wu life 214

WU LIFE 214


THE BIG MOVE

well.. we are officially in the new school. moving locations was a big three day ordeal, and we still have yet to settle in. the initial move was a big hassle.. yuan shifu rented big trucks to move all of our stuff, and he made every trip count.. packing all our belongings ultra high like in the beverley hillbillies. it was crazy. then, once we got to the new school, it was still under construction! floors were still being put in, pipes were still being fitted, and electrical wiring was still exposed.. it was mayhem. for three days, we had faulty electricity, no running water, and no bathroom... ahhh china.

my room was a complete mess. the floor was covered with gravel and soot and it took three whole hours just to clean it all up. to make matters worse.. i had no bed, no closet, and no desk. luckily, yuan shifu hooked it up with a nice semi-full size bed so i didn't have to sleep on my massage table - surprisingly, this is the first bed i have ever completely fit in since i've been in china, it feels great! the other cool thing is that i am the only student with a two room suite.. one room to sleep in, and the other room for an office to write and do massage in.. i got it made.

we've been here now for about five days and things are starting to come together.. i got a desk now, my internet is up and running, i had a metal rack made for my clothes, and the community showers seem to be somewhat functional now. the other cool thing is that we have squatters as opposed to the standard western style seated toilets - which i like. i will try to have pictures posted for everyone by the end of the week.


FRESH FACES

spring is finally in full gear here and along with the sunshine and flowers, we have a bunch of new faces. we have approximately 25 foreign students now and they come from every corner of the world,.. most are from germany, while the others come from belgium, austria, france, england, new zealand, canada, holland, romania, italy, israel, india, mexico, and of course america. we also have a whole bunch of new chinese students as well putting us at around 60+ all together. the youngest student here is about 9 and the oldest is just over 60,.. we also have about 8 females here now too. yuan shifu says that this is the most students he has ever had, and new prospects are showing interest every day. our school is growing very fast.


COMPETITION TRAINING

although none of us know when this competition is coming we have all upped our training in preperation. my body is sore all over, especially my knees, ankles, shoulders, and wrists.. this training is intense - it seems like every month it just gets more and more demanding here.. i love it. each day i spend about two hours working my tai yi form, and another two hours on my spear.. not to mention all my basics and solo sessions that i do on the side. it's great.

one day yuan shifu gathered all of the students that are going to compete and said we were going to have 'special' training. at first i was scared - i'm all too familiar with shifu's 'special' training,.. but instead of the military drilling i was expecting, we were taken to train at a different location with the grandmaster, zhong yun long! to think, just a few weeks ago i was graced with an introduction, and now i get to actually train under him! i was so impressed with just the way he walked, and now i get to see him move! he is definitely a traditional master. all his movements are crisp and precise, yet soft and supple.. his presence is so gentle but at the same time very authoritative.. he is by far one of the most skilled martial masters i have ever met.

once i was over the initial awe, i got to focus on the training,.. the details he showed us are so intricate and the martial applications are so devastating,.. one instance he demonstrated a technique on me, a wrist grab and shoulder throw.. with just the lightest grip his claws felt as if they could crush my forearm, and with the slightest turn of the hip, i was lifted off my feet and placed gently back into place effortlessly,.. after the elegant display of mastery, he looked at me with a childish grin and said, 'ming bai ma?' (understand now?).


FIN

sadly, with all this transitioning, my time has been short so i am unable to share all of the stories of my week, but i'll be back next week to keep you guys up to date with the juicy goods. till then, i wish you all well.


ALOHA