 My introduction to Chinese martial arts was as much enlightening as it was absurd. A few years ago I decided to leave The States and the Taekwondo club I was teaching to broaden my understanding of martial arts by returning to the roots, Shaolin Gong fu, in a northern Chinese gong fu academy. For foreigners however, gong fu in china is as much a lesson in the horrors of capitalism as it is mindless obedience. The school itself was designed for foreigners, tuition was paid in American dollars (the first sign of highway robbery illegal business in Asia), and the only Chinese there had a free ride through his fathers mob connections. Whether youre talking about the prison cell dorms or the incessantly drunk school doctor whod drive his motorcycle around the school all day and cure all ailments and injuries with a heat lamp (even water burns), the place was designed to make money.
The training didnt suit me from the beginning. The focus was clearly on conditioning and the trainers seemed at times a little indifferent toward improper technique, and at other times would correct students with a wooden stick to the legs. The training was intense; qi gong at 5 am, running at 6, breakfast at 7, training (which ranged from fist forms, to weapon work, to acrobatics, to xanda (Chinese free fighting) from 8 to 11:30, lunch at 12, afternoon training from 2-4, qi gong at 4, dinner at 5, qi gong again at 6:30, pass out from exhaustion at your discretion.
 There was however some real talent among a few of the teachers. The trainer who deserves the most mention was master Su. He was the qi gong instructor, among other things. His welcome demonstration was rather memorable; he laid a red brick on the end of a table, and without securing the other end he sliced it in half with a knife hand. The other half of the brick remained on the table. It was obvious that he, among the others was the real deal. He knew I was discontent with the academy and more experienced than the other students, so he offered to teach me whatever I was interested in, which lead to jiu jie bian (nine segment whip) training alone with him in the forest, in addition to our three hours of standing meditation each day.
His method of teaching was more than difficult to adapt to. Because of the language barrier, all technique was relayed by example and at full speed. I remember panicking a little when I couldnt see the whip, only a yellow trail from the scarf attached to the dart at the end. Then, Master Su, after viscously swinging the whip in blinding combinations would say, ok, now you It was a great experience that was called to a halt a little too quickly when I was asked by family to return home when SARS broke out. This turned out to be a blessing because I left china with some money left over and a knowledge of the way things work here.
 With those two things I quickly returned to Asia after a few months of stagnation at home and augmenting wanderlust. After spending 6 months in Thailand, traveling the islands on the west coast, living and training in the jungle on Koh Pangan for two months, and training thai boxing in Chiang Mai, I returned to China to teach English and continue studying Gong Fu. To date Ive been living in southern China, teaching and training. For the first year and a half here I had private instruction from another master of Shaolin, master Wong. Under him I trained a few days a week, continuing my chain whip work and learning fist forms and Shaolin staff. I remember the first day with him as well. After a relatively basic opening to his chain whip form, he darted into a running front flip followed by a running 540 crescent kick. This was all before he began wielding the whip. My jaw dropped and again came those mocking words, ok, you try. This is Shaolin basics. With my background in Taekwondo and Hapkido, I cant help but laugh when someone refers to aerials as basics. Nevertheless, hes been inspiring to work with and constantly reminds me of how much there is to learn about martial arts and myself. Currently Im training alone, synthesizing all Ive learned and riding out the rest of my teaching term here before I move on to a new location and training environment in the fall.
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