Contents
Quick summary
Background
Monthly progress
What's wrong with the school
Budget & spending over 12 months
School review for their website
Final thoughts & Advice for future students
External link: youtube channel containing all the progress videos (and more) from QuFu
Quick Summary
Month One (September 2013)
The first month is the hardest. Everything aches for a couple of weeks. It's always funny watching the new starters hobble up the stairs! Mentally I really found it tough, the fact that my comfortable life in England was over and that I had no home, partner or job any more all hit me at once and suddenly everything became very real. I wanted to cut the trip short there and then. It was made worse by a very weird sleep deprived paranoia and anxiety that took about two weeks to pass, partly due to the time difference and partly due to not sleeping at all on the 30 hour trip over. The hard bed and barren room (see pics below) didn't make things any easier.
It was on arrival that I was informed that despite the claims on the school website, singe rooms are not allocated according to length of stay, they are allocated on ability to pay. Single rooms cost an extra 50USD a month, or single rooms with air-conditioning are an extra 100USD a month. I opted for the single without air-con.
My single room on arrival wasn't very homely. (See picture in month 11 of how I improved it).
You can expect to be taught the 'basics' during the first couple of weeks, this means the kicks and punches that you practice during the 'Basics' lesson. Included within the 'Basics' is the 1st fist form, called 5 Step and covers the main stances that pop up in all the forms.
Following 5 Step you will move on to the 1st proper fist form called Continuous Fist. You will also start to learn Tia-Chi 24 Step Yang Style (if you attend the optional 0600 Tai-Chi class, and you haven't arrived in winter when it's canceled). You'll also start to learn the Sanda steps. The Bagua and Wudang classes are optional, I have never been so can't comment on those.
Month Two (October 2013)
School gradings are held at the end of the month (except during the cold winter months), below are some videos showing progress during the second month (Tia-Chi 24 Step Yang Style, followed by grading 'basics' and Continuous fist.)
Once you finish Five Step & Continuous at around the end of the 1st month you start to learn the 1st weapon form called Angel Staff. I didn't get on very well with it at first, it took me about 6 weeks to do the whole form I think. I also started the next Tia-Chi form, 42 Step Yang Style.
Months Three and Four (November & December 2013)
A couple of very odd months at the School. Firstly because it was my 30th Birthday in November!
Secondly because of Christmas in December. The school barely acknowledges any western holiday and Christmas is no different. Suddenly it was Christmas Eve and we had two days off, then it was back to training on Boxing day. We also had 1 day off for New Years Day.
Picture is Celebrating Christmas at the Shangri-la Hotel Qufu. Best food (and waitresses) in town!
Kungfu wise... these months see students finish the Staff form and Tong Bai Fist form. Some students diverge here and the Masters will teach forms according to students abilities.
Here's a video of the staff form I recorded over Christmas:
Months Five and Six (Jan & Feb 2014)
The winter months at the school aren't great; Tia-Chi is canceled because it's about -15 degrees Celsius, and it's so cold that after training sessions everyone quickly disappears back to their rooms in a vein attempt to keep warm. Personally I prefer the cold weather to the heat though, as putting on a jumper is no problem, and there is a comeradary formed with the remaining students, you weren't there man!
Anyway, by this point I've finished Tong Bai and the first broad sword form. I don't get on with the weapon forms so I haven't recorded it. After sword I started 7 Star Fist Form, which is apparently a highly regarded form within the Shaolin Temple, it is supposed to be quick, very low and have precise movements.
Here's a video of the Tong Bai Fist form recorded in month six, although I finished it at the end of month four.
Month Seven (March 2014)
I feel now as though I am starting to make progress with the training, it might sound odd after seven months, but I have also heard other students say that it isn't until around month 6 that you start to get the 'feeling' for the movements. Something also 'clicked' with Tia-Chi, I'm nearly at the end of 42 Step Yang Style and I finally feel as though my movements do (sometimes) flow as one whole body movement rather than the juddered discombobulated motions I do 99% of the time.
Photo shows me with a random girl from the college next door
Month Eight (April 2014)
Finished 7 Star (at last!) and am nearly at the end of Tai-Chi 42 step.
One of my closest friends at the school left this month, something you get used to here is watching people come and go.
Here's the video from this months grading: 7 Star.
Month Nine (May 2014)
I took 10 days off to visit Beijing and run the Great Wall Marathon which I finished in 101st place out of 750 finishers, in a time of 05:02:35, but it's no big deal, so stop going on about it! As happy I was with that, I couldn't help feel that I was so close to finishing in the top 100 and under 5 hours, oh well, maybe I'll be back...!
After the marathon I starting to struggle mentally with motivation and feeling like I had achieved what I wanted and was ready to go home. My knees are also smashed from all the Shaolin training and extra running, so I've stopped with the Shaolin Forms to focus on Tai Chi for the last few months.
Here's a video of me grading Tai-Chi Yang Style 42 Step at the end of the month:
Month 10 (June 2014)
I have only two months to try and learn the Tai-Chi 32 straight sword form, so my Master is showing me something new everyday, I'm finding it really hard to keep up with! But it is making the time go quicker as as I try to get it the best I can in the limited time available. The post race blues following the marathon have passed and I realise that soon I will be leaving this place, which has become my home, for a very different lifestyle back in the UK. It's made me really try to appreciate this last bit of time.
Pictures below are from an evening out. We missed curfew so decided to stay out all night rather than jump the wall. The floor seemed fine after the hard beds at the school!
Month 11 (July 2014)
We took lots of videos of the training this month, both so I don't forget anything and also so anyone coming to the school has an idea of what training they're in for.
Sanda training:
Jumps and rolls training:
Basics training:
A tour of the school:
Here's how I've made my room into a home over the past months:
Month 12 (August & 1st week of Sept 2014)
My whole view of the school has completely changed over the last few weeks. I was willing to put the poor treatment of the dogs, the food, the lack of communication from the school etc ect aside as cultural difference. However when the Head Master invited his friends to the school to kick in one of the Masters that was too far for me.
The school lied to everyone about what had happened, saying the Master had threatened his wife with a knife, telling someone else the Master had threatened to kill the other masters.... totally bizarre story. The school issued an apology.
Update: March 2015; it seems a competing school; disgruntled employee; student, or whoever is creating fake profiles on social media. They're using the video of the nasty event above to discredit and leave bad reviews of the school. It happened, it wasn't good, but the video only shows one side of the story and seeing how quiet the school is now compared to the 90+ students they had when I was there, I think they've probably learned their lesson. Hopefully the school can move on and students will start to return.
Anyway, to continue with my monthly summary I finished the Tai-Chi form I've been working on and graded it at the end of August. The last weeks I've only trained the mornings, I wrote a review for the school website which you can read below.
Tai-Chi sword grading:
What's wrong with the school
I wasn't sure whether to include this section or not, as I really would recommend the school, and as you can see from all the things I've written, I've had a great time! But... the school is far from perfect, so I thought it would be better for students to be aware of these things so when the school makes a stupid decision (as they do at a rate of about once a month) it will come as no surprise!
Examples:
Turning the hot water boiler off between 2200-0530 (no drinking water available - you need to stock up from the day before if you are up early or late).
Making the internet free.... and balancing it out by turning it off between 2200-0600.
Making false promises: never fixing the wooden dummies; saying we can eat as much as we want for breakfast, then two months later handing each student a fixed amount.
I feel there are too many students
Or more to the point - the school does not have the facilities for so many students at one time. When I joined the school in September 2013 there were about 35 students, this stayed pretty consistent until the warmer months. There in July 2014 90 students including a group of about 10 visiting Russian school children and local Chinese children filled the school. This makes for a very noisy environment with everyone living on top of each other and the children constantly shouting, running around the corridors, banging doors and making lots of mess.
If you want to use the washing machines you have to plan it in advance or you can expect a day long battle of trying to get your laundry in. When you do finally manage to get your clothes clean, don’t expect to be able to hang them out on the line as there is not enough drying space for so many people. Here's a tip, everyone goes to town on Saturday, stay in the school it's quiet plus you can get your washing done no worries in the afternoon. If you need things from town, go on Sunday when everyone stays in!
Specialising
I have seen a few people come to the school who have specifically asked prior to arriving if they could focus on one area, such as Tai-Chi or Wing Chun. All these people have been very disappointed, very quickly. The school has a schedule and if you want to do anything outside that you may not receive 'extra' tuition for your chosen area, which I can understand if a Master is trying to run a Shaolin Forms class outside and you want to be inside at the wooden dummy. I really wouldn't recommend the school for Wing Chun as the masters don't like to teach it and rarely do, and there are only two wooden dummies which are broken.
Buddhism
There is no Buddhism taught or cultivated at the school in any shape or form. Despite part of the school advertising that weekly ‘Buddhism Theory’ classes will be held, these happen approximately once every 2 months, and when they do the masters simply read the same few pages from a book on the history of the Shaolin Temple.
Staff turnover
I’ve lost count of the amount of Masters that have come and gone in my year at the school. I have had four separate Masters myself, although they have all been absolutely brilliant, it would have been nice to have just one. I understand that their complaint is that they are not paid enough. I can understand their frustration as the Head Master has recently bought himself a brand new Audi.
The dogs
The school has two dogs, Dodo and Kahki. The Chinese do not give one flying shit about animals, but they will happy post pictures of themselves with the dogs on their social media to show off.
Kahki the big dog is tied up all day because he isn't trained and has a habit of going mental at children for no reason. Students complain about him being tied up (but having personally seem him fly at local children for no reason, run off and disappear for days, fight with other dogs, come back to the school with a rabbit snare around his foot etc etc I totally agree that it is actually better for everyone if he is secured).
As the school doesn't take any responsibility for looking after the animals properly, the students take it in turns (daily) to feed, water and walk the animal. You don't have to get involved but some people get quite upset by the way they treat the dogs. If they ever need veterinary care for example, the school will not pay. Last time the students ended up taking matters into their own hands and paid for Kahki to have an eye operation & medicine.
Dodo is always getting pregnant and having puppies, again the school don't care. Her last littler were all born premature is various stages of fetus development, it wasn't very pretty and I ended up burying three dead half formed puppies.
Food
The website says ample food will be provided. This is a lie. Breakfast is two eggs only, a sachet of soya powder and a steamed roll. Everyone buys their own oats and died fruit to have with breakfast.
The lunch and dinner are the same dishes pretty much every every day, fine if you are only here short term, not so great if you plan on staying for a year or more. All the food is absolutely soaked in oil, we've complained and complained but they are convinced eating spoonfuls of oil is good for you so this will never change.
Budget and Spending
MY GRAND TOTAL: £9000 ($14500)
SUGESTED MINIMUM BUDGET: £3000 ($5000)
If you want to live comfortably, you could cut back even further but after a year of no treats you will go mental. Figure based on £100 / month for consumables etc (= £1200) + three trips away & spending money (£1500) + weapons (£100) + winter & summer training clothes (£200).
Here's where my money went......
Pre-trip expenditure: £300 ($500) (a camera, some training clothes etc)
Flight from UK to Beijing: £400 ($700)
Insurance: £100 ($160)
Transport from airport to Qufu (taxi & bullet train): £50 ($85)
1 years school fee's: £3000 ($4480)
Single room supplement: £400 ($700)
VPN subscription (to access Facebook etc): £50 ($80)
12 months expenditure*: £3850 ($5500)
TEFL income: +£600 ($1000)
Debt repayments: £600 ($1000)
Great Wall Marathon Entry fee + running supplies: £450 ($800)
Transport from Qufu to Beijing airport: £50 ($85)
Flight from Beijing to UK: £300 ($500)
so what could I possibly spend nearly £4000 on in China?! Well....
One week trip to Shanghai including lots of sightseeing (probably £1000)
10 days in Beijing to run the Great Wall Marathon (probably £700)
A week in Deng Feng plus weapons and souvenirs (where the Shaolin Temple is) (£1000)
The remaining £2200 was spent on 12 months of extra food and drink, weapons, training clothes, massages, restaurant visits, taxis, buses, alcohol and protein powder. Other expenditure went on things like: supplies from home, sending packages home at Christmas, + once only purchases like a Chinese phone & sim, water bottles, coat hangers etc. Then there are the recurring purchases such as laundry detergent, toilet paper, and all those other consumable items like shower gel and toothpaste.
It's pretty easy to let the expenditure run away if you're not careful.... then again, could you live for a year, be trained by Shaolin Warriors every day, have three holidays and buy all the luxury items you wanted for £9000 in your own country...?!
School review for their website
Like most people when I came to the school I didn’t really know what to expect. I had first been inspired to train in China by the Shaolin production “Wheel of life” that toured Europe in the 1990s. I never imagined that my 1st Master, Master Young, was in the very same production when he was as a child! It is incredible to think that I have been personally trained by the same mysterious Shaolin Warriors from my past!
The training at the school has been second to none, you can not fault the knowledge or skills of the Masters. I am extremely happy with the Shaolin Forms I’ve graded, along with Tai-Chi which I discovered I really enjoy. The training of course can be hard going, physically and mentally. Progress sometimes can seem slow, but looking back I feel like I’ve achieved a lot, and the school really has become my home. I will definitely miss the training and great friends I’ve made over the course of 12 months.
Physically I am in far better shape than when I arrived, I’ve lost 20lbs but more importantly have dropped from 26% body fat to 16%. I am stronger, faster and more flexible than I’ve ever been. Back home the only training I undertook was running, so while I was here I’ve taken the opportunity to run the Great Wall Marathon. Clocking in 20 mile runs on a Saturday was tough, but if you are a runner, I highly recommend taking part in the event while you’re here, the training ground up Shiemen Mountain is perfect!
Mentally I have had the break from Western life I wanted and feel ready to return with a new focus and appreciation of things. I’ve used the free time here to study Buddhism, obtain a TEFL certificate, experience teaching and watch an awful lot of Star Trek and Frasier. I feel I have grown in aspects other than physical, and truly believe my time here will have lasting effects on my life.
Advice for future students:
Think about your goals / aims and make them happen, write them down and have them handy for motivation.
Don’t rush. The Masters know how fast to teach, constantly badgering them to learn the next thing will not be productive for you in the long term.
Plan your dates to account for the weather, try arriving just before winter so your motivation carries you through the cold months.
Attend all the optional classes from day one, otherwise you will end up never going.
Bring a towel.
Budget to schedule in breaks every 3 or so months. Also budget in a trip or two to the Shaolin Temple in Deng Feng, it’s good to see as well as the only place to buy decent weapons.
Install a VPN such as Freegate on your laptop/tablet before you arrive so it's ready when you get here.
Bring protein powder. If you don't use it, you can sell it at the school!
Don't bring winter clothes for training in, buy them cheaply here.
Finally, the Chinese have a very different way of doing things, the school isn’t perfect and is still finding its feet, just go with it and enjoy every moment.
Final thoughts
This is a great school for a short term stay of 6 months or less, if you just want to get fit and learn some Shaolin kungfu forms. Not so great for long term students, or if you are seeking a 'deeper' experience encompassing Buddhism. It's also not the school if you want to focus on one aspect such as Tai-Chi or Wing-Chun. The Masters are all outstanding, just remember they are not Fully Ordained Monks, they are Shaolin Warrior Monks who are no longer bound by the rules of Temple life. Therefore don't be surprised if they act like normal young guys and go out drinking, actually I've only known them to come back a bit tipsy once in the whole time I've been here, very reserved if you ask me.
If you want to train for over 6 months coming here to start off would be an excellent way of finding your feet in China, as it's easy to get to via the bullet train from Beijing or Shanghai. Undoubtedly the school has more western style facilities than training in the middle of nowhere. If I was doing things differently, knowing what I do now, I'd probably plan having 4 months here, 4 months traveling around including training MMA or Muay Thai in Thailand, then come back and finish off with 4 months at a different school in China. I'd probably go home via Thailand for a 10 day meditation / Buddhist retreat too. I've loved my time at the school and it really has become my home, I've made some great friends and I'll definitely miss this place when I get back to Blighty.
Helpful guide!
Thanks, maybe someone planning on going to the school, or another in China, will find it helpful.