A diary from Alina who trained in Shaolin
Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 22:00:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: Alina Gonzalez <alinita320@yahoo.com>
Subject: Alina from China.
My dear friends, this is my itinerary here in Songshan Shaolin Temple Secular Disciple's Union. First of all, I must let you know that I'm very very happy here, even the living conditions are very hard and my body is still aching all the time, it's a great experience and I'm learning a lot. :o) I lost my contact list, please forward to all the friends there, okay?
The school it's just 10 mins. walking from the Shaolin Temple, which is very nice since there are a lot of people visiting it during the day. As a Secular Disciple, u can go freely enter the Shaolin Temple, otherwise you should pay 40 yuan. All the disciples here are wearing the cloths of a secular monk, and they all have Buddhism classes. I found a nice monk and he kindly gave us Buddhism Class, I was very happy since I'm also very interested in Buddhism.
Well, every morning, we must wake up at 5:30 a.m. with the sound of a gong. In 10 mins. you should be ready waiting for your couch, and start running! I run with a group of lovely little kids, and all of them are very kind with me! But also very fast, and u have to run quickly, specially because the couch is there to remind you that with a stick in his hand! The training is very serious here.
After this, we must do the fundamentals of Shaolin Kungfu, and you always give all your attention to the couch. Of course we also make flexibility exercises, and everybody here is flexible! which helps you to keep going. When we hear the sound of the gong again, we must finish and say Amitofut! Break to wash your face, hands and mouth. 7:30 Breakfast: manto (steammed bread) vegetables with some meat. Some students also have milk or some sausages to combine with the manto. I also have yogurt, and sometimes milk.
9:00 Training again! we must run at the sound of 1,1---1,2,1---1,2,3,4---1,2,3,3,4. Fundamentals again, flexibility exercises and while the kids are practising with the sword, I must try to master the fundamentals. I can't describe the pain, but everybody is always asking you to keep going, finally, when I can make the muvement, the little kids give me an applause! and I feel very very happy.
You have a break of 20 mins. from 10:20 to 10:40. then train again... 11:40 to 12:00 YOu have to prepare for your meal, so u can wash your face, because of the sweat u know? go to the toilet, etc. YOu have 30 mins to eat, and from 12:30 to 15:00 you can take your noon rest, and believe me, you're very tired. Even so, u can use this time to wash your clothes, log to the internet, etc.
From 15:00 to 16:20, training again! running, flexibility exercises, fundamentals, jumps and u take a breat of 20 mins. to start again at 16:40, and finish at 17:40 and prepare for your meal from 18:00 to 18:30, after this u can take a nice a little rest and from 19:30 to 20:30 You must learn Buddhism and meditation.
You must be sleeping at 21:00, and believe me, I go to sleep, since I'm very tired, you can't imagine! Kungfu means hard work, and also pain and tears, strenght...
But I can also take a rest by the lake that it's only 2 mins. walking from here, or see thousands of stars in the sky, and the night it's sooooo quite and calm. Every where you go in Shaolin, u can breath the spirit of martial arts, u can also see everybody practising, u can ask anybody to help you, this is very nice, believe me. A lot of little kids always want to take pictures with me, even the couches, so I feel always very very happy. To be an expert in martial arts, u should stay here for only 6 years! hehehehe. Oh! I almost forget, the real Monks of the Shaolin Temple were in this school for a week, since they were making a movie for a Hungarian channel. So I took some pictures, and I played billian pool with them, they also invited me to eat with them, and u can imagine how happy I was! those moments are very valuable for me. Our Shifu, Shi Hen Jun is a very nice Master, he's always asking me if the food is okay, if I feel happy. He took me and the other foreigner boys (1 from Germany and 1 from Spain to see the Abbot of the Temple, yes, Shi Yong Sin himself! Nice experience.
I must finish here, I would like to tell you more, but it's 8:39am and I have to give massage to my legs, and the class is going to begin in 10 mins! and I don't want my coach to be mad about me, okay?
Take care!
Alina,
Heming
Shaolin Secular Disciple's Union,
Shaolin Temple, Mt.Song, Henan 452491, P.R.China
Tel: +86(371)2749172
Fax: +1(212)98143
ICQ#: 17145752
Email: heming@shaolintemple.zzn.com
http://www.topcities.com/Arts/heming/index.htm
http://shaolintemple.yeah.net
I must have misunderstood this..
Heming
Shaolin Secular Disciple's Union,
Shaolin Temple, Mt.Song, Henan 452491, P.R.China
Tel: +86(371)2749172
Fax: +1(212)98143
ICQ#: 17145752
Email: heming@shaolintemple.zzn.com
http://www.topcities.com/Arts/heming/index.htm
http://shaolintemple.yeah.net
That looks like contact info....
I don't mean to insult the school ofcourse, but what a testimonial...
Whoops! Lyle, you're totally right...
For some weird reason, when I first read the article I though Alina was talking about a different school, very strange since I've met Heming and know his allegiance very well. I guess I'm doing my qigong wrong, because my mind is certainly going (oh well, it keeps things fresh.)
A lot of advertising goes on here - after all it's a free forum for all of you. But just keep in mind our real sponsors - click the topmost banner every once in a while so I can pay our bills here. That's a real ad for you, Lyle! ;)
Gene Ching
Asst. Publisher
Kungfu Qigong Magazine & www.KUNGFUmagazine.com
concerning NY monks(gene)
i've been following some of these threads for awhile, and now that i am able to post, i was hoping some of you who are knowledgable can enlighten me.
i may be moving to nyc, and the thought of becoming a pupil of a shaolin monk in manhattan is very alluring.
is shi yanming accepting new students? does he incorporate spiritual enhancements for the kung fu itself? does anyone have information that will allow me to directly contact him or his school?
also the other monk who broke off from flushing, was his information ever posted?
gramercy all. i shall be inquiring much more in due time...
harmonize the forces of heaven, earth, and hell.