Well hello!

It's only taken me 10 minutes to be able to access the update page. Woohoo!

So what to tell. Lots and lots has happened since I last wrote. This entry may be a bit warped and a little nonsensical. But what's new?

Firstly, there have been some strange lurgies circulating aroun the academy. I am starting to wonder whether I was a carrier of the mysterious bug that struck the parentals. We've hd fluey type things with vomiting, diarrhoea (sp?), chesty coughs and snots ad one guy collapsed twice. It was very dramatic! The Chinese solution to treating foreigners seems to b to put them on a drip, once day for 5 days. I thought they were believers of natural medicines? Or are they just not taking any chances with the Lawai (foreigner)?

We had a grading last Mondy afternoon (delayed due to the hospital trips for the lurgy'd). I didnt have to grade...thamfully, but I got to see some good stuff. THe Manits guys dressed the part and peformed well, and the shaolin folk looked ace too. I took some pics and as soo as I can face it (or as soon as I am permitted), WILL put them up. THink my grading will be around the 5th of April. Eeek.

Supposedly I now know everything that will be required: Basic kicks and punches and the 5 step form as well as front and back sweeps. I will have to put in a lot of extra training though as these moves are so very differnet to what I have learned at Matt Fiddes. So differnet it's untrue. Shaolin seems to be very "showy". The Masters explain the application of the move when they teach it to you...so you can undertand why it might be used. But the way that you demonstrate it wihin a form is to show off and be pretty. It's paramount to dance. Albeit, a lethal dance! Hehe.

I did my first benche presses in the last power training sessin last week. Hehe. Not an exercise I ever really thought I would be partaking in. Pecs aren't really top of my priority list! Maste Wei only made us girlies bench 20KG. I could only do 15 reps the first set, and 16 the nex. But hey...I guess I will improve over time. We did a lot of weights-based training that day. And more inverted planks. I am getting there Dave. I managed to stay up for nearly 2 of the 3 minutes in one go.

I've been doing some extra fitness training too. Stine (Norwegian) and I have aspirations to be able to do proper pull-ups. She is leaving in 3 weeks so we wat to be able to do 5 by then. We do pressups, sit ups and semi-pullups at lunch...this is the plan to get us to the goal! o far, I still can't do any!! I did 3 on my first day, ad o I cant do a single one! Chuh! But the pressups are getting easier. My arms are getting a bit too buff though. I put my t-shirt o to go to dinner last night (the blue one you bought me from Next, Debs) and it was toight around the boi-cep! Aie aie aie!

Also, Evan (American) and I have been doing some eggstra sit-ups after training a I realised my core strength is just not good enough. Everything here is much harder though. The type of press-ups (yes...they make us do them on our fingers and on the back of our wrists! Like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan!), an sit-ups (blimey...where do I start!) and squats...and and and. All just so much harder.Good for that jiggle-bum though. Hehe.I do feel stronger already though. Despite the pain.

Yes, the pain is still there. But I am more bendy! Woohoo! Splits, here I come!

There is lots of buildig work going on here. We trin outide, but there are also halls. Our main hall is currently being converted into a new dining hall...so they have converted a hugemongous one fo us now. It's like an aircraft carrier! Mahussive! But uber dusty. I'll be sounding as throaty as Dot Cotton soon. Hehe.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I got out of the mountain run in the most elaborate way last week. On the lonnnnnnnng ad mission-of-a-journey up there, I had a run in with a hidden pitchfork. It won and I bled and gained a new hole in my leg. Nice. It's going to look particularly tasty with the bridesmai dress Mai. Yummy! Hmph. It's not terrible, but i was pissed orf, cos I had remembered to take my iPod with me and was going to really give the running a run for it's money! Insead I had to go back and clean it (as the air smelled of manure...God-knows what type though as there is NO cattle around here...so i can only think of Human excrement...yum) and then get a tetanus jab in my ass. Yep...I had to get my booty out infront of about 6 people: the "nurse", the interpreer, a random man and lady in the "clinic" smoking cigarettes, and 2 or 3 local children. The latter were apparently asking why I wasnt crying. To which I replied simply: " Because I am a martial artiste". Hehe. No need to claim on my insurance, cos I used my own needles and the innoculation cos me a whole 60p. Teehee. Btter to be safe than sorry ay?

That meant no nekked spa for me that night, but I made up for it this Friay goe and gave meself a proper scrub. You feel o clean when you come out of there. Even my nails finally get clean...and THAT is a feat, believe you me! This ime, I didnt get stared at quite so much. Either that, or I am just getting used to it. A lady did try talking to me, whilst I was sat waiting for a shower though. I found this a little uncomfortable, considering I was starkers and couldn't understand a word she was saying. I just smiled and said "Wo (...) Ying guo ren". (which is only half of the sentence which says I am English Country person...so it probably didnt make sense!).

I also went to the tailor with Sarah to order some kungfu trousers, which I am currenty sporting. That was an interesting challenge. I wasnt sure quite wat he would end up making for me! But it turns out we managed to communicate alright...cos I havent got a skirt or a tutu.

That same day I had to use a toilet other than the one at the academy. Ooooer. Dnt ever do it. They made the overflowing portaloos and the longdrops at Glastonbury look palacial. It's all character building though, isn't it?

I also purhcased a 2nd Chinese sim during a powercut. It was a gloriou day outside, but as soon as I got in the long,deep shop, it bcame clear there was no electricity cos it was all ut pitch black. Ity's kind of unnerving because there are literally hundreds of staff (EVERYONE has a job here) hanging around at the end of each aisle in groups of 2 or 3, chatting away. When you get near they realise you are a foreigner and just stare at you (in the half light). But when you get to the sectio you need, they are very very helpful. Anyone who knows any eglish wants to practise it with you. They are very nice people. But I 'll never forget the eeriness of the dark sotre. Plain weird man.

I have received mail! Thank you Fairy Godmother and Kim!

It takes 2 weeks, but should anyone fancy writing a letter or anything at all ;) feel free!

Address as follows:

Me

Kunyu Mountain Shaolin Martial Arts Academy

Muping District

Yantai City

Shandon Province

China

264100

I am going to try to copy the chinese address from www.chinashaolins.com. It mightnt be a bad idea to print this and put it adjacent to the western address...just incase. It might speed up any deliveries:

*Chinese address:
昆嵛山少林武术学院
中国山东省烟台市牟平区

Ialso have a Chinese telephone number if anybody gets cheap international calls and fancies a chat:

0086 130 125 86 221

I keep my UK sim in unless I leave the academy or am expecting a call. If you want to speak, the best thing to do is to text my UK number to arrange a time: 07900 986 930. We are 8 hours ahead here, so the best time is of a weekend between 8 and 9 am UK time.

What else to tell...Ooh...I am learning the Tombay (sp?) form...whaich is pretty cool. Dont know how to explain it, but it's got quite a few teps, with lots of kicks and punches and some noises(!!! Yay!!!).

We also did takedowns last week. I thought, with the rugby experience, that I would be OK at this. But I was pants. Hehe. But it was fun anyway.

Oh! And I did a backflip last tues!!! 2 actually.

Well...I was much aided by Master and Steve, who held my trousers and span me around! But neverless...I flipped backwards. Pretty cool. I can do cartwheels again and backwards rolls and jumping this and that. Need to work on handstands that turn into forward rolls...am not so good at those. We have acrobatics tomorrow. Hopefully my joints will hold out (v v painful) so I can learn some more cool stuff. It's quite scary though as Master expects you to do some crazy stunts a brekneck speed and high heights, even if you are new. Sometimes I just opt out so as to keep my neck intact. Hehe. (Though, Misses Horrocks, Hawkins and Fisher, you can tell our examiner that I am trying to do everything they ask. It's just with the acrobatics that I sometimes wuss out).

We have also learned how to do a release from a hair-grab...v useful! And another release from someone grabbing your clothing. Tres iteresting. THough when master is demonstrating, he doesnt really understand how to be gentle. These guys are so small, but soooo powerful. It's almost mystical. Well...it's not...it's their chi and conditioning...but it seems almost impossible at times. And they can literally fly!

Right, Must go to bed...Wnt to get up for taichi and Chigung tomorrow.

Thanks again for all your post and facebook messages and texts and mail! I still like the inventive names, but some of them I just can't fathom...can you let me know who you are? (either put in your email, or sign your real names at the bottom)...some of them are big riddles to me!

Thank you again.

Lots of love,

Tasha-Louise

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