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
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