Simply put, my past 7 weeks at the Qufu Shaolin Kungfu School have been amazing. Every single day was awesome, and I remember telling myself that at the end of each one. This entire experience has been one of the best of my life. With my master's encouraging word, and help from my classmates, I was able to keep pushing past the pain and train harder. Now, after nearly 2 months, I still get sore, but the pain is manageable. My muscles are stronger and more flexible, and I have grown to enjoy sleeping on a hard mattress. It just took some time to get here.

The training itself was awesome. I ended every class feeling great, albeit a bit tired. But not a single class passed that was not amazing. It is amazing to experience happiness and contentment every day of the week, all day long,when being used to the stresses of everyday living and the rat race at home.

Waking up at 5:45 every day to practice and learn Tai Chi was an excellent way to start every morning. Even if I woke up exhausted from the previous day's training, which was usually the case, I would feel happy and energized after an hour of Tai Chi. It is definitely something that I will continue to do at home.

My master, Zhang Shifu (Master Shi Xing Lin), is a true master in every sense of the word. He is always friendly, calm, and collected. I can tell that he truly loves teaching Shaolin Kungfu, and that it is his passion. He always came up with new lessons and games to keep us stimulates. I learned so much from him in my 7 weeks here that I don't know where to begin. He spoke often of having virtue and being hardworking, and he really personifies these thing.

When I first met him, I wondered what if would be like needing a translator in order to communicate. That changed quickly, during my first lesson. A lot of the time, translations were not even needed. Zhang shifu is such a good teacher that I understood his explanations just by his tone, facial expressions and body language. It is really amazing to learn from somebody who posseses such skill and passion.

The students here are great, too. It is refreshing to be in a place with all like-minded people.

It is easy to make friends, because everybody here shares two things in common: a passion for kungfu and a passion for traveling. I made some great friends here from all over the world, and will keep in touch with many of them.

These 7 weeks changed me for the better in more ways than I can count. I plan on continuing to practice at home everything that I learned here, and to keep improving my physical and mental well-being. I will always be grateful for this amazing experience, and I will never forget the hard training, the great teachers, and the good friends that all sum up my trip here.

Email address: dmfinkel84@gmail.com