FWC China Camp, 13th - 23rdth December 2010
What the students thought...
Vince Cherlet
After my first trip to China, I can’t wait to go again next year. It’s a great opportunity to train with traditional masters and enjoy an insider’s experience of an entirely different culture.
Training outdoors with Master Su we were surrounded by dramatic scenery: the mountains, river, quarry and the distant city transported us to a different world. Few westerners are privileged to learn Yong Chun White Crane, and because it shares its lineage with Fujian White Crane, it helped us to understand our own style better. As we practiced our patterns we recited the Chinese names for the movements and Master Su would encourage us, shouting at us to perform with more passion and precision.
Between training sessions we would relax in the hot springs; there were 60 different treatments, each with a special medicinal purpose. Like the springs, the food was endlessly diverse. We didn’t see the same dish twice, and enjoyed trying new things as well as gaining insight into traditional Chinese etiquette.
The FWC China trip is a unique way to learn Kung Fu and Chinese culture in the company of fellow students and under the guidance of instructors. I think that anyone would benefit from the advice of the masters, the beautiful location and the warm hospitality.
Jasmine Singh
It's difficult to put into words my experience with the club in Fuzhou.
Training with Master Su was inspiring;
the scenery was breathtaking;
the adventures, unbelievable;
turning acquaintances into friends, unforgettable;
and of course, the food was amazing.
I have never felt so alive.
Johnny Rayner
Despite the fact I was a beginner & had only been training for a few months when I first heard about the trip to China, I knew I had to go. The thought of training everyday in the mountains near Yong Tai & Dennis' promise of a chance to experience the "real" China, well off the tourist path, sounded way too much fun to miss out on. From the moment I woke up to a breathtaking view of mountain tops shrouded in mist, I knew it was going to be a great experience. The training was excellent & Master Su came across as such an warm & open teacher. I believe that learning the first two patterns of Yong Chun White Crane has really helped my beginners understanding of FWC & of kung fu in general. It made me realise that it is not just a hobby to pick up & put down outside of my work, but in fact a way of life at whatever level you choose to embrace it. Aside from the kung fu, a few of us had some fantastic adventures exploring the stunning surrounding area, plus I made some great friends whilst laughing over a shot of the local fire water at dinner time. It was definitely the highlight of my 2010 & I can't wait to go back to China. Oh, one last thing. The food was fantastic!
John Shirley
We spent 10 days in China training with Teacher Su in the Yong Tai mountains and spending a few days sightseeing in Fuzhou. We would wake up early spend the day training and eating and the evenings relaxing in the hot springs. The food in China was great and we got a chance to eat food we would never eat in England, for example swim bladder (which is very tasty) and dried duck intestine with mushrooms (which is very chewy, but not too bad). Teacher Su with the help of his student Pan taught us two Yon Chun patterns. Learning some of the patterns of the Yon Chun style was a highlight of the trip because it was fun to learn the patterns in their own right and also very interesting to see the parallels between their patterns and ours. The China trip was an amazing 10 days which allowed us to see the real China, I would recommend it to anyone.
Yevheniia Mikheenko
Thinking back to our China trip, what I remember first is the quiet pleasure of having nothing to think about except training, sleep, great company and delicious food (perhaps in the reverse order). The perseverance and gentle patience of Su Lao Tzu and his students in teaching us made learning Yongchun white crane truly enjoyable – playful, in the best sense of the word. Because I was learning something completely new, I found myself more relaxed about making mistakes, and was captivated by the grace of the style. Training on the roof of our hotel in a mountain valley had only one drawback, a serious temptation to stop and just stare around you. I had packed for moderately cold and wet weather, but by the middle of our trip, mornings of cold mist curled up in the valley turned to sunshine in a matter of minutes. It was like being back in Crete, training in shorts under a thick layer of sunscreen with watermelon afterwards. Enthusiasm spread quickly. Someone was always training, even during breaks, and we were trying out the new movements and words in front of mirrors.
For me, the most memorable parts of the trip include my birthday celebration, with everyone singing, Carmen playing Happy Birthday on her clay whistle, and me digging into the traditional birthday noodles. It was also the day we finished learning the second Yongchun pattern – a most remarkable birthday present. Equally memorable, the visit to the Drum Mountain temple, and the distinct feeling that the whole mountain has a heartbeat. And of course the hot springs of all colours and scents, my favourite ones being red wine, ginger, chalk and most especially the fish, which swarmed around us like bristles on a hedgehog, nibbled on us and made us laugh. My mind was barely comprehending that I was walking dripping wet among subtropical plants at night, next to steaming pools, in December. Other moments that make it onto the most-remembered list include Miranda bravely trying to take a bite out of a cooked cock comb, Dennis’s sheer joy at acquiring a hitting stick that makes noise, and Gill’s new swimming costume in bright pink.
The trip has made a difference to me in ways that are hard to pinpoint. Learning a pure crane style had made me watch movement more closely for differences from the moves I was used to seeing. Being taught in a different language, even with the help of translation, left me relying more on what I was seeing rather than what I was thinking. I learned a lot faster. The first time I saw the second Yongchun pattern, it looked near-impossible to replicate. Within three days, I was able to remember the whole sequence, keep up with the count and finish aligned with everyone else. For me, that was very significant progress. I also found myself relatively unafraid of being filmed. This slowly-growing confidence came out of simply living for some time with the hundred-and-one new things of a very different culture. After hours of chanting the names of the moves during training, even Mandarin started to seem less daunting. In fact, it started to seem necessary, given how many times our requests for a translation were met with “there’s no words for it in English!”. What this trip gave me is a down-to-earth understanding that learning about China is not separate from our training, it’s part of it. It’s something our Instructors often tell us, but only turning up in China made me begin to realise what it means.
A huge thank you to everyone who made the trip and our learning possible.
Jill Steen
The Fujian province is on the south-east coast of China sandwiched between Guangdong and the southern Yangtze region. For this year’s trip, after arriving at Beijing with a further 2.5 hour flight to Fuzhou, we spent the first few days at the Qingyun Mountain Royal Hot Spring Hotel with the weekend in Fuzhou itself, returning to the mountains for the last couple of days.
Training
Whilst in the mountains we trained with Su Lao Tzu and his student (Pang) for 5 hours each day (bar one). The “givingness” of Su and the skill of Pang were a delight to all. We were taught “pure” (scholar’s) crane style with its somewhat different emphasis to the hybrid crane/tiger (“killing”) style we learn in the UK. Both first and second pattern have similarities between the two styles with the first pure crane style pattern, like the “UK” one, called the Three Wars but also referred to as the Three Straights, reflecting the differing stance, and feet and hand positions.
In spite of the language barriers Su and Pang managed, with great assistance from the interpreters, to pass on a huge amount of their knowledge, including the importance of balancing the hard with the soft, movement with stillness and the fast with the slow whilst reflecting these when chanting the numbers or descriptors of the moves. Su also advised deconstructing the pattern, taking each move, making it precise, polishing it and then reassembling the individual elements like pearls on a string.
As usual I struggled to grasp the sequence of movements and mainly concentrated on the first pattern. In spite of this Su had patience with me and even granted me a dispensation with the clawed hand position (“older ones have stiffer bones”) whilst telling me about his 80 year old student - so still a bit of time to go then!
Food
Fujian food has a spiciness that makes taste buds sparkle and dance. There was the spiced crab, (originally, I gather, used to enhance bland dishes such as rice porridge rather than as a dish on its own), prawns, pork, and egg and the spiciness was also used to balance the yin of whole fish whose slightly “gloopy” texture indicated large amounts of beneficial collagen. Fish heads and duck’s extremities (heads and feet but not backsides) were also in evidence, causing slight squeamishness in some of the group but this was bravely conquered by the end of the trip. Vegetables too made their appearance and I was completely surprised by cauliflower turning up at almost every meal (something I normally can take or leave, but Fujian-style was a totally different matter) with mushrooms, green beans, small amounts of carrot, white radish, sweet potato and what I took to be pak/bok choi also gracing the table. There was, of course rice, and “fish balls” whose wrappings were made out of flattened floured pork, with filled “dumplings”/buns and sometimes sticky black rice “cup-cakes” in the morning. I know it seems really churlish, with this plethora of deliciousness, to grizzle but, I have to admit that at times, I really really longed for a non-Chinese breakfast and super-sized cafe latte.
Rest
The hot springs in the mountains were just the place to relax after training and eating. There was somewhat of a dispute as to how many there were but who cares! Some pools bubbled, some did not; some had added ingredients (wine, citrus, ginseng and other stuffs I had never before heard of) and others were just “plain” old water of varying temperatures. My all time favourite were the pools where fish (a type of wrasse) nibbled away dead skin, tickling and nipping, making people giggle and squeak. I was a particularly appreciated delicacy and afterwards my feet had a smoothness they have not enjoyed for many years. In addition, just behind and above the hotel was a Buddhist shrine with a nearby seating area – just the place to practice the art of wu wei (“doing nothing”) surrounded by quiet and spectacular mountains.
Weather
The weather was mostly kind, only a very few wet/cold days, otherwise we were blessed with balmy summer temperatures and glorious sunshine whilst surrounded by mountains that looked as if the belonged in a Chinese painting. This was made even more pleasing as whilst we trained in shorts and T-shirts, gaining a sun tan, we could give those at home, who were up to their armpits in snow, an occasional smug thought.
Shopping
Tea is one of the major elements of Chinese life, embracing as it does all of the “five elements” (wu hsing - earth, fire, wood, water, air/gold). I think everyone went to one or another teashop, marvelling at the adroitness of the “tea girls” whilst sitting round in small groups sipping out of little delicate cups. The leaves were first washed (I think so that they were purified) in a lidded pot and then we were offered the second and third infusions, as each gave a different taste, with some teas requiring the water to be boiling and others where a minute or two of cooling was necessary. First there were green teas (only left to dry/oxidate for a short time and containing very little caffeine) with their subtle flavour. After these came the red teas (or as we call them in the West, black tea) some of which had a wonderful sweet fruitiness totally different from anything I had ever tasted before. Then, finally, Pu-erh (fermented tea) with its strong earthy taste. Teas of varying grades and prices were sampled with everybody buying some and some buying quite a lot. Round the corner from the tea-house was a shop where the whole range of accessories could be bought – tea services (often elaborately decorated), tea pots (some all sleek minimalist chic and others appealing in their rotund chubbiness) and mugs, all hard to resist.
It was great fun to wander down the “reconstructed/old” street, in and out of the shops which had things for a couple of yuan to items totally outside most peoples price range; tourist “tat” to beautifully crafted artefacts. Our couple of days in Fuzhou released previously unknown shopaholic tendencies in some of the group, with scrolls and thermos flasks with Chinese characters, chopsticks, bracelets and pearl necklaces quickly snapped up.
The supermarket cum department store was fascinating with its live frogs and fish waiting to be picked by a customer where freshness was paramount, although all the more “traditionally” displayed fish (dead on chipped ice) gleamed giving every evidence of being very recently caught. The aisles were full of fascinating packages – some were fairly easy to distinguish others not so. Again a multitude of items were bought (extremely cheaply) such as sweets (although those I tasted ranged from “disgusting” to “not very nice”), duck’s feet, chrysanthemum tea, dried grouper and other stuff (often not identifiable) for family, friends, work colleagues and last but not least Instructors.
People
For some of our time we were in a bubble that isolated us both from the people and China itself, however in Fuzhou we were out on the streets trying to dodge the bicycles and motor-bikes that considered the pavement to be their right if way. Once we had left Beijing, as Westerners, we did attract a little attention, sometimes people stopped looked and said “hello”. Children often initially seemed a little puzzled, but appreciated a wave and an old man on a bike nearly fell off trying to steer round me and greet me at the same time.
Whilst waiting in a small group in the Fuzhou shopping street, a Chinese man came up to practice his English on us. He thought we were a family with me as “matriarch” and when we explained that we were in China as we did kung-fu, he wandered off vaguely mystified, speculatively muttering – “wu shu – wu shu”. I’m not sure he really believed us although several of us were wearing our FWC track suits. At Drum mountain (a complex of Buddhist temples outside Fuzhou) another chap explained the huge statue of a “female-type Buddha”, who I took to be Ma Zhu (goddess of journeys) – somewhat appropriate for the long journey we had taken to be there.
Medical massage and other matters
I think everyone in the group went to the “massage parlour” and some more than once. I have had my skin rubbed with various ungents and have even had bits of me wrung out like washing by an extremely large Turkish lady but Chinese “medical” massage is something completely different. Five of us lay on couches in funny pyjama-like garments whilst the five masseuses got to work. As they chatted away to each other, they targeted muscles and joints with their strong hands, fingers and thumbs, sometimes resorting to their elbows in spots where particular attention was required. It was sometimes uncomfortable and sometimes down-right painful but completely invigorating.
Adverse medical matters were fortunately extremely few – kept perhaps to this minimum by the shots of high octane alcohol (doubling I am convinced a sure-fire verucca and wart treatment), taken with the evening meal, which preserved most everyone’s gastro-intestinal tract free from unpleasant outcomes. The one exception was actually a result of a self-inflicted over-indulgence (ie a monumental hangover) and, quite rightly, engendered no sympathy what so ever.
There was an occasion where Eastern treatment outshone Western medicine. Just prior to a training session where it could be fully appreciated by all, a couple of sharp “kneeings” in the backside seemed to cure sciatica where ibuprofen (Neurofen) had failed.
Glitches
Again these were few – mainly due to the vigilance of Instructors and those who had been to China before. They cajoled, chivvied and counted, acting like nervous sheepdogs, eyes flicking from side to side, checking if one of their dozy flock was about to make a break for it or someone had wandered off, yelling - “hurry”, “stand here/there”, “take this”, “don’t move” and we like obedient FWC students obeyed. Although seven bags were a day late making the journey from Beijing to Fuzhou and a couple of bottles of brandy never made it of the coach, nobody fell into a Chinese loo or was “seriously” missing – a considerable tribute to our “travel guardians”.
Overall
A wonderful trip – many thanks to all who made it so.
Natalie Thomas
I never thought that I’d get to do much travelling in my life. Kung Fu is something that I’ve always wanted to try but put off doing and the same goes for travelling. Funny that the first stamp in my passport is as a result of taking up Kung Fu and the opportunities it presented.
I’m very glad we had to travel in our tracksuits because, as I assume was intended, I immediately picked out club members from across the terminal. I was very nervous at first as anyone that I recognised I had only met before twice at the most but I soon came to see that I had nothing to worry about as everyone was very friendly and a few were in the same situation as me. Travelling for so long, with the waiting in terminals, two plane flights and a coach journey; I got to know several of the other students before we had even arrived at our destination. I even knew everyone’s name by then.
We arrived at the Fuzhou Qingyun Mountain Hot Spring Hotel in the early hours of the morning while it was still pitch black and I was only able to appreciate exactly where we were and the beauty of it when I drew back the curtains the next morning. What greeted me is the most beautiful view I had ever seen in person. In fact, I loved that first view so much that over the course of the trip I attempted to draw it. I had recently begun drawing more and the beautiful scenery presented a great opportunity to challenge myself to capture a small part of it as best I could. It was the only sketch that I actually managed to complete whilst we were there but I have enough reference photos to keep me busy for a very long time to come.
Su Lao Su, our teacher and his student Pan had been introduced to us the night before and quickly got us training the next morning. To begin with we had to relearn some basic principles, some quite obvious to other minute differences. Stepping, weight distribution, the way of holding ourselves, too complicated to even attempt to recount here. But by the end of the first day, and I doubt I was alone, my head was full of these new principles to keep going over and over again. We were training outside, as we would every day, and I couldn’t help thinking about the sun cream and sunglasses lying on my desk in London because I had taken them out of my luggage thinking I wouldn’t need them. For the first couple of nights I even found myself dreaming about my patterns, which was quite handy, as I definitely needed the practice.
Over the course of the trip when Su spoke to those who would translate for him, such as Chris or Mandy, I would still watch him and listen intently. Even though I know only a handful of Mandarin words, he was so expressive when he spoke and gestured so much that he was just such a pleasure to watch.
Our schedules whilst in the mountains were pretty much the same. In the mornings we would train from 9am until midday and then we had lunch. After that we had free time until 3pm in which we needed to be back to train again. This time for me personally was spent in a variety of ways depending on the day; in the hot springs, drawing and most days walking around and exploring and seeming to stray further and further from the hotel when I did so, most of the time being accompanied by one of my roommates Jess. Back training at 3pm, we continued until 5pm in which we then had an hour until dinner. Most rushed away to get ready but some stayed on the roof to spar or practice some more. Sometimes I stayed up there to draw.
Thankfully, I had been to the club meals for Chinese New Year and Christmas, so I knew some of the traditions that were practiced at dinner but this didn’t stop me from double-checking with whichever unfortunate person that had sat next to me each time I was called on as the most junior at the table. Felix helped a lot of newer people like me by making sure we knew what we were doing, especially when on Su’s table. I still made a few mistakes over the course of the trip but at least I didn’t drop anything in anyone’s lap. For the most part I have no idea what the food was, all I know is that I tried everything and almost without exception, loved everything. Being one of the most junior the opportunity was taken on a few occasions to drop unusual items in my bowl. I ate multiple fish eyes, ducks feet and so on. I actually found it all very tasty and recommend trying anything put in front of you. You may be surprised. But I may have been a bit of a disappointment to some who seemed to expect at least a little squeamishness to tease about. It soon became clear that the trip was just as much about food as Kung Fu. Within a week of being back in the UK I had bought two Chinese cookery books and was desperately trying to find a Chinese supermarket that sold fish ball. Sadly though, I am let down and shall have to pine for them until the next trip.
Another main feature of evening meals was toasting with a small shot of alcohol, which was also so strong that it would kill any germs the food may possibly have had. Everyone stood for toasts, which were generally started off by Dennis. Then people would approach the table with Dennis, Sharon, Su and Pan and toast them, tables would toast each other, individuals would toast each other and then toasting went on back and forth. It all wound up developing into what I saw as toasting wars until all the alcohol was used up. I brought back several bottles of it as gifts and many people have not forgiven me. It’s strong stuff.
After dinner the rest of the evening was generally spent in the hot springs with, for me, occasional sessions in the pool where fish nibble at you. One of my favourite memories of the trip is a group of us first going in and shrieking with laughter at the sensation. Eventually I even got the courage to put my face in too. I didn’t get to try all of the pools as there were just so many but my favourites include a chalk pool and one that smelled sweet from the flowers that floated in it. But what also seemed to occur is an unusual method of practicing patterns. We were training in our spare time; doing so in our rooms, in the lobby whilst waiting for people but we also did so whilst sitting down in the springs, trying to get strikes right, accidentally splashing each other in the process and attempting to remember the Mandarin words for each move.
As training wore on we were taught the Mandarin for each movement and had to call them out as we did the patterns. This is what I was not very good at but found that whenever someone hesitated on a word, everyone as a group took up the slack and joined in with you to help. It was things like this that made the training, though we worked hard, quite relaxed and not over-worry about getting it wrong whilst learning. Throughout training I was helped many times, not only by those teaching us but also by other instructors and students.
Midway through the trip we left the mountains to spend two days in the city of Fuzhou sightseeing, shopping and relaxing. The first day resulted in us splitting into two groups, being that there were too many of us to fit in our main places to visit. On the first day I was with the group that were accompanied by Chris and Mandy to what Carmen had called Food Alley; a famous shopping street with restaurants dotted along it. I bought many gifts for friends and family there and even attempted to bargain to get the price down on a larger item as we had been encouraged to do but Luba had to come to my aid and get the price down for me when I gave up a little too soon. What also became even more apparent whilst in the city is that we were an unusual sight; especially those with blond hair and blue eyes such as Miranda. She and Abby were repeatedly asked to have their photos taken with people.
On the second day my group went to what I can only describe as the tea district where there were multiple tea shops with people serving it, organising tea leaves and packaging it. We sampled teas that were traditionally served to us and chose which we wanted to buy. We also went to a shop that was filled wall to wall with tea sets, trays, pots and a hundred other items.
In the afternoon the groups met up again to go to GuShan Mountain. We didn’t have the time to walk up the route to get to the temple as most people did, so a coach took us up. I have a feeling it would’ve taken half the day to go on foot. Many will attest to how snap-happy I was with my camera on the trip as a whole but I took so very many photos of the temple. I was curious about a building at the very top, as there was no photography allowed. Most people I saw go in, briefly looked around the room and left again as it was almost empty. If only they’d looked straight up. The ceiling was made up of painted panels, each a painting of people in different scenes. They were the most beautiful piece of art I’ve seen. My neck hurt by the time I’d finished looking and left the building.
While we were there I decided to attempt to draw one of the buildings in the courtyard. By the end of the limited time I had left I had barely gotten the roof finished but what I had done was draw a small crowd some of which were the monks. At first I thought I was doing something wrong just perching there sketching whilst people were praying a couple of metres away but was reassured it was fine, they just wanted to watch. They liked my drawing. On this trip, with the exception of actually understanding Su, I’d never wanted so badly to understand what someone was saying to me as they seemed very happy and were trying to talk to me over and over. Finally it was time to go and I said my mispronounced goodbyes.
The rest of the time in the city was filled with great meals, a full body massage, marvelling at the ‘live’ section of a supermarket and just exploring the streets near the hotel and attempting not to get lost.
Back into the mountains to the hotel again we continued training as before and even learned a second pattern, which was far more complex than the previous one. The remaining days went in a flash trying to perfect our patterns as best we could and making the most of the time we had left. For the final two days we all wore our uniforms for group photos and were filmed while we trained on the roof which would apparently be shown on Chinese television.
Memories which stand out for me on the last two afternoons were walking a trail in the National Park of China, which was just down the road, taking photos of Alex, John, Vince and Simon posing on a waterfall and finally spending an afternoon with Jess, Jill and Yevheniia on a lookout point next to the hotel doing our patterns.
I’m grateful for all the things that I got to see and learn on the trip. I’m especially grateful that I got to meet so many nice and friendly people who I hope to keep in contact with and I believe I have learned more than just the patterns while I was there. Coming back to classes in the UK, in my first class I accidentally went into the pure crane pattern. In the classes since I’ve had to make a conscious effort to switch from those new basic principles I’d learned back to the UK Fujian White Crane. It’s made me focus even more on the differences, noticing things that I never had before and I’ve been asking my instructor Nick more questions. Before the trip, I rarely asked any. I hope that through this I continue to improve and believe I may have, at least in a small way, already.
I felt very sad to leave China and I definitely want to return again, I just hope that it’s soon.