January 12th - Some Good News

My Thoughts 🤔 我的想法

Yesterday, I got my visa.
Yesterday, I bought my plane ticket.
Yesterday, I booked my hotel.
Yesterday, this Kung Fu Journey became a reality.

And then more great news, my school can change my visa type so that I can stay longer and have multiple entries into China. This is great. I'm excited, nervous, anxious and happy that this all happened yesterday. Now I have to begin packing my one suitcase and one backpack for an entire year of training... that will be tough.

Now I will leave the 20th and arrive in Shanghai on the 21st. After Chinese New Year I will be heading to Xinyi City. Man, it is finally time to start Kung Fu training. I know that this year will fly by but I want to keep writing and cataloguing what my experience is so that I can look back and remember these things.

Another looming thought is what will I do after this crazy year of training?  I want to continue my training at Qufu Shaolin School or another school but I need a lot of money... a lot more than I originally planned since I am learning from this experience.

Not quite there yet.

Exercise 💪 运动/体育

Today I did some shadow boxing against BOB and I'd like to explain how I normally start my shadow boxing sessions.

I warm up for 10-20 minutes doing various exercises to get my blood flowing then I begin. Setting a timer for 2 minutes I start it and then begin focusing on a single move or combo to practice. Really emphasizing a single aspect. Technique, Speed, Power, Recovery, or Balance. Once the two minutes is over I then stretch for two minutes and maybe do other exercises. After the short rest I continue for two more minutes on BOB. I continue like this until I am gassed or lose focus on my aspects. (Usually 1-2 hours)

This method gets a good sweat going and could be used as a great "pre-sparring" drill if you go to your gym early enough. Could also be a good warm up in itself.

Another thing I'm working on is improving my leg strength/control. I'd like to be able to have a good return from my kicks and be able to comfortably attack at any angle/height needed. I've realized my thigh muscles are weaker than expected so I've been working on static holds and pistol squats to increase their strength. Hopefully this can increase my kick strength as well.

Study 🧠 学习

I thought that I should prepare (again) for how to check in and out of a hotel. This will be a lot of vocabulary to study but it will be worth it to try and use these words to check in.

交流 jiāo liú to exchange, to communicate (动词, Verb)
办理 bàn lǐ to handle, to conduct (动词, Verb)
入住 rù zhù to check in (动词, Verb)
退房 tuì fáng to check out (动词, Verb)
预订 yù dìng to reserve (动词, Verb)
件 jiàn measure word for clothes, luggage, furniture, and general matters (量词, Measure Word)
单人间 Dān rén jiān Single Room
双人间 Shuāng rén jiān Twin/Two Person Room
大床房 Dà chuáng fáng Queen/King Bedroom
海景房 Hǎi jǐng fáng Sea View Room

I hope my Chinese is good enough to check into the hotel and order some food on the phone. We will see!


Trying to improve myself through last minute exercises and study.

What are you all doing this week?

-Johnny ”白武龙"