August 30th - Quiet School, Sore Legs

This place does look nice at times

Coming and Going ~

The time at Maling Shaolin Kung Fu School is coming to an end. Everyone is now back, JD, Josh, Matt, Philip and I but everyone is planning on leaving in the next month... except me. Josh is the first to go, he leaves tomorrow for Shanghai and then supposedly leaves on the 11th for his home of Australia. The others will be leaving in October for Kunming. It's kinda sad, we all finally come back just for us to pack the rest of our stuff and go. I still have a few months to go of solo training before I head back to America in January. 

I've talked to Master Peng about what it will be like with just me and him. He said it won't change, it will just be like before. I'm not so sure about that but we will see. I asked him if we could spent the next few months finishing what I've been learning: Rope Dart, Plum Blossom Sword, and 大洪拳. He said yes to everything but 大洪拳, which is a longer and complex form with a lot of usefulness if trained correctly. It's also one of the "most Shaolin" forms out there.

螺蛳粉, Spicy River Snail Noodles

Mental Challenge, Future Plans ~

The next few months will be a mental and physical challenge for me so I'm using this month to prepare. The other students are giving me things they don't want or need anymore and I'm learning weight lifting from JD so that I can continue power training once they're all gone. Among the things they've given me are protein powder, instant noodles, Creatine powder, milk, teas, and more. Not going to lie, taking the protein shake has helped my sore muscles from this first week of training recover quite quickly. I know I won't become "super Johnny" from this but I'm hoping to get a little bit stronger from my added weight lifting.

Wang Zhuang, a small village in China

Weekend ~

This weekend has been fun and relaxing. We went to Wang Zhuang to eat some good food like dumplings, river snail noodles, duck legs and milkshakes. Pineapple is still there and making wonderful drinks like coffees and milk teas. Although I could compare this area to Midwestern USA (meaning in the middle of nowhere) I will miss it. The small shops and people that we met here were cool spots to be at. Wang Zhuang has always been our place to get away from the school's food and even after coming back from Shanghai the food in Wang Zhuang is still good. I never regret the way-to-full stomach feeling I get there.

For now, its Sunday. My time to rest my body and prepare for the new week of training and challenges.

I hope you all are having a good week.

Keep following your happiness!