4 months January 29th,2008-May 29th,2008

John Evan Feeley (America)

Much like many of the students I have talked to, I was unsure of what to expect when I arrived at the academy. But I was made to feel right at home by the translators, students and on-duty master; Wang shifu who turned out to be my Shaolin master.

When I first arrived I found that the nights were cold and I had to sleep in a warm top in bed. However I found the rooms to be comfortable enough to get the rest I needed after training and prepare my body for the next day.

At first, I couldn’t get used to the food here, but now the meals have improved a lot and the addition of fresh lettuce and water melon to the menu has been greatly appreciated. I do understand how difficult it must be for the kitchen staff to please everyone and want to thank them
for all their efforts.

Food aside, my stay here at the academy has been thoroughly enjoyable and has taught me a lot. I put most of this down to master Wang. In training he pushed me hard and has improved my fitness, strength, power and most importantly my confidence in myself.

Before training began I had resonations about Sanda in particular, not having done anything similar beforehand; but after practicing the basics I began doing some semi-contact exercises so I could get used to knocks and bumps. After about 6 weeks I did some full contact exercises and really started to get into Sanda so much so that I participated in a sparring match with a fellow student, which I really enjoyed.

I really wish I could stay longer to learn more from master Wang because he has so much knowledge and experience. I am already planning my next visit and look forward to being in master Wang class again.

Email: john_e_feeley@yahoo.com

　　　　　　　　　　　　　2 months July 5th,2008-August 31th,2008

Iain Andrew(UK)英国  (returning student)

I am writing this because I am leaving the academy but this is only because I am running out of money.

I would recommend this academy to anyone even if they have never done martial arts before. It is not all about the fighting, what I enjoyed was coming to learn the characteristics of other fighting styles and learning how to practice Qigong. I also found that it is impossible to stay here without knowing any Chinese because you always have to buy something necessary by yourselves at a marketplace.

I only stayed here for two months and I feel like I achieved so much. The first few weeks were hard but after I got into the routine the days seemed to fly by.

Training was hard but you knew you were working hard and I saw results within the first week. I was very proud to train under my master who helped me to further my understanding of soft martial arts and the development of qi as well as how to train myself to increase my power and flexibility. Master Guo was also kind enough to give me extra Baji classes so I could finish my form.

When, not if, I return I will be excited to further study Baji and to understand its mixture of internal and external power. I look forward to studying under Master Guo again who introduced me to my new favorite martial arts.