Kung Fu Fighting

Kung Fu Times 2

Today our strength was put to the test. We started with a 4:30 wake up call. We all walked to the temple to practice a morning prayer and worship with the monks. We followed their rituals to worshiping Buddha and then had the privilege to eat breakfast with them in their sanctuary. Afterwards the students cleaned up the breakfast area; showing thanks and respect to the temple and the monks that dwelt there. But no stopping! We headed to the Little Dragon Kung Fu School once again. We had 2.5 hours of training in store for us. There we were privately taught martial arts moves and also added swords and sticks of combat. We are training to compete at a show for the school….spirits were high as we pushed ourselves to perfection. Afterwards we had lunch and a little afternoon break. But we were off again! Our last lesson was in the evening with our private Martial Art Instructors. We had another session of 2 hours to complete. Finally, we were done and exhausted, and ate dinner. We were introduced to some market shopping after dinner. That is always an experience! Only 4 more days left in Beautiful China; an experience we all shall never forget.

Zen Shaolin Temple Show

Today was our first full day to experience DengFeng. We toured the city and then visited the Kung Fu School, and the Active Shaolin Temple. Seeing real monks walking, meditating, and living their normal life was exhilarating. They were finding their practicing their religion actively there right in front of our eyes. It was cool. We also returned to the Kung Fu school for a 2 hour private lesson. But the part that stood out to me was the Zen Shaolin Temple Art Musical that we watched that evening. Imagine a golden and red temple etched between two concaved mountain sides. Literally there in the cleft of the rock, was the setting for this magnificent show. An hour and a half we watched in awe as students sang , did dancing martial arts, played instruments, and literally walked us through the active and musical part of their history. During this entire extravaganza, there were flying people in the sky, a huge light show going on, and a waterfall that danced to the beat of the drums. It was one of my favorite things on this trip. After that day we definitely slept well.

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting!

This morning we had the unique opportunity of learning Kung Fu from the martial arts students at the Small Dragon school. This is one of sixty five schools that teach Kung Fu. The Small Dragon is the third largest school with 4,000 students. The students range in age from four years old to twenty five. It is a boarding school with students living in the dorms all year. Once a year during the Spring Festival the students are allowed to go home. The parents can come and visit anytime. This was such a special morning for us and also and incredible workout. You can see some of the students here practicing for our upcoming performance.

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Meeting the "Top Monk" and Shao Lin Temple Martial Arts Students

So we traveled from Beijing to Luoyang in an overnight train and the experience far surpassed my expectations. Why? Because I actually got a better night’s sleep in a passenger car that slept 4 then I did in my hotel room. There is something to be said for the rhythmic sound of a train traveling along its track. The next morning we visited the Longman Grottos and saw a collection of Buddhist cave sculptures, including one that was over 17 meters tall. It is the world’s largest Buddha. Next we traveled to the Shaolin Temple and listened to a lecture given by the “Top Monk” on Kung Fu. He taught us a great life lesson about how we should keep our hearts pure and resist greedy, anger, and envy. After the Shaolin Temple we took a bus over to the Shao Lin Temple Marshall Arts School where we had an opportunity to watch an impressive demonstration by students. The students performed some intense form routines and spared with each other. I was in awe at the number of students training at the school. We literally had to serpentine through the children on our way back to the bus. There were hundreds, if not a couple thousand, scattered throughout the campus. It was nice to see all the children. They were comfortable in their environment and very curious about visitors. It was great to watch the students walk in formation and chant out, “one two three four.” Occasionally we would get a wave or the peace sign and that put a smile on everybody’s face.
Today we went back to the Shao Lin Temple Martial Arts School and learned Kung Fu from trainers. Our bodies were twisted and contorted in ways many of us are not accustomed to. We learned a series of moves and forms while practicing our technique. The session was intense and quite the workout! These children take Kung Fu very seriously. After our lesson we visited a classroom. It was great to see children learning. They sang a song for us and we sang a few for them. The looks on their faces were priceless. Interacting with the students made me think about my own classroom. I am so excited for the school year and cannot wait to meet my new students. Today was an amazing cultural learning experience and one that I will certainly share with my 5th graders.
Tomorrow we will go back to the Shaolin Temple and have another opportunity to practice Kung Fu with students in the temple. This truly is an adventure of a lifetime!

Kung Fu School

We traveled, after having a refreshing time in a beautiful hotel and breakfast, to DengFeng. There we were in for a treat! Our first stop was to see the Grottos. Imagine a whole mountainside covered with sculptures of Buddha and Chinese Religious art. It was breath-taking; but there was more. As we reached the center of the rock there stood before us was a huge cliff carved Buddha. This was called “Big Buddha’s Temple.” There stood the most massive sculptures of Buddha, his guards etched in the rock! It was amazing. From there we checked into our refurbished farm houses, which were like little houses per room, and headed to the active temple. We listened the monks pray and sing and then headed out to see the Kung Fu School. That was astounding. Students from ages 7-20 practiced the martial arts. We watched in awe as they flipped, kicked, and sparred with one another. Tomorrow we get our private kung fu lesson with these well developed and skilled fighters! Dinner was awesome and within the city. Sweet and Sour pork was the favorite of the evening! Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Night on the train

Today we went to visit a temple there in Chengde. It would be our last time in this city. It was amazing, as all the Chinese Architecture is and then we traveled back to Beijing. We were so excited for our night on the train. We had individual cabins per 4 people. Bunk style beds were awaiting us and some fun girl time! When we woke up we were in Luoyang.