Background:
Hii, my name is Sunanda, and I come from an incredibly diverse and beautiful country called India. Starting off, China had never been on my bucket list, so when I came across information about the Qufu Shaolin Kung Fu School, I got intrigued and eventually, things took a massive turnaround. I grew up watching many Shaolin movies and had always wished to try it someday and that is how my tryst with this journey started. After multiple email exchanges with Joy, to which she patiently and graciously replied, and back and forth conversations with existing students, my decision became resolute.
My experience has been simply ineffable. Being a novice in martial arts, I had felt varied emotions, nervousness and excitement topping them. I didn’t know if I was up for it, but I knew it undoubtedly that this was something I wanted to do and voila, months later and a couple of challenges later, I landed in the country of red dragon - China. Although I wanted to stay longer, since I got only an L-tourist visa, I could apply only for a month to the school. However, with the administration's timely and diligent help, I got to extend my visa twice, making my overall stay for a period of 2.5 months at the school.

Location | Training with Shifus | Students | Accommodation | Food | Ancillary:

Location:
The school is situated by the Shimen Mountain, making it a location that’s a little far from the actual Qufu town/ market. Apart from the university nearby and a couple of restaurants and shops (that also house billiards and mahjong play), there’s not much, and this simplicity makes the experience even more profound.

Training with Shifus:
Being a novice, I approached the training and the entire experience from a learner perspective, which meant that even if some days were harder than the others, the discomfort seemed insignificant. I was amazed to see people from different age groups join and train together, which broke my myth. Kung Fu, indeed, is for all. Moreover, the training had been designed in an accommodative manner, thus making it encouraging and not so overwhelming.

I had the privilege to primarily train under 3 shifus - Wei Shifu, Zhang Shifu and Liu Shifu. On occasions, we also had other masters teach us. All shifus are unique and immensely passionate about their teaching. Each of them have their own style, own method of teaching, own approach towards execution, thereby making it a wholesome experience, with a multitude of opportunities to learn both on and off training from them. In my limited time here, I didn’t just progress on physical training, but also progressed on understanding its philosophy as a way of life.

Students:
Being an Indian, the Chinese culture didn’t come off as surprising. In fact, there are so many similarities in our cultures that I almost felt at home immediately. However, since the school housed students from different parts of the world (as my friend would joke, “it's literally the United Nations out here"), there was so much that we learnt and exchanged with each other, both during and outside training hours. The overall atmosphere at the school is amiable, and students are ever ready to help and guide. In fact, such an approach is encouraged. During my time here, I’ve made some wonderful friends with whom I share a deep bond. There are also Chinese students who follow a different training schedule. They’re very skilled, hardworking and helpful even. It was lovely interacting and exchanging learnings with them.

Accommodation:
Overall, the rooms are decent enough with adequate facilities that a person might need and it's the student’s responsibility to maintain the cleanliness of their rooms. During warm periods, friendly visits from insects are expected. Apart from this, laundry facilities are available at disposal.

Food:
Being a vegetarian, food was a major aspect of consideration for me before applying. Although initially it was challenging, however, with time and with the school's due understanding and consideration of diverse vegetarian needs of students, a separate table was given to us. The cooking staff were simply amazing and did their best in ensuring that we had good wholesome food. The diet has been curated as per the training and remains more or less the same during the week with some changes during special occasions.

Many students visit nearby restaurants or go to the main market in Qufu during the weekends to have a change of taste or view. Vegetarian options, unfortunately, remain less there too and thus, if you’re a vegetarian, then I’d suggest you to get a few goodies from back home or you can simply order online once you get here.

Ancillary:
The school also offers Chinese Language, Chinese Traditional Medicine and Calligraphy lessons that are optional for students. Each of these lessons help us dive deeper and experience the different facets of Chinese culture. Language lessons, especially, come in handy while moving around or interacting with the locals. A special mention of gratitude to Liu Shifu, Maggie and Eva for the above classes. On occasions, the school also organizes trips or outings for students. These trips don’t just give a break but also offer an insight into the different shades of China. During my stay, we had a day trip to a nearby city and also got an opportunity to perform at the university close to the school.

Just as any entity, the school has its areas of positives and improvements. The fact that feedback is encouraged, heard, and addressed to, makes it a mutually progressing experience. For me, overall experience was wholesome and holistic. I didn’t just experience Shaolin Kung Fu, but I was able to absorb, connect and live the culture, which made the experience invaluable! I’m leaving with the hopes of coming back soon and this time for a longer duration. As a receiver of timely help from past and existing students, I know how much of a difference it can make to be able to converse and therefore, if you’re someone who’s contemplating on this decision and wish to speak to a student, you can connect with me (you can get my details from Joy).