Length of Training: 6 months, February - August 2008

I first trained with Wei Sifu (Master Shi Yan Jia) during the summer of 2007. When I started I had next to no martial arts experience, and though I had been active most of my life, I was also no athlete. I was quite nervous about the physical demands of the kung fu training and wondered if I was getting in over my head jumping in and learning for the first time this complex art in China.

Justified was my initial apprehension because I soon found out the training was without a doubt demanding and tough. I was asking my body to move in ways it never had. But training with Wei Sifu was exactly the kind of challenge I was looking for. There are no words to describe how Wei Sifu moves other than at lightning speed, immense power, and with surgical moves. Only a video can capture his fierce quality and intensity. He challenged me and always pushed me to do my best every day. His standards never compromised and he would only allow students to be graded on their forms only if he felt they were ready and to his standards.

Life at the academy was the simple life at it's best. Monday through Friday life centered around training. The day started at 6 am for Tai Chi / Qigong before breakfast at 7, and then the start of the first of three training sessions at 8 through 5 pm with a long lunch break. In the beginning especially I was in bed by 9 pm as my body was so sore and I felt that I earned a good night's sleep. It's the kind of place where you earn every moment of rest and parcel of food.

When I first started training with Wei Sifu I planned on staying on for only three weeks. The challenge of the training got in my blood so much that I extended my stay to two months. And a year later, I returned to China specifically to train with Wei Sifu for another two months. Wei Sifu is not only a superb sifu, he is a rare find and an exceedingly honorable man. I miss training with Wei Sifu everyday, and hope to to have the honor of training with him again one day!