Previous tour participant open for questions

[ShaolinLynx]

Greetings to all,

I participated on the 2002 Study Tour, and all I can say is that it was a blast, a fantastic opportunity full of learning, observation and insight. My words at the end of the tour were "When's the next one," and let there be no doubt, I am signed up for this year's tour once again. }:)

I want to open this thread up to anyone who wants to ask me any questions from the perspective of a tour participant. Any question is valid, and I'll do my best to relate what my experience was and what you may be able to expect, along with suggestions if I have any.

So, fire away. }:)

[JamesC]

Hello ShaolinLynx,

I am wondering if there were any people new to Kung Fu that atteneded. Anyone at the beginner level or even that were completely new.

[ShaolinLynx]

I am wondering if there were any people new to Kung Fu that atteneded. Anyone at the beginner level or even that were completely new.

Good day!

There were quite a few on our trip who could be considered beginners, either to martial arts in general or to the 'Northern Shaolin' system in particular, and there was one or two who hadn't done any martial arts at all before. During our training at Shaolin, we had the option of doing a beginner hand form, or a more advanced form, so it worked out well for everyone, and it worked similarly for the weapon sets. While we were at Wudangshan, the majority of us hadn't practiced any Tai Chi before (let along Wudang Fist) so it was a good experience for all of us, all together.

Our time at Shaolin was pretty intense physical-wise, so to get the most out of it I would reccomend that one be 'in shape' to a certain extent. }:) That being said, one of our fellow participants had a very bad knee, but still did what he could do and loved every moment of it (and certainly enjoyed our internal training).

Unless there's any big difference in this year's trip, beginners should be quite cool with it. }:)

[ventrex]

Hey im a 15 year old student, ive been studying kung fu for 1 year and 4 months, and i plan to go with your school by myself, im just wondering what's the food like and do you have choices of food? also, you mentioned weapon forms, will i have to bring a weapon or will they provide or will i have to purchase? and you also mentioned having basic and advanced forms. Do you think a person like me should go for the Advanced or the basic? and finally last question whats your name?

[ShaolinLynx]

Heyo in return!

Make no mistake, you will eat Chinese food on this trip, nay, you will eat lots of Chinese food on this trip. }:) Traditional/"Authentic" Chinese cuisine as well, with many dishes served up centre-table style, so something akin to 'orange chicken' will not be present. For the majority of the trip (anytime outside of Beijing) this will be the only food choice available, and while in Beijing if you choose to opt-out to try one of the other spots the food will be on your own dime. I enjoyed the food a lot, and really had a good time with the new cuisine. As it is centre-style, vegitarians should have no trouble (we usually ensured they got first pick of all vegitable dishes). With all the workouts, it isn't a bad idea to bring along a few snacks (dried fruit, nuts, clif bars) to supplement, but try to balance that with packing light. }:)

We will have an opportunity to purchase the weapons over there (there are many weapon stores/forges, including one at the wushuguan). IIRC, the staffs were 10 yuan and the spears were 20 or 25 yuan. For the basic vs advanced forms, it is likely they will demonstrate the forms for us on the first day, so you can see which of the forms you feel would be best, and the same with the weapon forms. If the forms are simlar in nature to last year, at a year and a half worth of experience, the advanced form would probably be a good pick for you, but until I see the forms this year, I cannot say for certain. }:)

In the real world, I am sometimes known to go by the name of "Oliver". }:>

Hope to see you on the trip!

[ventrex]

thanks for all the info, i will see you on the tour... would you mind if i stuck around you? ^_^ and im worried about the food because my reglion doesnt allow me to eat pork, and i know chinese eat pork often. And im a little picky at food.

[ShaolinLynx]

thanks for all the info, i will see you on the tour... would you mind if i stuck around you? ^_^ and im worried about the food because my reglion doesnt allow me to eat pork, and i know chinese eat pork often. And im a little picky at food. :)

You are welcome to do so... while I can't promise to be able to spot all pork, I'll look out for it as best I can. }:)

We will see you in august...

[ventrex]

well... does that mean i can eat? lol
or no? last time u were there, did they have other things besides pork?

[UltimateRockLee]

well... does that mean i can eat? lol
or no? last time u were there, did they have other things besides pork?

Never been to china or this trip, but I imagine there MUST be other things than pork, just maybe not what you'd want to consume Gotta be flexable to survive, right?

[ventrex]

yeah thats what i was thinking.... i guess ill have to eat the stuff anyways..

[ShaolinLynx]

Fear not, there are tonnes of things other than pork served, including chicken, whole fish (literally the whole fish), veggies on their own, tofu, beef, noodle dishes, soups, and some "I have no idea"s. }:) The variety of dishes is quite high, so it should all be good.

[ventrex]

hey thanks for the info, 2 other things are worrying me..., i saw pictures on this site with like hundreds of people in blue uniforms practicing... will i be lost in there somewhere? how do you train with such a big group i dont think i could do that, and another thing is i hate shots, and i was told i would have to get a few coming to china.

[ShaolinLynx]

The blue uniformed students were the actual students of the school at which we were training (it was like a boarding school, the students live there full-time) -- the other photos give a good impression of us in our usual western-style workout clothes. I think this year we will be staying at the 'actual' wushu guan, but I imagine it will be similar, in that the permanants will look quite different from the tourists/visitors. We will be getting training by ourselves, so our group won't be mingled in with everyone else.

Shots are a must; it really isn't worth taking any chances. Which does remind me I should check up if I need any more myself... :P

[ventrex]

this sounds really cool and fun, i cant wait... i hope i can go... well see you then, until i think of some more questions for you

[ventrex]

i have another question, my mom is terrified of snakes, do you think we will encounter any on this trip? personally i hate snakes as well...