Wake up at 6am
QiGong from 620am to 720am (we practice standing mediation and 5 animals QiGong)
Breakfast at 730am
Morning training from 830am to 11am, which consists of stretching, line drills, 300-500 situps, 50 pushups and practicing your forms.
Lunch at 12pm
We get a "break" from 1230 - 250pm (most of us either sleep, practice our forms, or email),
Afternoon training from 3-5pm, same as morning training.
Dinner at 6pm
Evening meditation from 8-9pm
As you can see, there is not much time to focus on anything else. In my free time, I may run to the market to buy some fruits and snacks. Some of us will either practice our forms or even our own kungfu (I don't want to forget my Wah Lum forms). This week was rather tough for me because I pulled my hamstring and groin muscle. The teachers acknowledge that you are injured but they push you to continue (if you show up to the training). Some of the students when injured just sit in there rooms, I elected to show up for training because I don't want to miss this opportunity to improve my skills. The teachers will not ask you to perform any stances, kicks, movements, etc that will cause further injury. But they will push you to your limits! I did have a breakthrough...I was finally able to perform a full side split (to the ground) with the help of HsuMing. I was about 8 inches from the ground when HsuMing came up to me and said "lower." I looked at him and said "yeah, right. This is how far I go." He decided to show that I could go lower. So he stands over me, his hands on my shoulders and begins to push me down while yelling "lower, lower, lower." And guess what, I made it to the ground!
Living at the academy has been an eye-opening experience. For example, we are not allowed to have heaters in our room (I guess it's supposed to help us with our kungfu). At night, its so cold here that I sleep with my hoody, leg warms, sweat pants, gloves, socks and my blanket. I can even see my breath when I talk on skype or with the other students in the hallway. Also, the lighting here is set on timers. For instance, the hallway lights are sound sensitive and they stay on for about 30 seconds before turning off. So if you want to walk down the hallway, you either have to make a really loud noise or stomp your feet to trigger the lights. Otherwise, you'll be walking the in the dark. The same goes for the bathrooms. Unfortunately my room is directly across the hall from the bathroom, so I can tell when there are students in the bathroom at night because they are trying really hard to keep the lights on by making loud noises.
The food has been delightful but you end up eating rice everyday with every meal. Most of the dishes prepared are vegetarian dishes but there are some occasions where they will serve us chicken or fish. However, I will not eat the chicken because it's served with the head in the dish and it freaks me out. I end up eating the scrambled eggs (which I must say is soooo delicious) with the veggies and rice. What I end up doing after lunch is head out to the market with a few friends and purchase some romen noodles and various snacks to hold me over till dinner time. One of the students from Holland went to Shiyan (about 1.5 hours by bus) and purchased some peanut butter for a few of us. That was a lifesaver because know I eat PB sandwiches everyday...yummy!!!
This afternoon, Master Yuan was talking to a small group of us on the development of Qi and moving softly. One thing he said caught my attention. He said, "In order to develop and feel Qi, one must first feel at peace internally. Otherwise, you will just be going through the motions and will never feel or develop Qi. So, when practicing QiGong and Taiji, just relax and focus your energy internally. Feel at peace with yourself." That blew my mind because its so simple and makes sense. He also said that by feeling at peace internally will eventually lead to a strong sense of Qi and improve our kungfu skills.
Master Yuan and his assistants have told me that my basics are one of the best (Thanks to Sifu Kee) and that I learning quickly. Today, HsuMing (one of the assistants) said the he sees that I have "good kungfu skills" and that he was impressed how quickly I learned Wudang's Jin Bin Quan (I took me one week to learn while it has taken anywhere from 2-3 weeks for most students, twice a day). I approached Master Yuan on Wednesday and asked if I could learn 2 forms (1 kungfu and 1 taiji) at the same time and he said, without hesitation, YES because of my basics. Im one of the only foreigners learning multiple forms. So, in the morning I learn new movements for the kungfu forms, and in the afternoon I learn new taiji movements. I anticipate that I will be finished with Taiji 28 Postures within 1 more week which will leave me the remaining 5 weeks to learn Tai Yi Wu Xian Quan (and 8 minute form when performed correctly). This is the description of the Tai Yi Wu Xian Quan from Master Yuan...
"Tai Ji is originated from the Infinity. It is the originator of the Two Extremes. The Two Extremes comes from the phenomenon of separating Yin and Yang.
Liang Yi Quan is also known as Tai Yi Quan. The practice includes hand, eye, body, steps and explosive internal power. Its characteristics are combination of slow and fast, soft and hard, lightening reflects, and thundering movements. In combat application, it equips one with ways of starting late but reaching first. It is a must for Tai Ji practitioners. In Daoism, it is said that “Tai Ji is formed when combining Yin and Yang; the Two Extremes are formed when separating Yin and Yang.” Infinity is for training in mind, Tai Ji in the flow of internal energy through control of mind, and Liang Yi Quan in using the mind and internal energy for external power. As Liang Yi Quan combines fast and slow, soft and hard, and Yin and Yang, it is called the Two Extremes."