I Want to Go to China to Study Martial Arts
People's republic of china awaits! The Great Wall; steamed dumplings, Shaolin monks and Qingdao beer. Already your mind is racing with wild expectations. All the same, before yous leave habitation, call back this is a chance to immerse yourself in a foreign new culture. This is not just whatever trip. This is a journey! By Studying Martial Arts yous will interact with local communities more deeply than a traveler passing through.
Whether you lot experience a civilization shock or not, there will be moments when you realize y'all're doing something "wrong".It might exist small things like explaining you lot're learning to slumber (Shuì jiào)instead of Chinese Wrestling (Shuāijiāo) or raising your glass higher than your elders when toasting. Then of course there are the obvious blunders like behaving like an ass on weekends away from your kung fu school or incessantly bitching about the fact things aren't the same as they are back home.
China is a country made up of 22 provinces and 56 ethnic minority groups many of which have very different cultures, languages, dialects, customs and peoples. Information technology has a population equivalent to the population of N America, South America, Australia, New Zealand and all of Western Europe combined. Its bigger than an entire continent, so its not surprising that its developed differently to other counties you lot may exist more accustomed to.
Each province and city will have its own speciality that you'll learn along the way. You'll brand mistakes and discoveries but its all function of learning, but there are some no-no's that foreigners before you lot have ordinarily committed. Learn from their blunders and avoid these mutual mistakes made by foreign martial arts students who caput of to study martial arts in Cathay month subsequently month, year after year.
1. Not making the most of National Holidays and Weekends
In guild to make the nigh of your weekends and time off from training y'all'll demand to put a plan together. Spending a little time at the local bathing center on the weekend can be a welcome treat allowing the body residuum and recuperation. However, there is a singled-out deviation between the mighty Roman gladiator and spending hours plodding effectually in the nighttime similar the walking dead.
If you want to sight see or travel, tickets need to exist purchased in advance, planning and training is the key. As volition be your willingness to travel alongside millions of other travelers. Last years golden calendar week saw half a billion Chinese make diverse trips and journeys. That'southward a lot of pot noodles and craven feet, so don't underestimate the need to program ahead. The Travel China Guide has always been very helpful for trip planning and site seeing information. Hither yous'll find The Chinese Public Vacation Agenda for 2015-2017.
"Last years gold calendar week saw half a billion Chinese make diverse trips and journeys"
1 of the best things virtually the school consultation offered through Study Martial Arts is the travel advice and support you can get. It will help you become the most out of sight seeing opportunities both near and far. Plus its all expert stuff and FREE for SMA members and those who have booked their feel through StudyMartialArts.Org.
2. Bold You Tin't Get By on the Nuts
Does everyone speak English? No. Do a lot? Yes. The number of English language language learners in China has risen over the past decade. In tourist areas and capitals, its easier to find English speakers, simply y'all shouldn't look it. Beingness open up friendly, smiling, and using gestures also every bit interesting ways to get your message across in a friendly way will do wonders for yous. When I first arrived in China many of my friends who had much more than feel speaking the language than me would exist amazed at how well I would do with the virtually basic of Chinese. The simply departure was my playful disposition and imagination. 9 out of ten times I would not only go what I wanted but often become much more than in render. This ranged from free lifts, meals, KTV invites and of course lasting friendships.Care for English like a welcome surprise, if you discover it be happy, only if you lot don't remember there was no promise it would exist given to you anyway. Remember not to brand your martial arts adventure in Mainland china a duplicate of your life in Europe or the U.s.a. etc.
At the onetime don't presume no one speaks English either. There are approximately 400 million English learners in China so information technology shouldn't be used as a language to insult people stealthily. English language comprehension is often much higher than speaking power due to shyness and how the language is taught.
If you want to become a head start on your language learning the SMA Welcome pack offers students who volume through StudyMartialArts.Org $400 usd worth of language learning and martial arts materials pre-trip all at no cost!
iii. Drinking the Wrong Way
You owe information technology to yourself not to be the drunken foreigner and more importantly the incorrect type of drunken foreigner and let yourself downwardly. Remember the purpose of your journey. Heavy drinking won't help you lot reach your aims and objectives and may cause you, your hosts or school and Shifu to loose face up (embarrassment).
Drinking in China and smoking is common place. With cheap alcohol and cigarettes everywhere, this is not the best place to run away to if you want to change these bad habits. This must start at home.
Almost social drinking in Mainland china is primarily associated with eating. Most drinking takes place around the dinner tabular array and meals every bit a mode to cement relationships and do concern. Every bit a topic this subject could easily have its own web log entry only that will be a story for some other day.
Hither are my meridian five tips for surviving drinking in Prc in brief.
1. Showing respect when drinking is probably one of the kickoff things someone will explain to you. When drinking tea or when drinking booze with a superior clink your loving cup/glass lower. Its super simple and easy to think. Just its much appreciated by your elders, fellow guests, shifu's. The remainder of the customs and rules need not be learnt straight away and are things y'all'll pick up on or learn as yous go. As a foreigner you'll not be expected to know them or everything.
2. When inviting or beingness invited out for dinner or meals in Communist china. The standard rule of thumb is usually the inviter pays unless stated otherwise.
3. When drinking follow the lead of others at the tabular array in terms of speed quantity and times. Whatever you practice avoid mixing baijiu and beer. Y'all should remember drinking in China can start very slowly but in one case the individual toasting starts it can be rapid and all those small cups will start catching up on you lot particularly if you've insisted on drinking out of turn.
4. If you don't desire to drink have an excuse prepared in advance or warn your host of this. Excuses related to health tend to be the best. Having tried many over the years these where all-time received past hosts and guests. If you're not going to be drinking much but still want to show respect take tea ready in your cup and don't empty the cup (ganbie) simply potable as y'all wish (suiyi).
v. Swallow, swallow and eat. Testify appreciation and exist a skillful guest.
4. Declining to Address People Properly
In Red china much of how you lot address or interact with someone will depend on your relationship to that person. Just like the rituals associated with drinking and food, failing to address people properly tin be a hinderance to edifice good relationships, gaining favor or simply getting the information you desire. The physiological fact is that when y'all commencement calling people auntie, uncle, brother or sis you should in almost cases have the inclination to treating each other better and like family. This is skillful news if yous join a good kung fu family unit.
Here are the most mutual ways to accost people that are not direct related to blood relationships and tin can be applied by and large.
Auntie (阿姨 a-yi) given to whatever adult female effectually the historic period of your ain female parent.
Uncle (叔叔 burke) given to any man around the age of your own begetter.
Big brother ( 大哥 da-ge) given to whatsoever male older than you lot.
Little brother ( 弟弟 di-di) given to any male younger than yous.
Big sister (大姐 da-jie) given to any female person older than you.
Footling sis (小妹 xiao-mei／妹妹mei-mei) given to any female younger than you lot.
Grandma (老奶奶 lao- nainai／老婆婆lao-popo) given to any female around the historic period of your own grandmother.
Grandpa (老爷爷lao-yeye/ 老公公lao-gonggong) given to whatever male person around the historic period of your own granddaddy
Instructor
| 老師 | 老师 | lǎoshī | Instructor | "Laoshi" may sometimes be used as a polite reference to a more highly educated person, who may not necessarily be a teacher. |
Master
| 師父 | 师父 | shīfù | Master | See Sifu for further data. |
| 師傅 （skilled worker） | 师 傅 | shīfù | Master | See Sifu for further data. |
Driver (司机si ji)General term for a taxi or bus commuter.
Buddy (哥们儿ge men er)A term used betwixt men when beingness friendly
Beautiful girl (美女mei nv) Often used when addressing young women who work in the service industry.
Mr (先生xian sheng)
Ms (小姐xiao jie)
Mrs (女士nv shi)
Thankfully the full general terms above is likely to more than than enough to help y'all get past 24-hour interval to day. If all the same, you lot'd like to larn more than you can watch this short video highlighting the staggering amount of dissimilar words for family members in Prc.
v. Non Making the Nearly out of People's republic of china'due south Vast Bus & Train Network
China has an abundance of travel options for the intrepid martial arts traveller. From low budget airfares to loftier speed trains, autobus services and dull trains.
Elong and Ctrip are two of the best airline ticketing companies in Communist china. Both companies handle domestic and international flights and their websites are easy to use. Ofttimes it's going to exist worth comparing domestic flying prices with high speed train tickets equally they are pretty competitive in comparison to the high speed trains. The cheapest way to travel is normally by long distant motorbus and depending on the journeying can often exist faster than long afar trains.
"If you desire to purchase a ticket travel or book into a hotel you lot'll demand your passport."
If you exercise choose to travel by train you tin can easily pick up tickets from one of the many ticket offices near stations or dotted around cities. Simply search online for information and go prepared with train numbers, dates and useful phrases.
Traveling overnight past train tin can be both fun and enjoyable. If you've got money to spend go for the soft sleeper. Soft sleepers are (4 birth cabins) and idea in a grouping of 4. If their are non available or yous are on a budget then the hard sleeper volition practise (6 birth cabin).
Seated or standing options for long journeys is something you'll want to avoid. It will be an experience but information technology usually doesn't make for a fun journey. If you've no other selection and at that place are no tickets left you can often ask to be upgraded. So employ your relationship building skills with the conductors and service staff to gain favor.
Every bit an culling when no seats are bachelor the dinning automobile tin can offer some welcome balance, nevertheless you will be obliged to buy overpriced food and drink throughout the journey if you wish to remain in the seat.
The concluding option of course is to bring your own stool and tea flask similar the seasoned local traveler you are becoming. Annotation: Definitely bring your tea and flask.
For both trains and buses you should plan to be at the stations 30-xl minutes earlier they leave. With stations being so big , walking time, confusion and queues mean you're likely to miss the railroad train if you cut it too fine. Virtually chiefly, if you want to buy a ticket travel or book into a hotel you'll need your passport.
Here'due south a more in-depth commodity on all y'all need to know most buying and using train and bus tickets in China.
half-dozen. Not Making the Most out of the Cheap Internal Flights
China has ii great, reliable budget air travel companies. These are Ctrip and elong. Both have English website versions and don't accuse foreigner site users more for flight purchases. The only downside is that they no-longer offer their cash and delivery service, purchases must now exist made past credit card.
And then programme your internal flights ahead of fourth dimension. Cheque for deals and book well in advance of Chinese holidays. If you follow these rules it could exist that flying will be very competitive in comparison to purchasing train tickets when you consider the potential time you might lose during transit, money spent while traveling and of class the convenience of airplane travel.
7. Clinging to Western Comforts and Society likewise as Westerners themselves and Not Embracing your New Found Freedom.
Martial arts students in People's republic of china accept a much wider range of opportunity than tourists. You not only have a existent run a risk to experience another civilization. You have a risk to go out whatever previous cultural trappings and personal luggage behind y'all and outset afresh. Affectively, you tin drop out of both western and the mod Chinese rat race and return to a simpler way of life without the negative influences of glory, trash tv, news or politics. After all you lot are paying for the opportunity to alive a unique manner of life and train. Don't waste that opportunity by hanging out every residuum period online or past spending fourth dimension with westerners who are a negative influence, but because they are western and familiar.
Tourists come to People's republic of china to see the sites, but you are a martial arts student. You take specifically come up to learn kung fu in Mainland china! Y'all have signed up to experience a way of life that allows yous the space and fourth dimension to train martial arts day in mean solar day out. I of the side benefits of this training is that you volition exist able to find the infinite and time to breath literally and metaphorically. You lot can't do this if yous seek every trapping and convenience from the West that you left behind.
Studying martial arts in People's republic of china offers you a much wider range of opportunity than many other potential action. You lot tin discover not only the existent Cathay simply more chiefly the existent yous. Don't waste this by clinging to familiar crutches.
"StudyMartialArts.Org will even pay their SMA students for articles."
Whether your reasons for coming to China have been to written report martial arts or simply for travel and adventure. The fact you decided to become a martial arts student changed all that. Your focus for the time you are at the school should be mastery and reaching new levels of skill, whatever they mayhap. This is the reason you became a educatee, not making training your priority defeats the purpose and is annoying to the students who are doing just that. Your beliefs has the potential to exist either positive or negative. Students with a lack of discipline or demonstrating a lack of try aren't likely to exist warmly welcomed. So if you're not truly dedicated become ready to get the cold shoulder from the long-term students in your class. Skill level is not as important every bit attitude.
In short.
1. Focus on your training nothing else matters. It's your priority now, so train difficult and be honest with yourself.
2. Driblet negative influences and old crutches.
3. Don't spend longer than you lot have to on Facebook or social networks. Keep it to an hour or two max and at the weekend.
4. Leave news, politics, opinions and celebrity to others. Drib all negative influences and only keep what is essential.
five. Pick upward a good book, you know the ones yous've been planning to read and never have. Begin studying and focus on your own mind, trunk and spirit.
6. If yous feel inspired write and journal your progress. This volition allow y'all to continue rails of your progress and your discoveries. If what you're writing is skilful and you have a story to tell world wide web.StudyMartialArts.Org will even pay their SMA students for articles!
viii. Not Practicing Your Foreign Linguistic communication Skills
Peradventure function of the experience for yous is learning the linguistic communication. You've spent months in grooming using the free language learning resources from SMA or you lot're taking classes for Studying Chinese and preparation to actuallyuse it, only now you hear it everywhere you're too intimidated to use it. The biggest mistake would exist letting all the work become to waste matter because yous're shy. Another big error would be thinking that the Chinese linguistic communication classes at the kung fu schools will be of any real assistance. Commonly, these classes offer a token introduction and are not structured. The quality is generally depression and is interrupted past new arrivals. My advice is to make the most out of the SMA language resources. SMA provides language learning materials for our students that really work. Some are costless and some we volition society in advance of your arrival at the school. Which means that when y'all arrive you volition have a HKS (Official Hanban language learning materials). These include a text book, workbook and accompanying sound CD'south. Here is the StudyMartialArts.Org list of Kung fu Schools and Universities in People's republic of china that really tin can provide students a quality martial arts and Chinese linguistic communication learning experience.
If you're in a country where the language interests y'all, you are in the most platonic classroom and accept total reward of it. Whether it feels scary or not, accept every opportunity to practice. Here are v Hacks for Learning a Language Abroad, even eavesdropping on stranger'south conversations is an opportunity to larn something new and test your linguistic communication skills!
nine. Forgetting the RMB has a Value
Sound strange? Recollect again. Equally a previous long term martial arts educatee and now resident I have to admit I get tired of having to haggle. Nevertheless, this is unavoidable, therefore information technology'due south important to know the value of your coin and what things cost not in comparison to your corresponding state merely in terms of the cost in China. When fresh faced martial arts students get in at a kung fu schoolhouse your get-go task when outside the school will be paying for things and learning the subtleties of a practiced haggle. If you lot've got the correct attitude your swain kung fu brothers and sisters at the school volition help proceed y'all right.
Foreigners in China getting ripped off or paying over the odds for things is not a new phoneme. Don't reenforce that through ignorance or lack of care, later all yous may have lots of coin or might only be there for a short fourth dimension just others at the school will exist at that place for longer and on budgets. Don't make that harder for them by allowing yourself to be taken for a ride or paying silly prices for essential items in and around the school.
10. Handing Over Responsibility for Your Own Learning
Ultimately you lot must be mature enough to take responsibleness for your own learning, development and progression. Yes you are paying tuition and you will be taught, however without hard work (kung fu) you volition get picayune in return. The most of import aspects of any martial fine art training is in the evolution of the foundation. The bitter pill of training, overcoming pain, repetition and colorlessness through persistence. This is upwards to you and can't be put on anyone else.
"The most important aspect of any martial arts preparation is in the development of the foundation".
If you've decided to study martial arts in China, you will make a few mistakes. Don't permit this scare you lot off though. Instead, remember y'all chose this journey for a reason, andmake sure to take total reward of the opportunities. Immerse yourself in your study and the feel and grow with each fault.
When you lot do mess up, you might not know why right abroad, so inquire your martial brothers and sisters, locals or friends and when you expect back, y'all'll probably laugh when you remember the wrong things yous said or did!
It'southward non near how many times you fall its about how many times you dust yourself off and pick yourself up!
Source: https://smabloggers.com/2015/02/24/10-mistakes-foreign-martial-arts-students-make-in-china/
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