1 year January 2nd, 2007-December 21, 2007.

Gunnar Sandaker

In the first week of January ‘07 I arrived at the academy without experience in martial arts. This evening I am leaving this place I call home, Kunyu Mountain Martial Arts Academy and going back to Oslo, Norway.

After my first day of training here I fell asleep 3 times while trying to write one page in my diary. On my third day I wrote that I don’t recall ever being in so much pain. And so I realize my body must have changed since then. I am no longer sore after workouts; I’m rarely tired or fatigued. The training we do here will improve general fitness and especially the body’s ability to recover quickly. There are so many aspects in which one improves when training to be a martial artist. It is a lot more than just strength and endurance. Conditioning the body to withstand strikes without bruising or breaking, building the reflexes to react to an attack, and the speed to counter. Learning to see openings in your opponent’s defenses and understanding how to exploit them.

Among the students I have trained with I have made many good friends from different parts of the world. Some of the students also have incredible knowledge about training, nutrition and health. The masters here are some of the best in the country and they really work hard to teach the things we want to learn. Everything is in place to create the best training environment; the only thing you need to bring is motivation.

In my time here I practiced tai chi before breakfast, shaolin forms in the morning and sanda in the afternoon. In addition I did one short workout every lunch and 3 running sessions every week. On the weekends I often went out for a cheap meal in the market and picked up some fruits and nuts for the coming week. Strangely the weekdays seem to disappear in rapid succession, and new weekends seem to appear more often than in the west.

I have learned Yang style tai chi 24 step, 42 step, dao (broadsword), and only just started learning Chen-style 22 step. In shaolin I learned about 9 forms including a southern fist and a double broadsword form. I also learned 2 two person forms (fixed sparring) and 2 group forms. Sanda skills are difficult to measure; I can say I’ve learned enough to feel comfortable in sparring with other students. I’ve also been introduced to the basics of Bagua and Baji.

I feel this has been the most important year of my life and it has been a pleasure.

If you are considering going to China, stop considering and start planning.