The Dao of Hyperinflation

I usually do not promote websites that pertain to economics or politics, but today is an exception. My brother recently turned me onto the National Inflationary Association (NIA). I watched the video on the website and realized the truth that hyperinflation is right here, right now and we, as Americans, need to understand how to survive and prosper in the years to come. The NIA's goal is to educate the American public on the hyperinflationary crisis we are experiencing right now. Feel free to share you feelings and thoughts with me. I would love to hear your opinion on hyperinflation and the current state of affairs.

www.inflation.us

Oh, also check out Kaz's blog at http://kasonomics.blogspot.com for his thoughts and insights.

Tai chi and Qigong class schedules

Wow...it's been 5 months since my return from the epic adventures at Wudangshan, China and how much I miss my gongfu brothers and sisters there.

Before I left for China, I was teaching Qigong classes at the Lotus Yoga Center every Sunday. Now that I'm back in full force with newly developed skills, classes are now being offered on Saturday's at two locations.

Saturday:
11:00am - Tai Chi and Qigong at Yoga Central (Mt. Dora, FL)

12:30pm - Tai Chi and Qigong at Lotus Yoga Central (Apopka, FL)

Qigong/Tai chi seminars - TBD


Follow me at www.Twitter.com/theflowingqi for more updates.

Zai-jian China....Ni hao Orlando

After 2 and half months in China, I have returned home to Orlando. I definitely miss being in China...living at the Wudang school, practicing what little Chinese I knew, and so many other exciting things. I met so many interesting people along the way and learned something new when I met someone. So for those keeping up with the blog, I will keep a journal online of my life experiences because I know that I will be back to China and for how long you ask....not sure yet.

Happy New Year and Picture Day at Nan Yan

On New Years Eve, most of the foreign students and other guests planned a beautiful dinner one of the hotels in Wudang. We arrived at 6pm and enjoyed ourselves for about 2 hours. After a few pi-jiu's (beers), a small group of us went back to Tan-man's room to wait for the arrival of 2009. We listened mostly to funk and reggae while sharing stories from our pasts and drinking more pi-jiu's. When the clock struck 12, we wished each other a Happy New Year and shortly after disbusrd to our rooms. We had arranged a picture day at Nan Yan at the peak of Wudangshan early in the morning.

So the next morning, seven of us headed to Wudangshan to spend the first day of 2009 in the mountains. We all dressed up in our Taoist robes and were ready for a fun morning of siteseeing and our famous "picture day"!

Pictures from New Years Dinner

Pictures from Nan Yan

Orion Pies and a Shi Yan Christmas

A few weeks ago, I was introduced to the delicious Orion Pies. If you've never had one, it's like a little slice of heaven covered in chocolate. I realized after my first Orion Pie that I was hooked on them. Now, I find myself going to the store with a few gongfu brothers and purchasing a box of 6 pies for 10 yuan (which are usually gone by dinner time). A few nights ago, I was chillin with 2 of my gongfu homies, Jeff and Simon, when Jeff let me in on a little secret...Cacao Pies. I thought Orion Pies were tasty and good, but these Cacao Pie were much better because they are made with real Cacao. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I return to the States without any Cacao or Orion Pies. I don't think I can go "cold turkey" on these pies, so I may need to start purchasing the 2 packs instead of the 6 packs. That way, when it comes time to leave China, I can control the urge to buy some Orion Pies.

Onto a more serious note...Christmas in China. I have chatted with a few of my friends on Gmail chat and Facebook and the one questions I was asked all last week was, "Do the Chinese celebrate Christmas?" Well, they don't celebrate Christmas, but what I find odd is that some of the stores decorate for Christmas. Even the supermarket in Wudang played Christmas tunes and the employees wore Santa hats around the store. I even noticed a few shopkeepers along the main road in Wudang setting up Christmas trees in front of their stores the day of Christmas. However, I'm not sure if Santa Claus has clearance to fly over the airspace in China (joking).

Since there are 16 foreigners attending the Wudang Kungfu Academy, we all decided to do a Secret Santa to keep the spirit of Christmas alive at the school. Of the 16, ten decided to participate with only a couple of rules. One was the limit for spending was 100 yuan (roughly $16) and the second was you were not allowed to discuss who you had with anyone else (that rule was broken on the first day). Jacky (Scotland) organized the drawing of names after one of the morning training sessions. I ended up getting Dane as my Secret Santa which worked out perfectly because he is one of the few guys that I hang out with at the academy. So this made it really easy to find a gift for him. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, I had convinced Dane that Melanie was his Secret Santa and he believed it till the day we exchanged gifts. He had no idea that I could have been his Secret Santa because he would constantly tell me what he wanted in hopes that I would relay the info to Melanie.

The day of Christmas, 12 foreigners including Sifu Yuan headed out to Shi Yan (about 45 minutes away from Wudang) for a Christmas dinner. We went to a steak house where we had a private room which included a mahjong table for our amusement. We arrived at the restaurant at 530pm and I tell you this because you will not believe how long it took to serve our dinner. After settling down and reviewing the menu, the waitresses took our order at 6pm. It wasn't until 8pm when the first plate of food was served. Around 830pm, there were 6 that were still without any food and when they received their steaks, they were over cooked or completely raw. And we were the first people in the restaurant. So a few of the students that spoke chinese went to the manager to ask for a discount, and sure enough we got one! So what did we do after dinner you ask? Well, my friends we went to the happiest place in Shi Yan....McDonalds! Yes, that's right, McD's in China after Christmas dinner. We all ate "ice cream" and those that didn't enjoy their Christmas dinner (myself included) ordered either a Big Mac, quarter pounder with cheese, "chicken" nuggets, hamburgers, or any combination of food on the menu.

This Christmas is one that I will not forget because I was able to experience it in China, a predominately Buddhist country. I am glad I had access to Skype because I was able to speak with and see my family on Christmas. Oh yeah, on a side note...on Dec 24th, a few of us went to Shi Yan to buy some goodies and Simon and I purchased some rasta headbands to wear around Shi Yan and Wudang. As a write this blog, I am still wearing the rasta headband (I take it off only when I sleep, shower or train).

Simon and I sporting our rasta headbands on Christmas day.

Infront of McD's in Shi Yan

Sifu Yuan "enjoying" his steak dinner.

Jeff and Tan-man at the Mahjong table

Exchanging gifts in Tan-man's room.

Jacky and Brandi celebrating Christmas with a nice bottle of wine.

Tan-man, Calvin and Myself in Shi Yan (Ladies, don't act like you're not impressed)

The essence of Wudang

This performance Wednesday showcased some new forms and hard qigong. I've decided to only post up some photos and videos of the event.

Also, I started taking chinese lessons an hour a day to learn the language. It only costs 5 yuan per hour, which is about 75 cents. I'm really excited about this class because I'll learn some conversational chinese as well as pin-yin. Eventhough I'm here at the academy for 3 more weeks, I feel that I will be able to absorb as much as the language in that time. So far, my favorite phrase has been "Wo fei cheng fengzi" which means "I'm really crazy".

Photos


Videos

Dane and I performing Ji Ben Quan
(Can you tell which one is nervous and which one is Luigi?)

Demonstration of Hard QiGong

Wulong Gong Shan

Today, Master Yuan took us to one of the sacred mountains in Wudang. Wulong Gong Shan (Five Dragons Mountain) is located in a remote part of Wudang and has not been exposed to tourist like Mt. Wudang. It was such an honor and gift to have Master Yuan show us around the mountain range today.

It started early in the morning at 7am when 18 of us met at the entrance to the school. Master Yuan led us into town for a quick breakfast (dumplings or noodles or fried bread) and after that, hop on a bus for a 30 minute ride to Wulong Gong Shan. Let me tell you, I sat next to my friend Jacky (from Scotland) and we were both scared for our lives as the busdriver took sharp turns trying to reach our destination along the mountain range. There were guard rails on the side of the road and he came close to edge on every turn.

Soon after exiting the "bus of death", Master Yuan began to lead us up the mountain. Not sure what the elevation was, but I would guess it was somewhere around 1000 meters or so. We hiked for about 2 hours (with a few breaks in between) and arrived at Wulong Gong Temple. What a mystical site, especially on a foggy day like today. We were greeted by a Taoist monk who allowed us to sit and eat our snack by the temple. Master Yuan told us the story of Wulong Gong Temple. It was a story of a Taoist who had been praying for rain to continue growing his crops. One day the Taoist looked up in the sky and, in the clouds, he saw five dragons circling above. From the day forward, a temple was built in honor of the five dragons that brought rain to the locals. Hence the name Wulong Gong Temple or Five Dragons Temple. This is one of the oldest Taoist temples in Wudang.

For lunch, we were treated to an organic feast prepared by some of the local Taoist priests. After lunch we proceeded to hike up to the peak of Wulong Gong Shan. The scenery and views were breathtaking. We spent roughly 6 hours hiking the mountain and stopping at various temples and "rest-stops." I must say that today was an energizing day because being up in the mountains, especially the mystical Wulong Gong Shan, was a great way to cultivate the Qi. Below are the photos and video of today's hike.

Photos

Videos

Washington Star Dragon Reid (that's his english name) is a badass!
Here, Washington is performing a scene from "Fearless"

Washington showing off his skills.