through the arms like whips. when these external elements are in harmony, then you are beginning to understand bagua..'
THE GEAR
a few brothers and i have been frequenting the local tailor for some custom threads lately. man,.. i can never wear normal clothes again - i just wish i could afford to have all my clothes custom from now on. anyway,.. the latest round of threads came just in time for kris's departure, so all of us got together for one last epic photo shoot. now, we've been doing these shoots about once every-other month or so, and they are lots of fun.. but it's really cool to see how each of us are improving - kung fu can really transform a person's body, mind and soul,.. my brothers and i are living testimonies to the miraculous benefits of continued practice.. plus, we look really sharp in our kung fu clothes.
if you would like to peruse the pics,.. a small selection has been posted on picassa.. peep em.
http://picasaweb.google.com/chinagiant
FIN
that's all for this week. i love you and miss you all.. especially YOU MOM.
kris is leaving today,.. sam is leaving in another week or so, and then i'll be gone just a few short weeks after that. the countdown continues - i will see you all very soon.
all my aloha,
-zi rong
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
wu life 229
WU LIFE 229
SEVEN WEEKS LEFT
i was looking at a calendar just now and i realized that i am down to my last seven weeks here in wudang! my, how the last eight months have flown by. it seems like just last week i was frolicking in the snow covered mountains and busting my butt on the slippery ice. now, i am down to my last leg here and it's bitter sweet. on one end, i have really gotten into the habit of daily training, and i have established quite a role here in the school as a disciple and senior student.. but on the other end, i am anxious to catch up with friends and family back in the states and share the wealth of knowledge that i have gathered.
so here's the deal.. i get home in time for my mother's birthday at the end of september. after that, i go backpacking in the mountains for one month so as to help adjust back to 'normal' life and allow myself a chance to decompress. from there, i am scheduled to speak at the taoist convention again, then right after that, i'm on a plane to honolulu, hawaii. once there, i get to spend some time with my tao daughter for her second birthday,.. plus, i get my level two reiki attunement from bruce chu and i also get to run a qigong workshop as well.. good fun. after hawaii, i'll be all over california running workshops every weekend.. san louis obispo, berkeley, oakland,.. just to name a few. then in december, i hope to take on a ten day silence retreat at the vipassana camp before wrapping up my year. after all that.. i'm looking at a short stay in taiwan come january to catch up with some friends there, then about a month in thailand to pick up some advanced thai massage in changmai. once all that is done, i should be back in wudang for another eight months or so to continue my practice - only to come back to the states the following fall to do it all over again. dave wei has a hard life.
but, i'm not one to project too far ahead.. i really like to be present. in the mean time, things have really picked up for me here in wudang.. it is non-stop. from about 5:30am to about 10 or 11pm it's go-time. on top of our five to six hours of class time per day, i also get about an hour or two of meditation in, along with some supplementary exercises that i do on my own time - so training is pretty much a full time job for me here. if that weren't enough, i also juggle about 7 massage students and 6 english students during my down time. beyond that, i also have to find time to translate documents and write articles for my master, as well as respond to emails from prospective students,.. and there's more.. i still have to keep up with my own articles for kung fu magazine, and i also like to write my blog once a week too.. which gets tough. plus.. i've also become some what of an ambassador here, so every time we have a new student, i get to show them around town and make sure they don't get ripped off by the local vendors. then when time permits, i still have to do laundry and all that other domestic stuff as well. whew.. who would have ever thought living a life of passion would be so demanding... but as confucius says.. 'do what you love, and never work a day of your life.'
AFTER PAIN, COMES PLEASURE
so,.. i'm hurt. nothing serious, but this bagua form is kicking my butt. i'm so sore, i can hardly move in the mornings. it's a good pain though.. the pain of progress. one afternoon, shifu gave me a massage.. such a blessing really.. our master doesn't just go around handing out massages.. so i'm quite fortunate actually. he started by digging his dragon claws into my shoulders, then he proceeded to roll his finger tips over the dense muscle fibers and tendons. the pain was crippling.. the kind of pain that makes your eyes roll back while you scream in silence. the next ten minutes had to be the most disturbingly painful massage experience i had ever received, as he ripped and clawed all along my neck, shoulder, and back. by the end of it though.. i was loose as a noodle, and all the pain and tension that i had before had been magically alleviated. i had been healed.
extremely happy with the results from shifu's painful poking,.. i decided to treat myself to a massage from the blind master, whom i haven't seen in quite some time now. once there, i let him tackle the pain in my lower back, hips, and thighs. he started by plunging his elbows deep into the hollow areas of my thighs and rolled them around fiercely till i sprawled about like a hooked fish. as i bit the pillow in pain, he simply chuckled and said.. 'no problem.' two hours later, i slid of the table like a jelly fish and melted into ground below me. pain works,.. so much so, i went back the next morning for an equally painful follow-up session. good times.
funny thing is, after all the painful massages that i have received here in china, i feel these methods have somewhat carried over into my own practice. now i find my self digging into people in much the same way.. i even get the same little chuckle as the person crumbles under my grip. though somewhat disturbing, it is super effective,.. i can only hope that it carries over well with my clients back in the states,.. if not, i may have to re-learn 'gentle' massage again.
LOVE BOMBS
i love dumplings. what sucks, is that here in china, EVERY DUMPLING SPOT packs their dumplings with pork - super nasty. however, over time, i have managed to find a few friends that will make the vegetable goody mouth bombs for me, and i've been loving it. now,.. we get dumplings twice a week from a local wonton shop, plus dumplings every so often from our school's cook. if that weren't enough, i found yet another sweet lady that makes the massive tofu, mushroom, celery dumplings.. whoooo... add a little garlic and vinegar.. mouth party. me and my disciple brothers, sam, kris, and jeff, throw down on the dumplings each and every chance we get.. yum. with only seven weeks left, i'll be getting as many as i can before my time is up.
FIN
thank you all for the well wishes and love letters. when time permits i will surely reply to each and every letter personally. i love you and miss you all, and i look forward to hugs and such upon my return. aloha all.
-zi rong
SEVEN WEEKS LEFT
i was looking at a calendar just now and i realized that i am down to my last seven weeks here in wudang! my, how the last eight months have flown by. it seems like just last week i was frolicking in the snow covered mountains and busting my butt on the slippery ice. now, i am down to my last leg here and it's bitter sweet. on one end, i have really gotten into the habit of daily training, and i have established quite a role here in the school as a disciple and senior student.. but on the other end, i am anxious to catch up with friends and family back in the states and share the wealth of knowledge that i have gathered.
so here's the deal.. i get home in time for my mother's birthday at the end of september. after that, i go backpacking in the mountains for one month so as to help adjust back to 'normal' life and allow myself a chance to decompress. from there, i am scheduled to speak at the taoist convention again, then right after that, i'm on a plane to honolulu, hawaii. once there, i get to spend some time with my tao daughter for her second birthday,.. plus, i get my level two reiki attunement from bruce chu and i also get to run a qigong workshop as well.. good fun. after hawaii, i'll be all over california running workshops every weekend.. san louis obispo, berkeley, oakland,.. just to name a few. then in december, i hope to take on a ten day silence retreat at the vipassana camp before wrapping up my year. after all that.. i'm looking at a short stay in taiwan come january to catch up with some friends there, then about a month in thailand to pick up some advanced thai massage in changmai. once all that is done, i should be back in wudang for another eight months or so to continue my practice - only to come back to the states the following fall to do it all over again. dave wei has a hard life.
but, i'm not one to project too far ahead.. i really like to be present. in the mean time, things have really picked up for me here in wudang.. it is non-stop. from about 5:30am to about 10 or 11pm it's go-time. on top of our five to six hours of class time per day, i also get about an hour or two of meditation in, along with some supplementary exercises that i do on my own time - so training is pretty much a full time job for me here. if that weren't enough, i also juggle about 7 massage students and 6 english students during my down time. beyond that, i also have to find time to translate documents and write articles for my master, as well as respond to emails from prospective students,.. and there's more.. i still have to keep up with my own articles for kung fu magazine, and i also like to write my blog once a week too.. which gets tough. plus.. i've also become some what of an ambassador here, so every time we have a new student, i get to show them around town and make sure they don't get ripped off by the local vendors. then when time permits, i still have to do laundry and all that other domestic stuff as well. whew.. who would have ever thought living a life of passion would be so demanding... but as confucius says.. 'do what you love, and never work a day of your life.'
AFTER PAIN, COMES PLEASURE
so,.. i'm hurt. nothing serious, but this bagua form is kicking my butt. i'm so sore, i can hardly move in the mornings. it's a good pain though.. the pain of progress. one afternoon, shifu gave me a massage.. such a blessing really.. our master doesn't just go around handing out massages.. so i'm quite fortunate actually. he started by digging his dragon claws into my shoulders, then he proceeded to roll his finger tips over the dense muscle fibers and tendons. the pain was crippling.. the kind of pain that makes your eyes roll back while you scream in silence. the next ten minutes had to be the most disturbingly painful massage experience i had ever received, as he ripped and clawed all along my neck, shoulder, and back. by the end of it though.. i was loose as a noodle, and all the pain and tension that i had before had been magically alleviated. i had been healed.
extremely happy with the results from shifu's painful poking,.. i decided to treat myself to a massage from the blind master, whom i haven't seen in quite some time now. once there, i let him tackle the pain in my lower back, hips, and thighs. he started by plunging his elbows deep into the hollow areas of my thighs and rolled them around fiercely till i sprawled about like a hooked fish. as i bit the pillow in pain, he simply chuckled and said.. 'no problem.' two hours later, i slid of the table like a jelly fish and melted into ground below me. pain works,.. so much so, i went back the next morning for an equally painful follow-up session. good times.
funny thing is, after all the painful massages that i have received here in china, i feel these methods have somewhat carried over into my own practice. now i find my self digging into people in much the same way.. i even get the same little chuckle as the person crumbles under my grip. though somewhat disturbing, it is super effective,.. i can only hope that it carries over well with my clients back in the states,.. if not, i may have to re-learn 'gentle' massage again.
LOVE BOMBS
i love dumplings. what sucks, is that here in china, EVERY DUMPLING SPOT packs their dumplings with pork - super nasty. however, over time, i have managed to find a few friends that will make the vegetable goody mouth bombs for me, and i've been loving it. now,.. we get dumplings twice a week from a local wonton shop, plus dumplings every so often from our school's cook. if that weren't enough, i found yet another sweet lady that makes the massive tofu, mushroom, celery dumplings.. whoooo... add a little garlic and vinegar.. mouth party. me and my disciple brothers, sam, kris, and jeff, throw down on the dumplings each and every chance we get.. yum. with only seven weeks left, i'll be getting as many as i can before my time is up.
FIN
thank you all for the well wishes and love letters. when time permits i will surely reply to each and every letter personally. i love you and miss you all, and i look forward to hugs and such upon my return. aloha all.
-zi rong
Thursday, July 26, 2007
wu life 228
WU LIFE 228
BACK ON TH BLOCK
i am back in wudang now. the week long fiasco over in shanghai has ended, and i am now peacefully back in wudang shan, ready to wrap up my last two months of training.
the 20+ hour train ride back wasn't too bad - the last five hours were especially entertaining. i was in my usual idiotic form, joking it up with the locals, singing ridiculously loud nonsense songs, breaking personal space barriers, and playing with the keikis.. the chinese folks seemed to really get a kick out of it, and sam, who made the return trip back with me, seemed to really enjoy the laugh as well. it was good fun.
once back in town, sam and i immediately treated ourselves to a bowl of hand-cut noodle soup from one of the local hole-in-the-wall grub spots in wudang. all the locals immediately recognized our return and gave us big loving welcomes.. sometimes i forget how famous we've become here. after the noodles, a big group of us went to the massage parlor to get our feet soaked in herbs and massaged with oils. when all that goodness was over, i ran down to pay the first bill i had payed all week. as generous as sam has been to me the whole while in shanghai, it was nice to finally pay a bill myself again,.. ahhh, the simple pleasures.
the next day was our first day training. sam, who was especially feeling it after a hectic last two days in shanghai was burnt out,.. and myself, who had been sick 6 of the 7 days over in shanghai, was feeling a little off too.. so both of us decided to take it easy and give our bodies time to simply appreciate the healing space we were in now. the following day, however, found the two of us feeling much better, and the intensity of our training was a reflection of that. ahh, it's good to be back.
TEACHING THAI MASSAGE
the local massage spot that we frequent displayed a little interest in learning thai massage, and i, being the pseudo thai masseuse master that i am, offered to teach them. i really love thai massage,.. apart from chinese tui na and hawaiian lomi lomi, thai is where it's at. i was lucky enough to learn a table thai set back in berkeley, and a few of the advanced students and i, worked it into a floor routine, so i have a pretty good grasp on the material. anyway, i showed a few of the girls at the massage spot and they were stoked.
so now, i'll be teaching them massage three days out of the week.. plus, i also started teaching tui na to one of the apprentice instructors here as well for another two days,.. so that makes five days of massage a week for me. this is really good, because teaching massage always means receiving massage, and i'm always happy to catch some touch. the other thing is that it is a good break from all the kung fu i've been doing, and it will give me some practice before i get back into the massage business when i head back to the states. it's all working out nicely.
BAGUA PALM CHANGE
bagua zhang, eight trigram palm, is composed of eight transitional palm strikes. i have already learned two, and i am currently learning the third. this particular movement is really ridiculous. it opens with a block that rolls into a low groin strike. from there, you step into a double wrist break, before opening the opponents defense and thrusting your toe into their throat with a stabbing spear kick. after that, you step back and block another opponent's attack and then grab their balls and throw them over your shoulder. as devastating as that sounds, it is a really beautiful expression of twisting and torquing movements that start high and round, then end low, like a coiling, crouching dragon.
sadly.. for a person my size, such movements are really difficult to execute, which is why i've been in such pain these last three months trying to learn this set. however, i am slowly getting the hang of it and it is coming a long nicely. of course i am no where near mastery, but my body is constantly changing, and i feel in time i will have a strong grasp on this set. i love it.
FIN
alright, that's it for this week. i'm glad to be back in the mix here. just think, in 8 more weeks i'll be heading back to the states - that's so fast. as much as i love it here, i am looking forward to burritos and sandwiches. till next week, aloha.
-zi rong
BACK ON TH BLOCK
i am back in wudang now. the week long fiasco over in shanghai has ended, and i am now peacefully back in wudang shan, ready to wrap up my last two months of training.the 20+ hour train ride back wasn't too bad - the last five hours were especially entertaining. i was in my usual idiotic form, joking it up with the locals, singing ridiculously loud nonsense songs, breaking personal space barriers, and playing with the keikis.. the chinese folks seemed to really get a kick out of it, and sam, who made the return trip back with me, seemed to really enjoy the laugh as well. it was good fun.
once back in town, sam and i immediately treated ourselves to a bowl of hand-cut noodle soup from one of the local hole-in-the-wall grub spots in wudang. all the locals immediately recognized our return and gave us big loving welcomes.. sometimes i forget how famous we've become here. after the noodles, a big group of us went to the massage parlor to get our feet soaked in herbs and massaged with oils. when all that goodness was over, i ran down to pay the first bill i had payed all week. as generous as sam has been to me the whole while in shanghai, it was nice to finally pay a bill myself again,.. ahhh, the simple pleasures.
the next day was our first day training. sam, who was especially feeling it after a hectic last two days in shanghai was burnt out,.. and myself, who had been sick 6 of the 7 days over in shanghai, was feeling a little off too.. so both of us decided to take it easy and give our bodies time to simply appreciate the healing space we were in now. the following day, however, found the two of us feeling much better, and the intensity of our training was a reflection of that. ahh, it's good to be back.
TEACHING THAI MASSAGE
the local massage spot that we frequent displayed a little interest in learning thai massage, and i, being the pseudo thai masseuse master that i am, offered to teach them. i really love thai massage,.. apart from chinese tui na and hawaiian lomi lomi, thai is where it's at. i was lucky enough to learn a table thai set back in berkeley, and a few of the advanced students and i, worked it into a floor routine, so i have a pretty good grasp on the material. anyway, i showed a few of the girls at the massage spot and they were stoked.
so now, i'll be teaching them massage three days out of the week.. plus, i also started teaching tui na to one of the apprentice instructors here as well for another two days,.. so that makes five days of massage a week for me. this is really good, because teaching massage always means receiving massage, and i'm always happy to catch some touch. the other thing is that it is a good break from all the kung fu i've been doing, and it will give me some practice before i get back into the massage business when i head back to the states. it's all working out nicely.
BAGUA PALM CHANGE
bagua zhang, eight trigram palm, is composed of eight transitional palm strikes. i have already learned two, and i am currently learning the third. this particular movement is really ridiculous. it opens with a block that rolls into a low groin strike. from there, you step into a double wrist break, before opening the opponents defense and thrusting your toe into their throat with a stabbing spear kick. after that, you step back and block another opponent's attack and then grab their balls and throw them over your shoulder. as devastating as that sounds, it is a really beautiful expression of twisting and torquing movements that start high and round, then end low, like a coiling, crouching dragon.
sadly.. for a person my size, such movements are really difficult to execute, which is why i've been in such pain these last three months trying to learn this set. however, i am slowly getting the hang of it and it is coming a long nicely. of course i am no where near mastery, but my body is constantly changing, and i feel in time i will have a strong grasp on this set. i love it.
FIN
alright, that's it for this week. i'm glad to be back in the mix here. just think, in 8 more weeks i'll be heading back to the states - that's so fast. as much as i love it here, i am looking forward to burritos and sandwiches. till next week, aloha.
-zi rong
Friday, July 20, 2007
wu life 227
WU LIFE 227
TOO BAD SAM TRIPP HATES DAVE WEI
shanghai still sucks,.. but sam tripp has been the best host times ten thousand, million, billion, trillion.
sadly, i had a head cold for the majority of my stay here. i think between the typhoon i endured to get here, the recycled train air, all the dusty climate control, all the second hand smoke, the pollution, and the city grime,.. i put my immunity system through a rough ride. funny though,.. it seems that every time i come to shanghai i come down with a little bit of nastiness. even when sam comes to visit me in the wu, he seems to host something from here that gets me all nasty too.. shanghai and i just don't get along.
sam the saint, however, wasted no effort in making sure every thing i could possibly need or want was taken care of. each day we are eating amazing vegetarian love food, each day there was tons of fresh water and watermelon, each day we shared amazing and enlightening conversation, and each outing was a public display of tremendous idiocracy. daniel reid would certainly approve,.. such good fun. the craziest part, was that aside form my initail trip here, sam has fit the bill for every single expense. it was really hard to receive such generocity, but sam demanded that i give in to the love. such a good brother.
VISA TROUBLES VANQUISHED
sam introduced me to a gentleman by the name of magic. his name is magic because he works wonders with the visa. i simply gave him my passport, and told him to fix it.. no crazy paperwork, no physical examinations, absolutely no red tape what so ever. five days later, after an express order, my visa was complete. beyond that, i now have the connection to get year-long, multi-entry, business-class visas.. i should never have another issue with immigration again. have i mentioned that sam is a saint?
GOOD TIMES
despite the nastiness that is shanghai,.. i still managed to enjoy some amazing times here. the first big thing was checking out a beautiful temple on the 15th. we got to see monks holding a service and everything,.. it was really nice. sam and i also checked out a reiki group and got hip to some really interesting reiki juice.. that was also really cool. we also checked out a beautiful buddhist family and had an enlightening conversation the mom.. simply amazing. OH, and we also got to fire the grid and participate in a worldwide healing meditation.. that rocked too. then last night, we got to have a little fun at the reggae night downtown.. skank nasty.
today, i need to pack up and get ready to head back to the mountain. if all goes well, sam and i will be on the 26 hour train ride back to the wu this sunday. then,.. by monday we'll be back on the mountian stacking chi.
that's it for this week. thank you all for the love.. i will be sure to respond to all the lvoe letters as soon as i get settled back into wu life.
-zi rong
TOO BAD SAM TRIPP HATES DAVE WEI
shanghai still sucks,.. but sam tripp has been the best host times ten thousand, million, billion, trillion.
sadly, i had a head cold for the majority of my stay here. i think between the typhoon i endured to get here, the recycled train air, all the dusty climate control, all the second hand smoke, the pollution, and the city grime,.. i put my immunity system through a rough ride. funny though,.. it seems that every time i come to shanghai i come down with a little bit of nastiness. even when sam comes to visit me in the wu, he seems to host something from here that gets me all nasty too.. shanghai and i just don't get along.
sam the saint, however, wasted no effort in making sure every thing i could possibly need or want was taken care of. each day we are eating amazing vegetarian love food, each day there was tons of fresh water and watermelon, each day we shared amazing and enlightening conversation, and each outing was a public display of tremendous idiocracy. daniel reid would certainly approve,.. such good fun. the craziest part, was that aside form my initail trip here, sam has fit the bill for every single expense. it was really hard to receive such generocity, but sam demanded that i give in to the love. such a good brother.
VISA TROUBLES VANQUISHED
sam introduced me to a gentleman by the name of magic. his name is magic because he works wonders with the visa. i simply gave him my passport, and told him to fix it.. no crazy paperwork, no physical examinations, absolutely no red tape what so ever. five days later, after an express order, my visa was complete. beyond that, i now have the connection to get year-long, multi-entry, business-class visas.. i should never have another issue with immigration again. have i mentioned that sam is a saint?
GOOD TIMES
despite the nastiness that is shanghai,.. i still managed to enjoy some amazing times here. the first big thing was checking out a beautiful temple on the 15th. we got to see monks holding a service and everything,.. it was really nice. sam and i also checked out a reiki group and got hip to some really interesting reiki juice.. that was also really cool. we also checked out a beautiful buddhist family and had an enlightening conversation the mom.. simply amazing. OH, and we also got to fire the grid and participate in a worldwide healing meditation.. that rocked too. then last night, we got to have a little fun at the reggae night downtown.. skank nasty.
today, i need to pack up and get ready to head back to the mountain. if all goes well, sam and i will be on the 26 hour train ride back to the wu this sunday. then,.. by monday we'll be back on the mountian stacking chi.
that's it for this week. thank you all for the love.. i will be sure to respond to all the lvoe letters as soon as i get settled back into wu life.
-zi rong
Sunday, July 15, 2007
wu life 226
wu life 226
SHANGHAI SUCKS
well.. as luck would have it, my visa could not be renewed in wudang. i was all ready to go back to california but a long conversation with saintly sam tripp kept me in china. sam demanded that he pay for ALL my expenses: travel, food, visa - all i needed to do was go to shanghai and receive the love.
so that was it. at the first moment available, i got on a cab to shiyan,.. then got on a bus to wuhan.. then got on a train to shanghai. probably the worst 30+ hour travel experience of my life. it was typhooning the whole way there and my neck and back were solid stiff from the stress and tension. upon arrival, i was a stressed wet mess.. all my luggage was soked, my body ached all over,.. it was all bad. arrrg. i hate shanghai.
sam the saint, however, was more than compassionate. he dropped the warm reiki hands on my neck.. took me to the crib to get washed up, and immediately fed me with the most delicious indian food to have ever graced my pallette. from there, amazing conversation filled the next few hours until it was time to eat again.. but this time it was buddha veggie goodness. wow.. sam really knows how to make a brother feel loved. the following day it was more buddha food, and a trip to the temple. ahhhhhh.
amidst the love, shanghai still sucks. animals being slaughtered on the sidewalks, smog as thick as yogurt, streets like sewers, crazy mouth-breathing people everywhere,.. my goodness. my body trembles just thinking of it all. to counter the nasty,.. i've upped my meditation and standing practice. my god, shanghai is so horrible. i cannot wait to get back to the mountain.
at any rate, i turn in my passport today to get my visa extension. it should take a week to process. from there, i'm heading back to wudang via 26 hour train ride,.. then it's back to practice.
thank you all for the love and support, i will do my best to keep you all updated as to the happenings. till next round, be tall.
- ZI RONG
SHANGHAI SUCKS
well.. as luck would have it, my visa could not be renewed in wudang. i was all ready to go back to california but a long conversation with saintly sam tripp kept me in china. sam demanded that he pay for ALL my expenses: travel, food, visa - all i needed to do was go to shanghai and receive the love.
so that was it. at the first moment available, i got on a cab to shiyan,.. then got on a bus to wuhan.. then got on a train to shanghai. probably the worst 30+ hour travel experience of my life. it was typhooning the whole way there and my neck and back were solid stiff from the stress and tension. upon arrival, i was a stressed wet mess.. all my luggage was soked, my body ached all over,.. it was all bad. arrrg. i hate shanghai.
sam the saint, however, was more than compassionate. he dropped the warm reiki hands on my neck.. took me to the crib to get washed up, and immediately fed me with the most delicious indian food to have ever graced my pallette. from there, amazing conversation filled the next few hours until it was time to eat again.. but this time it was buddha veggie goodness. wow.. sam really knows how to make a brother feel loved. the following day it was more buddha food, and a trip to the temple. ahhhhhh.
amidst the love, shanghai still sucks. animals being slaughtered on the sidewalks, smog as thick as yogurt, streets like sewers, crazy mouth-breathing people everywhere,.. my goodness. my body trembles just thinking of it all. to counter the nasty,.. i've upped my meditation and standing practice. my god, shanghai is so horrible. i cannot wait to get back to the mountain.
at any rate, i turn in my passport today to get my visa extension. it should take a week to process. from there, i'm heading back to wudang via 26 hour train ride,.. then it's back to practice.
thank you all for the love and support, i will do my best to keep you all updated as to the happenings. till next round, be tall.
- ZI RONG
Monday, July 9, 2007
wu life 225
WU LIFE 225
BAGUA BEAT DOWN
i have now been at this bagua thing for just over two months. the first month was strictly circle walking and static standing postures. the pain i experienced was so unbelievably unbearable.. my body felt like it was shedding its exoskeleton.. but slowly, layer by layer, i tearfully pealed away the dead layers of auric onion that funked up my being. by the end of that first month i felt as if i had a new body - all of my joints were fluid and soft, my posture was taller.. and best of all, my circle walking was rather champion (but still crap by my self set standard).
so there i was, enjoying the headway i made, and then shifu smacks me with palm change one,.. the first real movement of the bagua set. from there, i faced another round of ridiculous pain. my thighs, my hips, my knees, my spine.. everything hurt. luckily, relief came much faster after this series of motions, and after just two short weeks i had managed to acquire a satisfactory level of proficiency in this movement. ahhh, i love bagua.
so here i am, feeling relatively comfortable in my bagua circle space, mud walking around and around, palm changing to and fro, and shifu decides to share the second palm change with me. now this one is pretty cool, but of course.. very painful to execute. i've been on this motion now for the greater portion of this week, and the pain is only getting deeper. my ankles feel like they are going to explode, my knees feel like they are going to internally combust, and every torquing step i take feels as if i'm going to twist right off at the hips. i love it.
bagua has become my new passion. i drive myself mercilessly till buckets of sweat pour off my body and salt rings develop around my pants and shoes. new students that are unfamiliar with my drive stare in awe as i rip circles out of the tiled temple floor.. as the old sage confucius would tell his students.. 'practice as if in fear of losing this gift forever.' gong fu is my life - and i practice to live. quite frankly, when it comes to traditional gong fu, i really can't see it any other way.. to quote another sage.. 'the wise want practice, children want candy.'
VEXED ABOUT MY VISA
so there's some light-weight drama going on for dave wei here in wudang. i turned in my passport to the local government to get my visa extended.. a very standard procedure.. but sadly i was faced with some complications. so as opposed to getting my three month extension, i'm only getting 15 days! i plan to make my way to the government head quarters soon to plead my position, but i have a feeling that i'm going to get the 'foreign face' treatment. even if the local authorities do admit fault.. which is highly doubtful, i'm still going to have to repay for this visa that i already paid for! so ridiculous.
on the light side of things.. i'm champion no matter where i go, be it here in china or back in the states - so in that regard, i'm prepared to go home if need be,.. but i am happy to say that i have a contingency plan. BROTHER SAM TRIPP, my immaculate reflection, sensed a disturbance in the force and knew that there was trouble on the home front.. once we communicated the situation, within one hour, he had arranged a visa for me in shanghai. so in the likely event that the wudang fuzz gives me strife, my brother for life has my back. ahhh, to be loved.
SHAN SANG YI TIEN, DI XIA YI NIEN
shifu just rips my brain apart sometime.. ''a day on the mountain is a year down bellow.''
'time is relative to your perspective. think of the mosquito that barely lives a week,.. then think of the mountain that sees the four seasons as a single day. here on the mountain, we practice hard, we follow the tao, we really enjoy life - people that follow the normal path only waste away. now that you have been here for this long, go home and see how everyone else has aged,.. all while you have grown younger and softer - you can only help normal people by continuing your practice,.. hopefully, they will see you, and change their perspective on their own.'
BACK TO PRACTICE
well family, it is a little hard for me to get back in the habit of writing. shifu has really been keeping me busy here. thank you all for your continued support and love, i will make my best effort to keep you all in the loop.
oh, and if you happen to have the time, take a moment to enjoy the new michael moore film, SICKO. forget transformers, or any of the other booty movies out there,.. go see SICKO. and then after that, go exercise, cause the american health care system is more interested in saving money than saving lives.
i love you all,
-Zi Rong
BAGUA BEAT DOWN
i have now been at this bagua thing for just over two months. the first month was strictly circle walking and static standing postures. the pain i experienced was so unbelievably unbearable.. my body felt like it was shedding its exoskeleton.. but slowly, layer by layer, i tearfully pealed away the dead layers of auric onion that funked up my being. by the end of that first month i felt as if i had a new body - all of my joints were fluid and soft, my posture was taller.. and best of all, my circle walking was rather champion (but still crap by my self set standard).
so there i was, enjoying the headway i made, and then shifu smacks me with palm change one,.. the first real movement of the bagua set. from there, i faced another round of ridiculous pain. my thighs, my hips, my knees, my spine.. everything hurt. luckily, relief came much faster after this series of motions, and after just two short weeks i had managed to acquire a satisfactory level of proficiency in this movement. ahhh, i love bagua.
so here i am, feeling relatively comfortable in my bagua circle space, mud walking around and around, palm changing to and fro, and shifu decides to share the second palm change with me. now this one is pretty cool, but of course.. very painful to execute. i've been on this motion now for the greater portion of this week, and the pain is only getting deeper. my ankles feel like they are going to explode, my knees feel like they are going to internally combust, and every torquing step i take feels as if i'm going to twist right off at the hips. i love it.
bagua has become my new passion. i drive myself mercilessly till buckets of sweat pour off my body and salt rings develop around my pants and shoes. new students that are unfamiliar with my drive stare in awe as i rip circles out of the tiled temple floor.. as the old sage confucius would tell his students.. 'practice as if in fear of losing this gift forever.' gong fu is my life - and i practice to live. quite frankly, when it comes to traditional gong fu, i really can't see it any other way.. to quote another sage.. 'the wise want practice, children want candy.'
VEXED ABOUT MY VISA
so there's some light-weight drama going on for dave wei here in wudang. i turned in my passport to the local government to get my visa extended.. a very standard procedure.. but sadly i was faced with some complications. so as opposed to getting my three month extension, i'm only getting 15 days! i plan to make my way to the government head quarters soon to plead my position, but i have a feeling that i'm going to get the 'foreign face' treatment. even if the local authorities do admit fault.. which is highly doubtful, i'm still going to have to repay for this visa that i already paid for! so ridiculous.
on the light side of things.. i'm champion no matter where i go, be it here in china or back in the states - so in that regard, i'm prepared to go home if need be,.. but i am happy to say that i have a contingency plan. BROTHER SAM TRIPP, my immaculate reflection, sensed a disturbance in the force and knew that there was trouble on the home front.. once we communicated the situation, within one hour, he had arranged a visa for me in shanghai. so in the likely event that the wudang fuzz gives me strife, my brother for life has my back. ahhh, to be loved.
SHAN SANG YI TIEN, DI XIA YI NIEN
shifu just rips my brain apart sometime.. ''a day on the mountain is a year down bellow.''
'time is relative to your perspective. think of the mosquito that barely lives a week,.. then think of the mountain that sees the four seasons as a single day. here on the mountain, we practice hard, we follow the tao, we really enjoy life - people that follow the normal path only waste away. now that you have been here for this long, go home and see how everyone else has aged,.. all while you have grown younger and softer - you can only help normal people by continuing your practice,.. hopefully, they will see you, and change their perspective on their own.'
BACK TO PRACTICE
well family, it is a little hard for me to get back in the habit of writing. shifu has really been keeping me busy here. thank you all for your continued support and love, i will make my best effort to keep you all in the loop.
oh, and if you happen to have the time, take a moment to enjoy the new michael moore film, SICKO. forget transformers, or any of the other booty movies out there,.. go see SICKO. and then after that, go exercise, cause the american health care system is more interested in saving money than saving lives.
i love you all,
-Zi Rong
Saturday, June 30, 2007
wu life 224
WU LIFE 224
SUMMER OF SAM
what an amazing three weeks.. epic, excellent, majestic, glorious, superb, splendid, wonderful, grand,.. and any other adjective used to describe that which is great.
last i left you guys was back in wuhan. there i got to spend some time with brother sam while he was on tour and i also go to catch up with christine who was generous enough to help translate a very important document for me.. (more on that later). being the frugal traveler that i am, most of my time was spent either indoors or along the back streets of wuhan with the locals. wuhan is known as the hot pot of china, and for good reason,.. it was hot, humid, and rather disgusting. the highlight of my stay would definitely have to be the air conditioned room, the numerous trips to the wuhan wallmart, and all the time shared with good company. party.
after a week in the hot pot, i had a treacherous trip back to wudang via passenger train. man was that horrible. but, as soon as i arrived, i was greeted with smiles and hugs which made for a pleasant transition back to wu life. that first week back was rather packed. despite the non-stop rain that week, brother sam, brother kris, and myself trained our butts off and shared every waking moment in each other's company. such a good time. epic conversations, super good food, lots of massages, mad slap (good music), and a whole host of other wonderful exchanges. ahh, my reflections,.. my martial family is all i have here in china.. and i am blessed to have found a connection with such gifted individuals.
for the third week, the sun finally decided to show face, and it did with full force. the heat was ridiculous, which only added to the intensity of our training.. we three disciples.. me, sam, and kris, left each class drenched in sweat with salt rings around our pants and shoes. sadly, the only thing we had to beat the heat was watermelon, and we attacked it with a passion. so if we weren't training, we were eating melons. when we weren't eating watermelon, we were out eating noodles,.. if it wasn't noodles, it was dumplings,.. if it wasn't dumplings, it was an intimate meal with our master, and when we weren't eating with him, we were out doing any number of things to enjoy the moment.. extensive conversation, or a massage, or music, or jokes and laughs. we spent so much time together, it was as if we had 2000 years of catching up to do. such fun.
the other good thing about this round shared with sam was getting to know his better half, mandie. though she was not physically present, she was certainly present in heart and mind.. i have never seen sam so in love. i feel like i should call him 'colgate' or 'dr. teeth' just because he had this ever present smile on his grill. sam was super smile this whole month, and understandably so,.. mandie is super sweet. it's so cute to see sam - the hood hardened, tattooed thug / rockstar / martial guru - turn into a mush mouth teddy bear. i look forward to being a groomsman.
TAI SANG SAN FEN ZHONG, TAI SHA SHI NIEN GONG
while in wuhan, the other thing christine helped me with was translating that column that was printed about me in the paper last month. man, was i miss quoted.. i guess that's what happens when you can't speak the language very well.. homie just had to fill in the gaps i guess. anyway.. christine also shared a classic quote that i think fit my space quite accurately..
'tai sang san fen zhong, tai sha shi nien gong.'
this is an old saying for traditional chinese opera - roughly translated... 'before your three minutes on the stage, you need ten years of practice off the stage.' that came as a slap in the face for me.. basically, i should be more concerned with practice right now.. i can worry about my little three minutes of fame later. sound advice.
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW
well, there is so much more to share but i will wrap it up here for now. i will continue the weekly blogs on schedule after this.. thank you for those of you that shared your well wishes while i was occupied. i love you all.
oh.. and please enjoy the new pics in my web album.. http://picasaweb.google.com/chinagiant
be tall
-zi rong
SUMMER OF SAM
what an amazing three weeks.. epic, excellent, majestic, glorious, superb, splendid, wonderful, grand,.. and any other adjective used to describe that which is great.last i left you guys was back in wuhan. there i got to spend some time with brother sam while he was on tour and i also go to catch up with christine who was generous enough to help translate a very important document for me.. (more on that later). being the frugal traveler that i am, most of my time was spent either indoors or along the back streets of wuhan with the locals. wuhan is known as the hot pot of china, and for good reason,.. it was hot, humid, and rather disgusting. the highlight of my stay would definitely have to be the air conditioned room, the numerous trips to the wuhan wallmart, and all the time shared with good company. party.
after a week in the hot pot, i had a treacherous trip back to wudang via passenger train. man was that horrible. but, as soon as i arrived, i was greeted with smiles and hugs which made for a pleasant transition back to wu life. that first week back was rather packed. despite the non-stop rain that week, brother sam, brother kris, and myself trained our butts off and shared every waking moment in each other's company. such a good time. epic conversations, super good food, lots of massages, mad slap (good music), and a whole host of other wonderful exchanges. ahh, my reflections,.. my martial family is all i have here in china.. and i am blessed to have found a connection with such gifted individuals.
for the third week, the sun finally decided to show face, and it did with full force. the heat was ridiculous, which only added to the intensity of our training.. we three disciples.. me, sam, and kris, left each class drenched in sweat with salt rings around our pants and shoes. sadly, the only thing we had to beat the heat was watermelon, and we attacked it with a passion. so if we weren't training, we were eating melons. when we weren't eating watermelon, we were out eating noodles,.. if it wasn't noodles, it was dumplings,.. if it wasn't dumplings, it was an intimate meal with our master, and when we weren't eating with him, we were out doing any number of things to enjoy the moment.. extensive conversation, or a massage, or music, or jokes and laughs. we spent so much time together, it was as if we had 2000 years of catching up to do. such fun.
the other good thing about this round shared with sam was getting to know his better half, mandie. though she was not physically present, she was certainly present in heart and mind.. i have never seen sam so in love. i feel like i should call him 'colgate' or 'dr. teeth' just because he had this ever present smile on his grill. sam was super smile this whole month, and understandably so,.. mandie is super sweet. it's so cute to see sam - the hood hardened, tattooed thug / rockstar / martial guru - turn into a mush mouth teddy bear. i look forward to being a groomsman.
TAI SANG SAN FEN ZHONG, TAI SHA SHI NIEN GONG
while in wuhan, the other thing christine helped me with was translating that column that was printed about me in the paper last month. man, was i miss quoted.. i guess that's what happens when you can't speak the language very well.. homie just had to fill in the gaps i guess. anyway.. christine also shared a classic quote that i think fit my space quite accurately..
'tai sang san fen zhong, tai sha shi nien gong.'
this is an old saying for traditional chinese opera - roughly translated... 'before your three minutes on the stage, you need ten years of practice off the stage.' that came as a slap in the face for me.. basically, i should be more concerned with practice right now.. i can worry about my little three minutes of fame later. sound advice.
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW
well, there is so much more to share but i will wrap it up here for now. i will continue the weekly blogs on schedule after this.. thank you for those of you that shared your well wishes while i was occupied. i love you all.
oh.. and please enjoy the new pics in my web album.. http://picasaweb.google.com/chinagiant
be tall
-zi rong
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
wu life 223
WU LIFE 223
IT'S WATERMELON SEASON
the first batch of watermelons are available for the season. right now they are still a little expensive and a bit bland.. but within the next few weeks the champions are going to start rolling through. for those that have been following my generic wu life journals since last year, you would know that i am a big fan of watermelon. i can easily take two whole melons to the face,.. sure, i'd be in the bathroom all day, but i love me some watermelon. i look forward to my fruit fasts now that the season is here.
BAGUA BEAT DOWN
"you don't learn bagua to see how good your martial skill is,..
you learn bagua to see how BAD your martial skill is.."
- Sifu Bruce Chu
i had the indescribable pleasure of sharing words with my first martial master, bruce chu, this week and he broke my brain (as he usually does) with one simple phrase. the little gem of wisdom was one that he passed down from his bagua master, but it couldn't have described my current state of training better.
bagua is ripping me apart. my ankles are sore and swollen, my knees are creaky and achy, my hips are stiff and ridged, my shoulders are strained and flaccid, even my throat is sore from holding my head upright. my spine hurts especially from all the torquing and twisting,.. i can feel each individual vertebrae, it's crazy... and all this just from circle walking! i'm not even learning the form yet! between bagua and hard qigong, i wake up in so much pain each and every morning - but it is a good pain. i am slowly reprogramming 27 years of bad posture and lazy body mechanics.. slow is the process of healing.
INTERNAL COORDINATION
yuan shifu just has an incredible way of explaining things..
''anyone can develop external coordination. with a little practice, it is easy to copy movements and make a punch or kick look beautiful,.. what is really difficult is learning internal coordination. this is difficult because you can't copy someones internal mechanics. perhaps you could mimic breath, but it is impossible to mimic their intention and spirit. this is why tai chi and qigong are such good systems for personal development.. sure, kung fu may make you strong and physically fit, but tai chi and qigong give you the space to look inside and develop the internal harmonies within yourself.''
TAKING A BREAK
there will not be any wu life's for the next couple weeks. next week i'll be going off to the city of wuhan for a while, and the following week i'll be up in the mountains to meditate and fast with my kung fu brother sam from shanghai. no worries though.. i will be sure to take several pictures for everyone to enjoy and i'm sure to have a bunch of stories to share as well.
on a side note, by the time most of you read this, master feng in oakland will have probably already undergone his surgery. please keep your healing thoughts in mind for him and his loved ones.
all my love,
-wei zi rong
IT'S WATERMELON SEASON
the first batch of watermelons are available for the season. right now they are still a little expensive and a bit bland.. but within the next few weeks the champions are going to start rolling through. for those that have been following my generic wu life journals since last year, you would know that i am a big fan of watermelon. i can easily take two whole melons to the face,.. sure, i'd be in the bathroom all day, but i love me some watermelon. i look forward to my fruit fasts now that the season is here.
BAGUA BEAT DOWN
"you don't learn bagua to see how good your martial skill is,..
you learn bagua to see how BAD your martial skill is.."
- Sifu Bruce Chu
i had the indescribable pleasure of sharing words with my first martial master, bruce chu, this week and he broke my brain (as he usually does) with one simple phrase. the little gem of wisdom was one that he passed down from his bagua master, but it couldn't have described my current state of training better.
bagua is ripping me apart. my ankles are sore and swollen, my knees are creaky and achy, my hips are stiff and ridged, my shoulders are strained and flaccid, even my throat is sore from holding my head upright. my spine hurts especially from all the torquing and twisting,.. i can feel each individual vertebrae, it's crazy... and all this just from circle walking! i'm not even learning the form yet! between bagua and hard qigong, i wake up in so much pain each and every morning - but it is a good pain. i am slowly reprogramming 27 years of bad posture and lazy body mechanics.. slow is the process of healing.
INTERNAL COORDINATION
yuan shifu just has an incredible way of explaining things..
''anyone can develop external coordination. with a little practice, it is easy to copy movements and make a punch or kick look beautiful,.. what is really difficult is learning internal coordination. this is difficult because you can't copy someones internal mechanics. perhaps you could mimic breath, but it is impossible to mimic their intention and spirit. this is why tai chi and qigong are such good systems for personal development.. sure, kung fu may make you strong and physically fit, but tai chi and qigong give you the space to look inside and develop the internal harmonies within yourself.''
TAKING A BREAK
there will not be any wu life's for the next couple weeks. next week i'll be going off to the city of wuhan for a while, and the following week i'll be up in the mountains to meditate and fast with my kung fu brother sam from shanghai. no worries though.. i will be sure to take several pictures for everyone to enjoy and i'm sure to have a bunch of stories to share as well.
on a side note, by the time most of you read this, master feng in oakland will have probably already undergone his surgery. please keep your healing thoughts in mind for him and his loved ones.
all my love,
-wei zi rong
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
wu life 222
WU LIFE 222
BAGUA CIRCLE WALKING
Yuan Shifu approached me last week and gave me the blessing to begin my Bagua training. Bagua Zhang, or 8 Trigram Palm, is an internal kung fu system based on the Taoist I Ching. the most recognizable characteristic of this form would have to be the circle walking, and that is all that i've been doing now for the last five days.
the circle walking is deceivingly difficult. first, the stance must be low and the posture must be full and erect. the head has to remain level, and the steps need to be long and smooth.. and of course, amongst all of this, one has to remain soft and relaxed. it is as if the body is a paint brush with the spine as the handle and the tail bone as the brush.. one has to draw a smooth circle without blotches or bleeds. walking in this manor for three hours a day brings me to a trance like meditative state,.. i feel like i'm in my own little solar system orbiting around and around. it is a beautiful thing.
in addition to the walking, yuan shifu has also challenged me with 8 standing postures specifically tailored for this system. the different postures help to develop all of the joints,.. ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists, spine, and neck. between the standing and the walking, my body aches in ways that i never knew were possible. when i stand, my feet feel as if i'm standing on hot coals and my hands feel as if the tendons are going to rip out like an overstressed rubber band. when walking, my ankles, knees, and hips feel as if they are being wrenched from the sockets with each circular step i take. i have always enjoyed facing the demands of a new challenge, but i feel that mastering bagua will be of tremendous benefit for me. it is a beautiful thing.
I'M SO CHINESE
it is hard to believe that it has been one full year since i came here last summer. though the time has really flown by, i can certainly feel the difference within my character. i am so chinese now. i am obnoxiously loud, i cough and spit, i pick my nose, i burp at the dinner table, and i'm growing cheaper and cheaper each day.. even small talk conversations and street vendor haggles sound like i'm 'breaking dishes'. ahhh, chinese..
all joking aside, probably the most significant change would be in my work ethic.. and i notice it more and more with every new foreigner that comes and trains with us. i can't believe the gall some of these people have.. they only come for less than a month, and expect to learn, and 'master', a thousand and one different things. beyond that, they expect full and complete attention from yuan shifu knowing good and well that he has other students (whom also have the same attitudes) to teach as well. what really gets me is that these people actually go out of their way to disturb shifu just to learn a new movement when they haven't even gotten their last movements down to a satisfactory level. to top it off, it is so funny to see grown people actually throw tantrums when they don't get enough attention. i've seen countless new students come and go with this 'resort vacation' approach to training, and it really gets under my skin at times.. i don't know how shifu deals with it.
on the other hand though, i can sort of understand their position. most of these people probably saved up all their money for a long time to make this trip possible; and beyond that, they are probably leaving behind many responsibilities as well, so it is understandable that they would want to get their money's worth. i guess it's just a cultural thing.. but still, i don't know how shifu deals with it. in all, i just use this opportunity to look in and see which of those annoying characteristics i harbor myself - every relationship is a mirror.
THE HIGHEST PATH OF THE TAO
i overheard yuan shifu talking to some newspaper reporters the other day.. what i heard was very startling..
''there are two paths in life.. the normal path, and the unknown. everyone leads the normal path,.. they work, eat, sleep, and play. they have relationships, they have families, and they eventually die. some are good, some are bad.. some succeed, and others fail.. this is the normal path. the unknown path is very different. in many respects it is still very much the same, people still need to eat, sleep, and work, but their perspective is very different. those that follow the unknown path follow a life of passion, they follow the tao. both paths are difficult, but to follow the tao is to follow nature.. this is the path of the immortals..'
''he did not come to learn kung fu, he has come to learn the tao. he has obviously chosen the path of the unknown. very few people chose this path, and even fewer succeed. i have had many students, but never one like this. i named him Zi Rong. this name has many meanings, but the primary meaning is 'capacity.' this student is special, he follows the highest path of the tao, and he has the capacity for success..'
hearing my master talk about me in this light nearly made me cry. the reporters came from a neighboring city to do a special report on me. apparently i have grown quite famous in the area.. you know.. the tall guy with the big beard that speaks chinese.. oh yeah, that's da wei. well.. the column should be available in print by the end of this month.. i'll try and get it translated so you guys can get the full scoop.
ALOHA
that's all for this week folks. i trust all is well for everyone back home. for those of you that are able, please send your support to Master Feng in Oakland at the Taoist Center (www.thetaoistcenter.com). Feng Shifu will be having neck surgery soon and i'm sure they would appreciate the well wishes.
till next week, be tall. oh, i just uploaded some new videos on youtube as well.. please enjoy those when you get a chance too.. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=chinagiant
-wei zi rong
BAGUA CIRCLE WALKING
Yuan Shifu approached me last week and gave me the blessing to begin my Bagua training. Bagua Zhang, or 8 Trigram Palm, is an internal kung fu system based on the Taoist I Ching. the most recognizable characteristic of this form would have to be the circle walking, and that is all that i've been doing now for the last five days. the circle walking is deceivingly difficult. first, the stance must be low and the posture must be full and erect. the head has to remain level, and the steps need to be long and smooth.. and of course, amongst all of this, one has to remain soft and relaxed. it is as if the body is a paint brush with the spine as the handle and the tail bone as the brush.. one has to draw a smooth circle without blotches or bleeds. walking in this manor for three hours a day brings me to a trance like meditative state,.. i feel like i'm in my own little solar system orbiting around and around. it is a beautiful thing.
in addition to the walking, yuan shifu has also challenged me with 8 standing postures specifically tailored for this system. the different postures help to develop all of the joints,.. ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists, spine, and neck. between the standing and the walking, my body aches in ways that i never knew were possible. when i stand, my feet feel as if i'm standing on hot coals and my hands feel as if the tendons are going to rip out like an overstressed rubber band. when walking, my ankles, knees, and hips feel as if they are being wrenched from the sockets with each circular step i take. i have always enjoyed facing the demands of a new challenge, but i feel that mastering bagua will be of tremendous benefit for me. it is a beautiful thing.
I'M SO CHINESE
it is hard to believe that it has been one full year since i came here last summer. though the time has really flown by, i can certainly feel the difference within my character. i am so chinese now. i am obnoxiously loud, i cough and spit, i pick my nose, i burp at the dinner table, and i'm growing cheaper and cheaper each day.. even small talk conversations and street vendor haggles sound like i'm 'breaking dishes'. ahhh, chinese..
all joking aside, probably the most significant change would be in my work ethic.. and i notice it more and more with every new foreigner that comes and trains with us. i can't believe the gall some of these people have.. they only come for less than a month, and expect to learn, and 'master', a thousand and one different things. beyond that, they expect full and complete attention from yuan shifu knowing good and well that he has other students (whom also have the same attitudes) to teach as well. what really gets me is that these people actually go out of their way to disturb shifu just to learn a new movement when they haven't even gotten their last movements down to a satisfactory level. to top it off, it is so funny to see grown people actually throw tantrums when they don't get enough attention. i've seen countless new students come and go with this 'resort vacation' approach to training, and it really gets under my skin at times.. i don't know how shifu deals with it.
on the other hand though, i can sort of understand their position. most of these people probably saved up all their money for a long time to make this trip possible; and beyond that, they are probably leaving behind many responsibilities as well, so it is understandable that they would want to get their money's worth. i guess it's just a cultural thing.. but still, i don't know how shifu deals with it. in all, i just use this opportunity to look in and see which of those annoying characteristics i harbor myself - every relationship is a mirror.
THE HIGHEST PATH OF THE TAO
i overheard yuan shifu talking to some newspaper reporters the other day.. what i heard was very startling..
''there are two paths in life.. the normal path, and the unknown. everyone leads the normal path,.. they work, eat, sleep, and play. they have relationships, they have families, and they eventually die. some are good, some are bad.. some succeed, and others fail.. this is the normal path. the unknown path is very different. in many respects it is still very much the same, people still need to eat, sleep, and work, but their perspective is very different. those that follow the unknown path follow a life of passion, they follow the tao. both paths are difficult, but to follow the tao is to follow nature.. this is the path of the immortals..'
''he did not come to learn kung fu, he has come to learn the tao. he has obviously chosen the path of the unknown. very few people chose this path, and even fewer succeed. i have had many students, but never one like this. i named him Zi Rong. this name has many meanings, but the primary meaning is 'capacity.' this student is special, he follows the highest path of the tao, and he has the capacity for success..'
hearing my master talk about me in this light nearly made me cry. the reporters came from a neighboring city to do a special report on me. apparently i have grown quite famous in the area.. you know.. the tall guy with the big beard that speaks chinese.. oh yeah, that's da wei. well.. the column should be available in print by the end of this month.. i'll try and get it translated so you guys can get the full scoop.
ALOHA
that's all for this week folks. i trust all is well for everyone back home. for those of you that are able, please send your support to Master Feng in Oakland at the Taoist Center (www.thetaoistcenter.com). Feng Shifu will be having neck surgery soon and i'm sure they would appreciate the well wishes.
till next week, be tall. oh, i just uploaded some new videos on youtube as well.. please enjoy those when you get a chance too.. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=chinagiant
-wei zi rong
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
wu life 221
WU LIFE 221
ANIMAL PLANET
it is getting pretty hot here now.. especially in the evenings. to cope with the heat, i sleep in nothing but a neon green sarong that my buddy sam got me from bali,.. i keep all the windows open, and i have a fan blasting on me all night. the bad part, is that i'm getting eaten alive by all the crazy insects here. so, the other day i went to get a mosquito net.. at first, a shop keep wanted 120 kuai.. not bad, i'd say that's around 20$ US.. but i knew he was overcharging. so, being the young haggle master that i am, i talked him down to 60 kuai,.. that's half off!.. party.
this net is pretty dope.. it's sort of like a tent that props up on top of the bed. the coolest thing is that it is bright pink with a white ruffled trim. i love it. i get laughed at for having such a girlie net, but i care more about application than appearance. anyway, crawling inside this thing is so fun.. it's like going into my own little playhouse.. i'm such a kid. the best part is waking up in the morning and seeing all the hungry insects plastered to the net staring at my tasty body, it's like watching animal planet - there are some pretty scary ones too. no more dave wei buffet for them. it's nice to be safe from the bugs.
I GOT THE HOOK UP
i just started teaching the local tailor how to speak english. she already has a pretty good foundation, but she just needs more vocabulary and such to help her with her business. she's really sweet, it's fun to watch her struggle with new words while her husband sits back and laughs at her. the best part is that i got the ultra hook up on custom clothes now. i'm getting taoist robes and cool kung fu gear for the price of the fabric only.. all the labor is free now. so, if any of you would like to have something made i can probably extend my connect to my wu-life family. simply tell me what you want, pick a fabric, and send your measurements.. and presto.. you'll be styling.
DRIVING IN CHINA
the other day a rich friend from beijing came to visit and she wanted to take shifu and i to dinner.. the coolest part was that she let me drive her SUV to the restaurant,.. well.. i thought it was cool until we actually got out on the road. i don't know why i thought it was a good idea. the streets of china have absolutely no order at all - it was like a video game! i swear the street lines and signs are only purely ornamental, they serve no purpose what so ever. people are driving in and out of opposite flows of traffic, making left turns from right lanes, pulling into intersections with oncoming traffic.. it's mayhem.. and those are just the other cars.. not to mention the scooters, bikes, pedestrians, vendors, animals, and miscellaneous potholes and street debris. wow. the drive was only five minutes, but i swear i had ten new gray hairs from it. needless to say i refused to drive back. i don't know how people drive here.. and talk on the phone too! it's crazy.
LEARNING HOW TO STAND
i took the time to eavesdrop on a lesson shifu was giving to some new qigong students and i got an amazing earful. allow me to paraphrase.
''the most important thing for a person to learn through internal martial arts is how to feel their body. to understand your body is to understand yourself. this understanding takes time and must be learned step by step. the first step is learning proper posture, then learning proper coordination, and finally learning how to feel energy and save it. these are the three basic principles for internal kung fu. for now, we will focus on posture..
''standing is the most important exercise for a beginner. the first thing to be aware of while standing is the hips. the hips are the foundation of the spine, so it is very important to hold the hips correctly. this is done by keeping the legs open at shoulder width with the feet parallel and the knees slightly bent; in this position, the hips should naturally fall in proper alignment. the next thing to be aware of is the spine. normally the spine is curved, but while in standing meditation, the spine must be straight and the lower back should be full and strong. when this posture is maintained, the shoulders and neck can naturally relax and energy can flow freely throughout the body. another thing to be aware of is the chest. many people stick their chests out, this is a bad habit. the chest should be soft and relaxed so that the breath can sink deep into the dan tien. finally, a person must be completely relaxed, body and mind.. this is how to stand"
ALOHA
well family, that's all for this week. be sure to pick up the july/august edition of kung fu magazine to see my first article ever published. there wont be any more for the next four months, but from there out they should be fairly regular. i'm a writer! :)
till next week,
-wei zi rong
ANIMAL PLANET
it is getting pretty hot here now.. especially in the evenings. to cope with the heat, i sleep in nothing but a neon green sarong that my buddy sam got me from bali,.. i keep all the windows open, and i have a fan blasting on me all night. the bad part, is that i'm getting eaten alive by all the crazy insects here. so, the other day i went to get a mosquito net.. at first, a shop keep wanted 120 kuai.. not bad, i'd say that's around 20$ US.. but i knew he was overcharging. so, being the young haggle master that i am, i talked him down to 60 kuai,.. that's half off!.. party.
this net is pretty dope.. it's sort of like a tent that props up on top of the bed. the coolest thing is that it is bright pink with a white ruffled trim. i love it. i get laughed at for having such a girlie net, but i care more about application than appearance. anyway, crawling inside this thing is so fun.. it's like going into my own little playhouse.. i'm such a kid. the best part is waking up in the morning and seeing all the hungry insects plastered to the net staring at my tasty body, it's like watching animal planet - there are some pretty scary ones too. no more dave wei buffet for them. it's nice to be safe from the bugs.
I GOT THE HOOK UP
i just started teaching the local tailor how to speak english. she already has a pretty good foundation, but she just needs more vocabulary and such to help her with her business. she's really sweet, it's fun to watch her struggle with new words while her husband sits back and laughs at her. the best part is that i got the ultra hook up on custom clothes now. i'm getting taoist robes and cool kung fu gear for the price of the fabric only.. all the labor is free now. so, if any of you would like to have something made i can probably extend my connect to my wu-life family. simply tell me what you want, pick a fabric, and send your measurements.. and presto.. you'll be styling.
DRIVING IN CHINA
the other day a rich friend from beijing came to visit and she wanted to take shifu and i to dinner.. the coolest part was that she let me drive her SUV to the restaurant,.. well.. i thought it was cool until we actually got out on the road. i don't know why i thought it was a good idea. the streets of china have absolutely no order at all - it was like a video game! i swear the street lines and signs are only purely ornamental, they serve no purpose what so ever. people are driving in and out of opposite flows of traffic, making left turns from right lanes, pulling into intersections with oncoming traffic.. it's mayhem.. and those are just the other cars.. not to mention the scooters, bikes, pedestrians, vendors, animals, and miscellaneous potholes and street debris. wow. the drive was only five minutes, but i swear i had ten new gray hairs from it. needless to say i refused to drive back. i don't know how people drive here.. and talk on the phone too! it's crazy.
LEARNING HOW TO STAND
i took the time to eavesdrop on a lesson shifu was giving to some new qigong students and i got an amazing earful. allow me to paraphrase.
''the most important thing for a person to learn through internal martial arts is how to feel their body. to understand your body is to understand yourself. this understanding takes time and must be learned step by step. the first step is learning proper posture, then learning proper coordination, and finally learning how to feel energy and save it. these are the three basic principles for internal kung fu. for now, we will focus on posture..
''standing is the most important exercise for a beginner. the first thing to be aware of while standing is the hips. the hips are the foundation of the spine, so it is very important to hold the hips correctly. this is done by keeping the legs open at shoulder width with the feet parallel and the knees slightly bent; in this position, the hips should naturally fall in proper alignment. the next thing to be aware of is the spine. normally the spine is curved, but while in standing meditation, the spine must be straight and the lower back should be full and strong. when this posture is maintained, the shoulders and neck can naturally relax and energy can flow freely throughout the body. another thing to be aware of is the chest. many people stick their chests out, this is a bad habit. the chest should be soft and relaxed so that the breath can sink deep into the dan tien. finally, a person must be completely relaxed, body and mind.. this is how to stand"
ALOHA
well family, that's all for this week. be sure to pick up the july/august edition of kung fu magazine to see my first article ever published. there wont be any more for the next four months, but from there out they should be fairly regular. i'm a writer! :)
till next week,
-wei zi rong
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
wu life 220
WU LIFE 220
I'M IN A KUNG FU SCHOOL
as odd as it may seem.. i still get startling realizations every so often,.. realizations that i am living in wudang, china, and attending a traditional taoist kung fu academy. i suppose it hits me even harder now that we are all settled into our new school. i am living a dream.
training has really intensified here since the spring season. i still keep up with my morning yoga routines, my five animal qigong, and my wen wu basics, along with the tai chi and tai yi forms both left and right side. but now, in addition to all that, i am doing at least 300 kicks a day and heavy rounds of hard qigong (the bamboo and bean bag beat downs). not to mention a little standing meditation and some seated eight silk brocade action too. ahhh, kung fu.
probably the coolest thing now is that shifu has begun to teach a basics class for the foreign students. before, everyone just kind of did their own thing.. this worked best because so many people come and go and everyone has different goals,.. but i suppose now that we are in a new school, shifu wants to have a little more structure. any how, these sessions are amazing. shifu really takes the time to explain the fine points of practice and gives a lot of details that are otherwise left out. the best part is that i get to see him correct everyone's mistakes (including mine),.. this is good for additional insight into the movements and it gives me an idea of common mistakes - very good for when i eventually decide to teach.
GETTING IT TOGETHER
speaking of teaching.. i'm setting up a curriculum for a few workshops when i get back to civilization. i plan to share an extensive set of basic and intermediate exercises along with the wudang five animal qigong. last fall i ran a three day program in san louis obispo with my friend jerry and it worked really well.. so this year i'd like to do it again. aside from a workshop in SLO, there are already plans to have a program in montana, hawaii, santa rosa, and possibly even los angeles. looks like i'll be busy this fall.
i'm currently taking time to put together a full work book that outlines all the exercises along with an instructional DVD to compliment the text. if any of you are interested in having a workshop set up in your area, or would like to attend one that has already been organized, drop a line.
MY MASTER IS AMAZING
yuan xiu gang is not human. he has mastered a variety of skills, but probably the two most impressive (to me at least) would be the 'tai yi qigong' and another skill called 'tong zi gong'.
just one of these sets alone is amazing, but to have both is truly remarkable. attached is a link to a you tube video of the tai yi qigong set, but sadly, there is no footage of the tong zi gong available - it's just too amazing (tee hee). anyway.. by combining these two sets together, yuan shifu has attained a very high level of internal control and he demonstrated this one afternoon in class by literally moving his internal organs! i know it sounds strange, but he can move all of his five primary organs.. heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and liver. it's crazy.. he would simply torque his trunk in some odd way and then ask one of us to hit him in an area where the organ 'should' be. i tell you, the sensation of hitting an empty space is indescribable. beyond that, he can also move his rib cage in weird ways and he can practically dislocate bones from the sockets to contort his body in ways that are beyond belief. yuan xiu gang is not human. he's some sort of half fish, half feline, half tree, half thunder - nature just got ridiculous one day and made this morph of a being named yuan shifu. truly amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHRxBQkNd7o
ALOHA
well, that's all for this week. kicking it with sam last week in shanghai was a blast, but now i'm back to business here in wudang. i'm currently right in the middle of a fruit fast for the new moon and i'm really starting to feel the groove.
thank you all for the tremendous support, especially my extended family over in oakland at the taoist center. oh, and i also have to thank mom for sending me some new shoes - i'm just too big for china, nothing here fits me.
i'll be back again next week to share more wu life.. until then, be tall.
-wei zi rong
I'M IN A KUNG FU SCHOOL
as odd as it may seem.. i still get startling realizations every so often,.. realizations that i am living in wudang, china, and attending a traditional taoist kung fu academy. i suppose it hits me even harder now that we are all settled into our new school. i am living a dream.training has really intensified here since the spring season. i still keep up with my morning yoga routines, my five animal qigong, and my wen wu basics, along with the tai chi and tai yi forms both left and right side. but now, in addition to all that, i am doing at least 300 kicks a day and heavy rounds of hard qigong (the bamboo and bean bag beat downs). not to mention a little standing meditation and some seated eight silk brocade action too. ahhh, kung fu.
probably the coolest thing now is that shifu has begun to teach a basics class for the foreign students. before, everyone just kind of did their own thing.. this worked best because so many people come and go and everyone has different goals,.. but i suppose now that we are in a new school, shifu wants to have a little more structure. any how, these sessions are amazing. shifu really takes the time to explain the fine points of practice and gives a lot of details that are otherwise left out. the best part is that i get to see him correct everyone's mistakes (including mine),.. this is good for additional insight into the movements and it gives me an idea of common mistakes - very good for when i eventually decide to teach.
GETTING IT TOGETHER
speaking of teaching.. i'm setting up a curriculum for a few workshops when i get back to civilization. i plan to share an extensive set of basic and intermediate exercises along with the wudang five animal qigong. last fall i ran a three day program in san louis obispo with my friend jerry and it worked really well.. so this year i'd like to do it again. aside from a workshop in SLO, there are already plans to have a program in montana, hawaii, santa rosa, and possibly even los angeles. looks like i'll be busy this fall.
i'm currently taking time to put together a full work book that outlines all the exercises along with an instructional DVD to compliment the text. if any of you are interested in having a workshop set up in your area, or would like to attend one that has already been organized, drop a line.
MY MASTER IS AMAZING
yuan xiu gang is not human. he has mastered a variety of skills, but probably the two most impressive (to me at least) would be the 'tai yi qigong' and another skill called 'tong zi gong'.
just one of these sets alone is amazing, but to have both is truly remarkable. attached is a link to a you tube video of the tai yi qigong set, but sadly, there is no footage of the tong zi gong available - it's just too amazing (tee hee). anyway.. by combining these two sets together, yuan shifu has attained a very high level of internal control and he demonstrated this one afternoon in class by literally moving his internal organs! i know it sounds strange, but he can move all of his five primary organs.. heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and liver. it's crazy.. he would simply torque his trunk in some odd way and then ask one of us to hit him in an area where the organ 'should' be. i tell you, the sensation of hitting an empty space is indescribable. beyond that, he can also move his rib cage in weird ways and he can practically dislocate bones from the sockets to contort his body in ways that are beyond belief. yuan xiu gang is not human. he's some sort of half fish, half feline, half tree, half thunder - nature just got ridiculous one day and made this morph of a being named yuan shifu. truly amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHRxBQkNd7o
ALOHA
well, that's all for this week. kicking it with sam last week in shanghai was a blast, but now i'm back to business here in wudang. i'm currently right in the middle of a fruit fast for the new moon and i'm really starting to feel the groove.
thank you all for the tremendous support, especially my extended family over in oakland at the taoist center. oh, and i also have to thank mom for sending me some new shoes - i'm just too big for china, nothing here fits me.
i'll be back again next week to share more wu life.. until then, be tall.
-wei zi rong
Thursday, May 10, 2007
wu life 219
WU LIFE 219
SHANGHAI SHENANIGANS
shanghai was good fun. sam and his lady, joy, were excellent hosts. they were generous enough to provide an entire guest apartment for brother reece and i to rest at. the other nice thing was that each morning we were able to make use of sam's rooftop terrace to train and do qigong. sam's place was the perfect getaway from the mayhem that is shanghai.
when we weren't all nestled in the crib, we ventured out to a bunch of the local eateries and even a couple late night speak easies. we probably visited punjabi palace the most - home of the most amazing indian food to ever grace my palette. we also had a bunch of pizza and sandwiches too.. since we can't get them in wudang. but, considering our budget.. we got most of our food from the street noodle lady and the bun family on the corner. yummy. as for the late nights.. sam took us to one 'booty shake' club called windows.. which was very amusing if anything - seeing all the chinese people groove to super-crass, top 40 hip hop. then, on another night, sam took us to a reggae spot.. now that was something spectacular, it was like we weren't even in china anymore. the music, the vibe, the crowd.. it was like we were back in berkeley. really nice. but aside from those two nights out.. we spent most of our time in like good little boys. ;)
while in shanghai, sam and i also got to reflect on some new realizations. sam shared some of his new, surgically-precise mantis movements, along with some empowering possibilities that await on the island of bali. in exchange.. i shared the seated eight silk brocade exercise and a new calibration system based on the work of dr. david hawkings.. the same work that was presented to me recently by brother derek on his last visit to wudang. they say.. iron shapes iron.. diamonds cut diamonds.. this is always the case when i reason with sam.
BACK TO WUDANG
on my last day in shanghai, christine took me to a nice tea house / bookstore. there really wasn't much for me to read there, except for some old school shel silverstein classics.. where the sidewalk ends, and a light in the attic. i really dig those. after that.. it was off to curry house for a last meal before embarking on another epic train ride.
this train ride was much nicer than the previous one. the train was actually clean this time, and no where near as crowded. to make it even better, we made it back to wudang four hours faster than it took us to get to shanghai.. such a blessing. riding the trains suck.
DECOMPRESSION
once back in wudang, i could immediately feel a physical release. it was as if a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders.. something about the city just makes me cringe. my body gets stiff, and everything tenses up. maybe its all the pollution.. all the tall buildings.. all the people.. all the attitudes.. all the hustle and bustle.. whatever it is, i can literally feel a physical response. i don't know how people live there. different strokes i guess... i'll be sure to fruit fast this weekend to help flush my gut of all the crud and stuff that's built up.
it's so nice to be back in the village. now it's time for practice.
thank you all for the wonderful support and well wishes. i'm officially halfway through this round in china.. and now with summer just around the corner, it's time for some serious training.
till next week.
ALOHA
SHANGHAI SHENANIGANS
shanghai was good fun. sam and his lady, joy, were excellent hosts. they were generous enough to provide an entire guest apartment for brother reece and i to rest at. the other nice thing was that each morning we were able to make use of sam's rooftop terrace to train and do qigong. sam's place was the perfect getaway from the mayhem that is shanghai.when we weren't all nestled in the crib, we ventured out to a bunch of the local eateries and even a couple late night speak easies. we probably visited punjabi palace the most - home of the most amazing indian food to ever grace my palette. we also had a bunch of pizza and sandwiches too.. since we can't get them in wudang. but, considering our budget.. we got most of our food from the street noodle lady and the bun family on the corner. yummy. as for the late nights.. sam took us to one 'booty shake' club called windows.. which was very amusing if anything - seeing all the chinese people groove to super-crass, top 40 hip hop. then, on another night, sam took us to a reggae spot.. now that was something spectacular, it was like we weren't even in china anymore. the music, the vibe, the crowd.. it was like we were back in berkeley. really nice. but aside from those two nights out.. we spent most of our time in like good little boys. ;)
while in shanghai, sam and i also got to reflect on some new realizations. sam shared some of his new, surgically-precise mantis movements, along with some empowering possibilities that await on the island of bali. in exchange.. i shared the seated eight silk brocade exercise and a new calibration system based on the work of dr. david hawkings.. the same work that was presented to me recently by brother derek on his last visit to wudang. they say.. iron shapes iron.. diamonds cut diamonds.. this is always the case when i reason with sam.
BACK TO WUDANG
on my last day in shanghai, christine took me to a nice tea house / bookstore. there really wasn't much for me to read there, except for some old school shel silverstein classics.. where the sidewalk ends, and a light in the attic. i really dig those. after that.. it was off to curry house for a last meal before embarking on another epic train ride.
this train ride was much nicer than the previous one. the train was actually clean this time, and no where near as crowded. to make it even better, we made it back to wudang four hours faster than it took us to get to shanghai.. such a blessing. riding the trains suck.
DECOMPRESSION
once back in wudang, i could immediately feel a physical release. it was as if a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders.. something about the city just makes me cringe. my body gets stiff, and everything tenses up. maybe its all the pollution.. all the tall buildings.. all the people.. all the attitudes.. all the hustle and bustle.. whatever it is, i can literally feel a physical response. i don't know how people live there. different strokes i guess... i'll be sure to fruit fast this weekend to help flush my gut of all the crud and stuff that's built up.
it's so nice to be back in the village. now it's time for practice.
thank you all for the wonderful support and well wishes. i'm officially halfway through this round in china.. and now with summer just around the corner, it's time for some serious training.
till next week.
ALOHA
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
wu life 218
WU LIFE 218
I LIVE IN A SPACE OF ABUNDANCE
ahhhh, the love. why is the world so good to me? one moment i'm broke and stuck in wudang, and the next moment i'm eating indian food in shanghai.
it seemed impossible,.. all the trains were sold out, and all the plane prices were tripled for the may day holiday here. i was bummed. we had been planning this trip to shanghai for months now, and it all fell apart in a matter of moments the weekend before we were supposed to go. but then, suddenly the world conformed magically to make this trip happen. two train tickets opened up last minute, funds finally came in from an article i wrote months ago, and friends and family dropped a bunch of extra funds to help as well. the world is really on my side.
with just one short evening to get ready, brother reece and i pulled everything together last minute. from there, we scrambled to get on the 25 hour train ride to babylon. the ride itself was almost unbearable. one entire day and night spent on this moving metal stink tank filled with staring and gawking chinese people.. what fun.
I DON'T KNOW HOW PEOPLE LIVE HERE
as soon as we got off the train it was mayhem. we had no idea where we were, and taxis refused pick us up. luckily, i had several phone numbers for support, and in the end, it was my friend christine that gave us directions on how to get around through the metro system. the metro, however, was even crazier! getting tickets was the worst, it was nightmare to navigate through the orderless slurry of chinese people rushing and yelling about.. thank goodness i know kung fu.. i simply opened up my stance and bulldozed through the crowd.. all the time aware of people trying to cut in the ticket 'line' or pick my pockets. it took a couple hours, but reece and i finally made it through the jungle where we met up with christine and went on to sam's house. whooooo.
I'M SO COUNTRY
wow.. i've become such a granola, bumpkin, mountain man, hippie. walking through the city in my t-shirt, ten year old sweat pants, and busted shoes really put it in perspective for me. my beard is all massive..my hair is all big.. even my social mannerisms are out of whack. it's like a whole new type of culture shock. i don't know how people live here.
one afternoon we took a walk through the richest part of shanghai, the jing 'bling' an district. every store was some brand name, ultra trendy retail shop.. all the restaurants were high scale.. and all the people were in their 'court clothes' (a term i use for 'best clothes in the closet'). beyond that, the streets were flooded with lao wai! is this even china?!?!? i spent all my time that afternoon in mouth gaping awe, simply shocked at the state of the world. i never missed wudang so much.
STILL TRAINING
yes.. it's certainly nice to get a good break from the mountain, but the practice has been well embedded into my routine. reece and i still get up each morning to stretch and do hard qigong, i love it. this afternoon, we are even supposed to get together to work on some special material for some articles i had in mind.. roof top kung fu, seven star mantis applications, two man timing drills, folded wing falcon forms, black lotus principles.. good stuff. i love kung fu.
LIMITED COMMUNICATION
being in shanghai all week, i missed a week of wu life.. but now i'm back in wudang, so i will send this one now and get the other one up on schedule. thank you all for the love and support.
I LIVE IN A SPACE OF ABUNDANCE
ahhhh, the love. why is the world so good to me? one moment i'm broke and stuck in wudang, and the next moment i'm eating indian food in shanghai.
it seemed impossible,.. all the trains were sold out, and all the plane prices were tripled for the may day holiday here. i was bummed. we had been planning this trip to shanghai for months now, and it all fell apart in a matter of moments the weekend before we were supposed to go. but then, suddenly the world conformed magically to make this trip happen. two train tickets opened up last minute, funds finally came in from an article i wrote months ago, and friends and family dropped a bunch of extra funds to help as well. the world is really on my side.
with just one short evening to get ready, brother reece and i pulled everything together last minute. from there, we scrambled to get on the 25 hour train ride to babylon. the ride itself was almost unbearable. one entire day and night spent on this moving metal stink tank filled with staring and gawking chinese people.. what fun.
I DON'T KNOW HOW PEOPLE LIVE HERE
as soon as we got off the train it was mayhem. we had no idea where we were, and taxis refused pick us up. luckily, i had several phone numbers for support, and in the end, it was my friend christine that gave us directions on how to get around through the metro system. the metro, however, was even crazier! getting tickets was the worst, it was nightmare to navigate through the orderless slurry of chinese people rushing and yelling about.. thank goodness i know kung fu.. i simply opened up my stance and bulldozed through the crowd.. all the time aware of people trying to cut in the ticket 'line' or pick my pockets. it took a couple hours, but reece and i finally made it through the jungle where we met up with christine and went on to sam's house. whooooo.
I'M SO COUNTRY
wow.. i've become such a granola, bumpkin, mountain man, hippie. walking through the city in my t-shirt, ten year old sweat pants, and busted shoes really put it in perspective for me. my beard is all massive..my hair is all big.. even my social mannerisms are out of whack. it's like a whole new type of culture shock. i don't know how people live here.
one afternoon we took a walk through the richest part of shanghai, the jing 'bling' an district. every store was some brand name, ultra trendy retail shop.. all the restaurants were high scale.. and all the people were in their 'court clothes' (a term i use for 'best clothes in the closet'). beyond that, the streets were flooded with lao wai! is this even china?!?!? i spent all my time that afternoon in mouth gaping awe, simply shocked at the state of the world. i never missed wudang so much.
STILL TRAINING
yes.. it's certainly nice to get a good break from the mountain, but the practice has been well embedded into my routine. reece and i still get up each morning to stretch and do hard qigong, i love it. this afternoon, we are even supposed to get together to work on some special material for some articles i had in mind.. roof top kung fu, seven star mantis applications, two man timing drills, folded wing falcon forms, black lotus principles.. good stuff. i love kung fu.
LIMITED COMMUNICATION
being in shanghai all week, i missed a week of wu life.. but now i'm back in wudang, so i will send this one now and get the other one up on schedule. thank you all for the love and support.
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