News

September 1, 2010 - Jackie Chan and One Year of Training

 

It has certainly been some time since the website has seen any news or updates, but this month was quite busy with an unexpected 2 weeks of training for a performance with Jackie Chan in Beijing! This September first also marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of training for the foreigners' traditional class!

 

 

 

-Two Weeks in Beijing, One Night with Jackie Chan-

 

A few weeks ago, Master Yuan informed the traditional class that 10 of us were to travel to Beijing for a performance on stage with Jackie Chan. Three weeks ago, Master Yuan then informed the class that they would be leaving on Friday the thirteenth of August. However, unexpectedly, everyone had to prepare to leave that Thursday instead per the demands of one of the directors of the performance. Much of the day was spent with the director organizing a performance that would work. Amidst this training, everyone also had to find the time to prepare for what they thought would be a four day trip.

At 5 PM we took a bus to the nearby city, Shiyan, in order to get on the 7 PM train to Beijing. Despite the stresses of the day, everyone was happy to be taking a short trip to Beijing and to be meeting Jackie Chan. Twenty two hours later we arrived in Beijing. Upon arriving we were told that we would not be in Beijing for 4 days, but instead for over 2 weeks! Something none of us was prepared for. This came as an enormous surprise to everyone as well as to Master Yuan back in Wudang.

After multiple meetings with our Wudang government wushu department liaison and one of the assistant directors of the show and multiple phone calls with Master Yuan and the Wudang government, the group came to the decision that we would indeed take part in the performance and agreed to stay for what would turn out to be two somewhat frustrating weeks. Despite the groups' hesitance to spend over two weeks in Beijing, everyone performed professionally and we enjoyed ourselves. The experience was also an important one as it was the first large performance for many students in the group.

We did our best to continue drilling our normal training amidst the strangely scheduled and awkwardly organized training for the performance and also found time to enjoy ourselves and visit some of the city, including the White Cloud Daoist Temple. In spite of hours of waiting, strange scheduling, disrupted training, and some very ugly performance clothes, the show was a great success with both the crowd as well as the head directors being very impressed. We returned to Wudang on the 30th of August relieved and very happy to be back home. When we got off of the train we were warmly greeted by the head of the Wudang government wushu department with a warm welcome and huge bouquets of flowers for everyone.

The performance was for the opening ceremonies of the inauguration of the Sport Accord Combat Games. Jet Li was also in attendance as the ambassador for wushu. The 10 of us performed with about 25 other foreigners from various Shaolin schools. It was great to see Jackie Chan in real life and also to be allowed to share the stage with him. We returned to a much cooler and quieter Wudang, ready to continue with our training. Check out the Pictures section for some great pictures taken by Olda.


Here is a link to the performance:

 

-Opening Ceremony-

 

We performed as a group with Shaolin as well as doing fuchen, taiji,  and individual sword, broadsword, and fan.

 

 

-One Year Down, Four to Go-

 

On September 1st, 2009 the first ever traditional training program for foreigners began at the Wudang Daoist Traditional Kung Fu Academy under the tutelage of Master Yuan Xiu Gang. Wednesday marks the one year anniversary of the beginning of training. We started out with about 20 students in the program. Because of various circumstances, we are down to a core group of 13 students who are dedicated to training. We all went out for a group dinner to celebrate the end of the first year and the beginning of the second.

August 4, 2010 - Obstacle Courses and Jackie Chan

 

Well, it has been a while since we have done some updates on the site, but there are some new ideas in the works as well as a lot of things in preparation for the site. 

 

Last week, Daria and Jeff were chosen to travel to Hunan to be on a famous show called 智勇大冲关 (Zhi Yong Da Chong Guan).  Essentially, the participants run around an obstacle course and try not to get tossed into the water.  Jeff did well, but lost on the hardest part - the super long pole vault... thingie...  Daria made it all the way through.  Hopefully we will be able to find the video link online when it is posted.

 

This past week, Master Yuan also notified the traditional class that 10 students will be traveling to Beijing for a taiji performance at the end of the month... with Jackie Chan singing on stage!  We will be sure to update more about this when more news develops.


The weather is ridiculously hot, but everyone is still training hard.  The temperature was up to about 39 C today.  Check back in soon!!

June 30, 2010 - The Karate Kid

 

Last week, Master Yuan and a big group of students traveled to Shiyan to see the new Karate Kid movie.  Everyone cheered loudly when Master Yuan appeared on screen doing Eight Immortals Staff.  Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the movie.  After the movie, a large news crew showed up at the movie theatre to interview Master Yuan and some students about the movie and about Wudang.  Check out some pictures below.

 

 

Jon Jon

June 30, 2010 - Jon's last day

 

On Wednesday afternoon, we all had to say our goodbyes to one of our kung fu brothers, Jon.  Jon's plan was to train with us for one year before returning to Beijing to continue with teaching English.  This month marked the end of Jon's training time. 

 

During Jon's time here he improved exponentially in all areas of his training and was a constantly positive and inspiring member of our class.  Jon's devotion, personal resolve, and training ethic are wonderful and his presence is something that we will all greatly miss.  Below are some pictures of the last hour before Jon's departure.

June 25, 2010 - Wu Long Gong

 

Yesterday at around 2 o' clock in the afternoon, everyone arrived back at the academy after the long hike down from Wu Long Gong (Five Dragons Palace) and up to Zi Xiao Gong (Purple Heaven Palace).  We left for the trip at 8 AM on Wednesday morning and arrived soon after at Wu Long Gong with a large group.  After relaxing, doing some hiking, and staying the night, everyone awoke early the next morning to begin the trek from Wu Long Gong to Zi Xiao Gong.  We traveled swiftly and arrived safely at Zi Xiao Gong before heading down the mountain back to the school.  Check out the pictures from the trip below.

June 20, 2010

 

Things have been very busy at the school lately.  There are more and more students coming to study and the weather is warm - great for stretching!  Everyone is still training hard, despite the heat.  We train on the coldest day of the year and the hottest.  Last week was 端午节 (Duan Wu Jie) - The Dragon Boat festival, which is always celebrated by eating 粽子 (zong zi).  Zong zi are balls of glutinous rice with different fillings that are wrapped inside of leaves and boiled.  They are also unbelievably delicious.

 

We celebrated the holiday by having an enormous dinner.  The day before, Master Yuan gave the students of the program the challenge of coming up with a performance for the night's festivities.  So we all got together and wrote a play using a scene from 西游记 (Xi You Ji) - the Journey West.  Everyone was amused.  Master Yuan's daughter also performed two beautiful songs on the 古筝 (Gu Zheng).  Take a look at the (blurry...) pictures from the night's festivities below!

May 28, 2010

 

Recently, we have been doing some construction and rennovation work at the school to make more space for training.  On the 17th some students from the traditional class as well as the Chinese traditional class put in a lot of effort to lay down gravel before paving the new training area behind the school.  Take a look at some of the pictures below.

May 8, 2010

 

The weather is warm, the birds are chirping, and everything is green. In short... Spring is here! Everyone is training hard and enjoying the comfortable weather and changing of the seasons. Last month Master Yuan was en route to France with CCTV for filming just as the volcano erupted in Iceland, which in turn canceled his trip.

 

Two weeks ago Master Yuan and some students traveled to the nearby city, Shiyan, to see the new Donnie Yen movie, Ip Man 2. Ip Man 2 is the sequel to Yip Man in which Donnie Yen plays the famous Wing Chun master, Yip Man. Everyone had a great time.

 

This month we also celebrated our Grandmaster, Zhong Yun Long's birthday. This day also marked the inaugural meeting of the Wudang San Feng Pai Union Organizing Committee. The day began with a meeting led by our Grandmaster and some of his kung fu brothers as well as Master Yuan. Most of the San Feng Sect's 15th generation disciples as well as some of the 16th generation disciples were in attendance.

 

After the meeting was adjourned, everyone met for a big lunch to celebrate our Grandmaster's birthday. Master Yuan hosted and American student, Jeff, was also invited to speak during the celebration. During the evening a performance was held in which nine of the school's elder students performed Bajiquan and the foreigners' traditional class performed the Taijiquan 28 in front of a packed crowd.

 

The change of seasons also brings a change in the weather and climate, so be sure to protect against sickness as Spring is the time when many people catch cold. Check in again soon for more updates and changes to the website!

In other movie related news: Make sure to keep your eyes open for Master Yuan in the new Karate Kid movie which comes out in theaters on June 11th! The movie stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. A portion of it was filmed on location here in Wudang and Master Yuan was asked to take part in the filming.