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June 22 - July 3, 2002 At last! The anxiously awaited details of our trip to Shaolin! Sifu and Mr. Baca traveled to China to train in traditional kung fu with the renowned Shaolin monk, Shi De Cheng, at his wushuguan in the village of Deng Feng. What a thrill to study the martial arts of Shaolin, in the shadow of the fabled Songshan (Mount Song), home of the illustrious Shaolin Temple. The first adventure was getting there. Sifu had alerted Chris to some of the differences in Chinese and American sensibilities, but the idea that they could be on a modern aircraft flying halfway around the world and yet not have access to such "normal" amenities as toilet tissue and paper towels took him rather aback. There's also the little matter of the idea of "waiting in line" . . . the Chinese often consider that he who darts in quickest deserves to go next. It brought a whole new meaning to quote: "He who hesitates is lost". Or was that "last"? As luck would have it, our party failed to meet us at the airport in Zhengzhou, which brings us to a favored form of Chinese entertainment, "Watch the Funny Foreigners". Within moments, a crowd had gathered to watch Sifu dicker for a taxi. Well, maybe it was rather amusing. The other taxi drivers shouted encouragement and advice to their compatriot, the audience snickered, and little blonde Sifu stamped her foot and adamantly refused to pay so much as one jiao more than 250 kuai for a ride into Deng Feng. |
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The hotel in Deng Feng was better and worse than
imagined. We stayed at the Feng Yuan, universally recognized as the
nicest. That's the bathroom on the right. All the porcelain was
cracked, and what you (thankfully) can't see is that the bowl was brown from
having never been cleaned since it was first installed. The wallpaper
was torn, the walls and ceilings cracked and water-stained, and we had the
most interesting "Chinese shag carpet" -- a soft, thick pile of human hair
on the never-been-swept floors. The towels were worn, torn, thin and
grey, but we were thankful. A convention of important Chinese
businessmen had taken over most of the hotel, and so not only did we have
the welcome surprise of water every, single day, but, we
had HOT water every single day (eat your heart out, Rich!). We've got many amusing hotel stories: the KEYstone Cops Adventure, Plumbing with Clothespins, and 101 Uses for Crepe Paper. Trust me, you don't want to know . . . We also had this view (below) from the window in our room. Alas, we never found time to visit the pagoda in person, but we heard from other travelers that the view was awesome. Oh, well -- next year! |
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| Classes were held (for us foreign devils) at a park within a pleasant walk of the wushuguan. At right is our merry band making the trek. Note the perpetually grey skies. I'm unsure if it was an effect of the horrendous humidity, or the end result of China's dependence on coal as an energy source. It certainly gave the mountains a mystical air. |
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| Below is another view from the walk to the park, this one taken across the farmland along the side of the road. | |
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| A shot at the park where we trained. We met lots of friendly, helpful people, and our classmates were a blast. Charlie (left) was the official "Funny Foreigner" spokesperson for green tea. That's Aaron on the right. These two had been studying in China, learning Chinese language, wushu and Shaolin kung fu, for about six months. |
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| (below) Another shot of the park, from the other direction. It was a very scenic place to practice, and made a great backdrop for all those times we were on the news. And we were on the news a lot. Chinese television, Singapore television, and Sifu was asked to pose for some "fighting shots" with Shi De Cheng for a magazine. She even removed her precious shades. | |
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| One of the coolest things about training with a senior monk like Shi De Cheng is: field trips. Not only did we get to visit such gorgeous and historic sites as this monastery (below), but we got to train there! Here, we were welcomed as we entered by a woman who filled our hands with small, green fruits, and we practiced in a lovely, shaded courtyard to the chants of the monks. | |
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In fact, we went on so many field trips, and were
so fatigued from jet lag, that some errors may occur in the labeling of the
different sites here. As for the names of the places: forget it! Below is the courtyard of a temple where we did part of the taping for a television show for a Singapore station. |
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| (below) A bridge over a koi pond in one of the temples. After two hours of practice, that water looked pretty darned inviting. | |
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| We always generated a crowd as we practiced in the park by the wushuguan. Here, Chris and our Canadian friend, Jeff (known affectionately as Jeff-fu) take a much-needed break. Notice the flushed faces. It was hot, but worse than that, it was humid. We had fun any way. | |
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At the park, Shi De Cheng (left) hams it up for the camera. Now here is an example of a genuine master: not just an athlete -- although he certainly is one by anybody's definition -- his kung fu doesn't just look good, he knows how to use it. |
| (below) Walking back to the van the back way after a training field trip. | |
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| (right) We trained a lot of interesting places, but this had to be the most unusual . . . a bowling alley. Believe it or not, the same hotel that didn't have a vacuum had this bowling alley in its basement. China: It's a Whole 'Nuther Country. |
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(left) Julie and Shi De Cheng in the
park by the wushuguan. Julie also stayed at the Feng Yuan,
bless her! Friend, guide, and CEO of the Bank of Ju-Li, we're not
quite sure what we'd have done without her. Good thing we didn't have
to find out! Thanks a million, Julie! How's that staff form coming? |
| You've gotta love these roof beasties. |
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| (below) A closer shot of one of the monasteries we trained at. Note the stone lion. Stone lions usually come in pairs before an entrance, one holding a ball, and the other with a baby lion. The one with the ball is the male, and the one with the baby is the female. | |
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Stay tuned for more photos from our trip -- and
yes, Jeff, I have more flattering ones to post . . . Questions? Comments?
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