China ’24 Blog. Part Three: Training

I started what I would call my committed martial arts training around 20 years ago. Within those two decades are two distinct paths.

After initially playing around with different kung fu and kickboxing styles, I settled on White Crane, which I trained with my old instructor. The other ‘branch’ of my training and teaching is Chen tai chi, which I actively sought to learn and I have been lucky enough to train with Master Ping for 5 years now.

For better or worse, I can be a little bit all or nothing in my attitude towards most things and when starting White Crane I trained a lot (a habit I have never got out of really) I would do 15+ hours per week in class, usually more. I would also practice by myself for several hours per week.

(I also had a family and a full time job, so in the nicest possible way whenever I am told that there is not enough time to train, I put it down to an issue of priorities, not time, which is absolutely fine – I don’t ever want or expect to even remotely influence what people want to prioritise in their life, or expect them to do what I did* but there IS always time. 

*unless you want to be an instructor!)

 

When I stopped training with my first instructor, I spent many, many years refining my White Crane practice, at least a decade.

(It’s worthwhile remembering that there always comes a point where you have to focus on improving what you already know before adding more, otherwise it’s really just movement and you don’t get to the essence of what it is that you are learning. I see it as being akin to learning a language by picking up words and not learning enough grammar in which to structure the vocabulary).

I see it as the 10,000 hour rule… which in a round-about way does add up to about ten years of dedicated training. People are often put off by talking about such timeframes but the way I see it, the time is going to pass anyway, it might as well pass as you are also getting really good at something you enjoy and is worthwhile. Otherwise it’s just 10 years of Netflix!

The benefits of a decade of training (even once per week) compared to 10 years of not, is beyond comparison!

 

So, five years ago I started learning with Master Ping and my Chen training has had a similar trajectory to my White Crane. An initial few years of very intense learning, followed by (or which will be followed by) decades of refining and deepening.

(I tend to think in decades when it comes to my training.)

After learning many Chen forms, my practice now is going deeper into theory, principles, and push hands, which would be the predominant theme of the week.

Sam was to have a crash course in a lot of new things but those of you who know him will know how quickly he learns and how dedicated he is to putting his new skills into practice, so he met the challenge with enthusiasm and zeal. Almost as enthusiastically as he ate and napped when given the chance 🙂.

The training each day, Monday – Friday would take place from 10-12pm and then again from 3-5pm. You probably won’t be surprised that I then add another 2-3 hours practice on top each day….. well, I wasn’t really just there for the eating you know! 

We’d begin each session with a short warm up (not so much needed in mid 30 degrees plus high humidity), and then progress with some silk reeling, some forms practice, basic exercises, meditation, before starting our push hands practice.

Tai chi push hands is a partnered exercise, performed with a willing partner, which brings the principles of tai chi to life and allows you to test your skill level by feeling a bit of external power in the form of a push. 

Using good technique, based on the principles of rooting, relaxation, shifting of weight, yielding, deflecting, you are learning to use tai chi as a martial art not based to strength and external power but on skill and internal strength. 

For those who are not particularly interested in the martial side of tai chi and focus their attention on the health benefits (of which there are innumerable) practicing push hands is a good way to test your basics still, as well as greatly improve your  posture, flow and relaxation. 

I had previously learnt most of the increasingly complex routines that we worked on as the week progressed. However, it was great to have Sam and Linda to practice with also, to be able to really consolidate what it is we were learning. I made it clear to Sam that the payback for coming to China with me is that he’s on call 24/7 for push hands practice whenever I want to 🙂.

Tai chi push hands leads into tai chi wrestling, where the objective is to make your opponent lose balance (or sometimes it’s to push your opponent out of an area). You see less of it in the UK but in China there are very regular, and sometimes very big tournaments. It’s the antidote to the “Isn’t tai chi just for old ladies?” comment, bruises down my arm and a fat lip after a tough session with Master Ping is testament to that!

Sam did also have some extra training whilst staying at the school, three of the evenings Master Ping arranged for a local San Da/Kickboxing master to come to the school to teach Sam.

 

I mostly left him to it but from what I saw of the sessions he got through some really tough classes, learnt some new skills/variations on what we do, and got very very hot – as well as receiving some great feedback from the instructor… so watch out next time you are sparring with him, as he’s got some new tools in his toolbox! 

So our days progressed with lots of great training, three delicious home cooked meals, some walks around the village – including one where I almost stepped on a snake. We were carrying a few things up to the school and Sam (way too casually) said, “Mark there’s a snake there”. 

Unfortunately the Paris Olympic trials were a while ago, as I’m sure I could have got onto the long jump team with my leap to get away from the bright green Chinese viper that reared itself up and hissed in my general direction. Carefully moving around it, making sure the box I was carrying was well in the way, we got safely back to the school. When asking if it was poisonous, the reply from the nonplussed locals was “not sure, be careful”.

 

Another reason I love visiting China is that as well as testing my tai chi and push hands progress, I also get to see how my Mandarin is doing. It’s been a while but it’s very rewarding now to be able to speak more to the locals and it makes for a much easier travelling experience in China to be able to speak the language. Not to say that I am fluent but I get by pretty well these days. 

Sadly, the area I go to also has a local dialect, Chaoshan Hua, which is absolutely nothing like Mandarin, so I can still be left in the dark when locals are speaking to each other! I always get private lessons whilst there and Ping put me in touch with a very nice and friendly teacher who came up to the school every day and put me through my paces talking about Chinese and Chaoshan culture. 

Our first few days in China seemed to not go too quickly but as soon as we had settled into a routine at the school, the pace of course quickened. 

Before long we were at the end of our week but not before a final meal, at the same place as we started, so in true Yin/Yang style. we came full circle.

It will be Sam’s birthday soon, so the evening doubled up as Sam’s unofficial birthday party, for which after the meal we returned to the school for a huge cake, candles and two renditions of “Happy Birthday to You”, one in English, the other in Chinese.

 

The next day, we bid our farewells (not for long, I will be back soon) and headed to a town by the coast, called Shantou, for the next part of our China Adventure…