my new google group

hi guys. if you like what you read here, i've created a google group where like minded people can meet, network, discuss etc.

http://groups.google.com/group/empty-your-cup

Gong Fu Tea

In China, there is a special kind of way of drinking tea. Gong Fu Tea has nothing to do with karate chops and flying kicks, it is a very refined and cultured way to drink tea. In Chinese, the word Gong Fu (功夫) means a skill attained through hard work and perseverance. The first character, Gong, is made up of the particles work and strength, which implies what I said above.

So Gong Fu tea is a method of preparing tea which takes skill. It is also a way of clearing the mind of troubled thoughts and getting back to nature. The sound of pouring water has a calming effect and and the delicate flavour and smell of tea is symbolic of purity. Another name for Gong Fu tea is the tea ceremony, or Cha Dao (way of tea), but these are more often associated with Japan, whose tea culture is very different. The Japanese tea ceremony (correct me if Im wrong) seems to be more about the preparation as a ritual or an art in itself, whereas in China, it is more about the tea that is drunk.

Different teas all have their own brewing methods, using different shape teapots and different temperatures of water. A full set is required, a teapot, Yixing Zisha is the best, a pouring jug, small drinking cups and sniffer cups. The tea is poured from the pot into the jug and then into the sniffer cups, which are long, thin cups that hold the fragrance of the tea inside. The small cup is then put on top of the sniffer and it is turned upside down, the sniffer cup is taken away and then it is drunk.

The Yixing Zisha teapot I mentioned is made of a special purple clay from Yixing region in Jiangsu province. Zisha means purple clay. The teapot should never be washed with soap, as the clay absorbs the colour and flavour of the tea. Instead it should just be rinsed with water. If you dont use the teapot for a while, you should occasionally leave some tea and hot water standing in it for a night.

History of Taiji

According to legend, a Taoist immortal named Zhang San Feng (12th century) created internal martial arts. It is said that he had studied Kung Fu at Shaolin and later became an ascetic at Wudang mountain in central China. After observing a fight between a snake and a crane and seeing the interplay of Yin and Yang, he is said to have mixed what he learnt at Shaolin with Dao Yin, a primitive type of Qigong, and the principles of Taoism into a martial art. He was said to have created the 13 principles of Taiji and wrote them into the first part of the Taiji classics.
Zhang San Feng was believed to have taught a man named Wang Zong Yue. Not much is known about him, other than that he wrote the second part of the Taiji classics.
However, there is no concrete evidence that Zhang San Feng existed and the first written evidence of Taiji comes from the Chen clan in Henan province. They migrated from Shanxi province in ancient times and settled in Chen Jia Gou, a village close to the Yellow River and Shaolin Temple. Chen Wang Ting (1600s), a Ming dynasty general is credited by the Chen family as the founder. It is certain that he codified various theories and techniques on internal kung fu into two long forms and push hands excercises. Some sources suggest that Chen Wang Ting had learnt this internal kung fu from Wang Zong Yue.
Chen Chang Xing is another famous master of the Chen family. It was him who in the early 1800s taught the first non family member, a man named Yang Lu Chan. It was said that Yang learnt Taiji by working as a servant for the Chen family and pretending to be deaf and dumb. This way the family were confident that Yang wouldn't let out the secrets of Taiji. Yang practiced what he saw and heard in secret. Eventually, the Chen family found out what happened, but were so impressed at his skill level that Chen Chang Xing accepted him as a disciple. Yang eventually moved to Beijing, where he taught his sons Yang Jian Hou, Yang Pan Hou and a man named Wu Yu Xiang, creator of Wu (武)style and writer of the third part of the Taiji classics, from whom three generations later, a disciple named Sun Lu Tang, a famous internal martial art master, created Sun style. Yang Jian Hou passed it to his son Yang Cheng Fu and Yang Pan Hou passed it to his disciple Wu Quan Yu, who created Wu (吴) style Taiji.
Yang Cheng Fu is credited as codifying what we commonly see as Taiji today.He took away the hard, powerful movements, jumps and stomps and made the form softer and more flowing, with expansive stretching movements. This was more suitable for the general public and he became a very famous master in China. Yang Cheng Fu had a famous student, a man named Zheng Man Qing (Cheng Man Ch'ing),who feld to Taiwan with the Guomindang before moving to America and being one of the first masters to teach westerners. He simplifiedyang style further into the 37 movement form, which is very soft and is commonly practiced in the west.
The name Taiji (太极), often seen in English as T'ai Chi, roughly translates as The Supreme Ultimate and represents the interplay of the forces of Yin and Yang. The symbol of Yin and Yang is known as Taijitu in Chinese.

correct translations of wing chun terminology

In the west, there are thousands of people who practice Wing Chun. Unfortunately, they often translate the words wrongly, so I thought I would outline some basic techniques, with the appropriate characters and translations.

詠春拳 (mandarin: yong chun quan/cantonese: wing chun kuen) literally: sing spring fist. the simplified version of the first character (咏）is made up of 永(forever, also pronounced yong) and the radical 口(mouth). there is no reference to beauty in the meaning of the character.

小念头 (xiao nian tou/siu lim tao) literally: little/small, and the second and third characters together mean thought/idea/intention

寻桥 (xun qiao/chum kiu) literally: seeking bridge

标指 (biao zhi/biu ji) literally: shoot fingers

摊手 (tan shou/taan sao) literally: spreading hand

膀手 (bang shou/bong sao) literally: wing hand (the first character has many meanings, including shoulder, wing, upper arm and swollen

覆手 (fu shou/fuk sao) literally: cover hand

黐手 (chi shou/chi sao) literally: glue/stick hand

My Experience of Teaching English in China

As my time in Qingdao draws to a close, I want to reflect on my year and a half teaching here. Its been over 2 years since I first set foot in China, back in Xi'an, and it feels like a lifetime ago.

When I first arrived in Qingdao airport, my new boss was due to meet me at the airport. I couldnt find him anywhere, and then I decided to walk around outside the airport where I eventually found him. He had been waiting for me in the wrong place and then asked me what took me so long! This pretty much set the tone for things here- crap organisation! I had no experience in teaching or qualifications to do it, but that didnt matter in China, I had a white face and spoke English.

The first day we went to the school to meet our teaching assistants I was pretty nervous. I met my assistant, who seemed to be under the impression I knew exactly what to do and I had to make a lesson plan with no help or suggestions. I didnt even know where to start and when I asked for help, she just said to me "you're the foreign teacher, you decide." Then we went to a classroom and taught our planned lesson in front of all the foreing teachers and assistants, with a couple of superiors taking notes. That was probably the most nervous I felt during my time. So that concluded what was supposed to be a weeks training; doing a practice lesson and never getting any feedback.

My first day at school, I was also really nervous. That moment I first walked into the classroom was a big moment in my life. I saw 50 plus Chinese kids all staring straight at me, and then this 20 second piece of classical music played which signalled the start of the lesson (I guess it's more imaginative than just a bell). Then my assistant gave them a speech in Chinese and it was my turn to start. The first words I said were "hello, my name is Will and I'm from England." I shakily wrote my name on the board. We went through the lesson, which was based on a chant:

"Spring is green,
Summer is bright,
Fall is golden,
Winter is white."

Then at the end we played a game where I hide a card under someones desk and a kid has to find it while the other kids all shout the word louder as the kid gets closer. After that initial lesson, I got into the swing of things and it became natural. Now I feel so much more confident in myself from this experience.

Morning break consisted of the kids going to the playground, standing in perfect lines while military themes play from loud speakers and a man bellows Mandarin at them. Then some happy music plays and they all do a strange dance in perfect formation. Sometimes they got in circles and danced too. Every Monday was a flag raising ceremony which involved military themes and all the teachers had to wear formal dress (as opposed to normal days, when teachers wore anything they liked). Now, I think the strangest thing for any westerner, is the eye excercises every morning at 11 o'clock. Some really trippy music plays while the kids massage their eyes for 10 minutes to the count in Mandarin "yi, er, san, si, wu..." As this is going on, the monitors walk around with canes and hit their classmates if they do it wrong.

The monitors are glorified grassers (tattle-tale for the Americans reading) basically. Their job is to keep discipline in class when the teacher isn't there. It's a job all the kids want, and when they get it, they become little drill sargeants. Hitting, however is technically forbidden, although some teachers do it, and hard.

Chinese students are excellent as memorisation, a lot of their education involves memorisation of textbooks, phrases etc. This has it's good points, but it does kill their indivuality and imagination. When we give them the oral exam (which we are not allowed to fail any kids at), they usually have a standard reply to a question:

"How are you?"
"Im' fine, thank you and you?"

"What are you doing?"
"I'm watching TV."

Teaching them new words, we were told to make them repeat it twice in English, twice in Chinese, sometimes we could spend up to 20 minutes doing this- "big big, da-de, da-de."
"little little, xiao-de xiao-de."

In my time here, I really bonded with the kids. I felt like all 600 of my students were like a family to me, and I was always happy to see them in the streets or shops outside school. I would love to come back and teach again, it is an amazing experience, something you probably only realise after you finish. it's changed my life anyway. China will always have a big place in my heart. Not the government, but the common people; the taxi drivers with dirty suits and bed-head, the old men who sit on the street and miss out all the consonants in words when they speak to you, the geeky looking teenagers who shout hello at you in the street and run away, the man at the market who pretends to get offended when you bargain the price down, the women whose job is to stand at the supermarket door and shout "huan yin guang lin" (welcome) at you as you walk in.

Tea Culture in China

Tea is as much an indispensable part of Chinese culture as Confucianism and plays an important role in the daily life of the Chinese people. In modern day China, tea is not a product solely for the bourgeoisie upper class, a flask of green tea can be seen carried by every factory worker and labourer.

According to legend, around 2737BC, Shen Nong, legendary Chinese emperor and founder of agriculture and medicine, was said to have been sitting under a tree drinking boiling water when a leave fell into his cup. He saw the water change colour and tasted it, being surprised by the pleasant flavour it produced. Another legend involves the founder of Zen Buddhism, Bodhidharma (Chinese: Puti Damo 菩提达摩), who meditated for 9 years facing a cave wall and then fell asleep. Angered by his laziness, he cut off his eyelids and where they fell to the ground, tea plants grew.
The Chinese word for tea is chá (茶). In ancient Chinese it was known as tú (荼), and then changed to being called míng (茗), which it is someones still known as, particularly in Taiwan. The English word tea originated from the Fujianese/Taiwanese dialect, which pronounces the word as "tê".
In China serving someone tea can be seen as a sign of respect. In old China, during a wedding, the bride and groom would offer tea to their parents, and during the ceremony of a Kung Fu master accepting a disciple, they would offer the master tea. If he accepts it, then he accepts the student. Typically, someone of a lower status would serve the person in a superior position (boss, teacher, older person etc) tea, it wouldnt be expected the other way around. In the south of China people will tap the table with the fingers to say thank you when being served. This is because an Emperor once travelled China in disguise. He served a servant tea and he was so happy he wanted to bow, but couldnt, so he just tapped his fingers so as not to give the Emperor away.

There are 5 common types of tea sold in China. Green tea (绿茶, lu cha) , jasmine tea (茉莉花茶, molihuacha), which is green tea scented with jasmine flowers, wulong (乌龙), which is semi-fermented and makes the water go a golden colour, pu er (普洱), a strong black tea which comes from the Xishuangbanna region of southwest China, on the borders of Burma and Laos, in jungle areas and tieguanyin (铁观音), a variety of wulong which comes from Fujian and Taiwan, in the southeast of China. Green tea is the most widespread and is grown in many different areas around China, particularly the south. Some good types of tea are Long Jing (龙井), which comes from the West Lake in Hangzhou, Biluochun (碧螺春), which comes from Jiangsu and the area where I live, Qingdao, sells a lot of Laoshan (老山) tea, which is grown at the local mountain, which is a sacred taoist area. Tea is never in teabags, its always loose leaves or bricks.

In China the most common way to brew tea is using a gàibēi (蓋杯), which is a lidded cup, a small jug and a small cup. Firstly, the teaware is all rinsed with hot water to heat it up. Then, tea is put into the gaibei, and then washed quickly with hot water to remove dust and it helps prevent bitterness. Then, more hot water (around 70-80c depending on tea type-the blacker the tea, the hotter the water) poured over it and left until the tea leaves open, then it is quickly poured into a small jug, from which it is served, typically in small cups. Tea can be reused several times. Another way is called Kung Fu tea and originates in the Chaozhou region in Guangdong. It is where you put a large amount of tea into a small teapot and put hot water in for a very short time, and serve it immediately into tiny shot glass sized tea cups.

my journey so far

I was first introduced to martial arts when I was 6 years old. After watching power rangers I told my parents I wanted to learn Karate, which I did for 2 years, and then when I moved to York, I started Taekwondo, but I have forgotten most of both styles.

Then, when I was 14, I began learning Wing Chun after watching some Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee films. I studied for 3 and a half years, going to class 3 times a week and doing a private lesson once a week. I got my black sash after just less than 3 years. At that point I began to seriously doubt what I had learnt, after training with people from other Wing Chun classes and the fact that our training lacked intensity. Most classes I attended I ended up teaching in and when I did the black grading, I was disappointed how easy it was, everyone thought I was really good, but I felt like I wasnt, just that they all rushed through easy to pass gradings the same as me. Plus the Sifu, was always saying his way was the only way to do martial arts and other ways were no use etc. Feeling like I would never improve if I stayed there, and that I still had so much to learn, I quit.

Then, a big milestone came. I met my second Sifu, who has been my most influencial. An old school friend was also learning Wing Chun and invited me along to his class. This Sifu taught Foshan Wing Chun and was really active and enthusiastic in class and we did a good mix of training, making me realise how much was missing before and how much I still have to learn. We always had an intense warm up with running, push ups, stretches etc for fitness, stamina, strength and flexibility. Sifu thought it was important to build up the body, not jut learn drilled techniques. He was open minded to all styles and ideas and his art was alive and dynamic and I really enjoyed it. Still now I regard him as my Sifu and as the biggest influence in my attitude to martial arts.

Then I took 5 months out to travel China (including Tibet), Nepal and India. The first 10 weeks I volunteered in Xi'an and I met a buddhist monk there who taught me the basic stances, kicks and punches of Shaolin. Then, I went to Hong Kong and spent a few days training with Master Kwok Wan Ping of Yuen Kay San Wing Chun, who was a true master, and confirmed what my second Sifu taught me was right. He was almost 70 and still covered in muscles and his arms were like steel. I knew he could still fight. I went back the following year to train another few days with him. On both occasions he was welcoming to me and his wife cooked me dinner several times and they treated me in a nice restaurant.

Then I had several personal spiritual experiences in Tibet, Nepal and India, stayed in some buddhist monasteries, stayed with a Tibetan nomad family and other amazing experiences. I returned back to the UK to work for a while, saved money, studied Wing Chun again and finally found a job teaching English in Qingdao, China.


The first Shifu I met there was an old man who taught in a park on the university campus every morning. He didnt charge and didnt teach any particular styles, just techniques he thought were effective and theories from different styles like Mantis, Shaolin and Mizongyi. Then, I met after a couple of brief encounters with some different styles, I met a teacher who taught me the basics of Shaolin and a basic form. He was very strict and not very friendly to me, which taught me perseverance and discipline, but then it appeared he wasnt interested in me real kung fu, he just wanted to teach me loads of forms.

The third big milestone came when I met my current Shifu, who is a Taiji master I was introduced to by the dad of a girl I was tutoring English. He doesnt teach forms, but focusses on Tui Shou (push hands), Qin Na, and Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation). I really enjoy learning from him and his skill is amazing, he is 70, but I cant move him or touch him.

Lao Zi said "a journey of a thousand miles is started by taking a single step." I feel like all I have learnt so far is the first step in a life long journey towards mastery of myself; mind,body and spirit. In the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, a buddhist monk, Xuan Zang, journeys to the Western Heaven to get scriptures from the Buddha. He is accompanied by a monkey, a pig and 2 other students. The monkey, Sun Wukong, is mischievous and violent, but intelligent and the pig, Zhu Bajie, is greedy. These 2 characters can be seen as a metaphore for aspects of the monks mind. The monkey is always causing trouble and represents the intellect, and the pig is always eating and wanting sex, and represents desire. In martial arts we strive to discipline ourselves by training our body, calming our mind and honing our spirit. It is easy to talk about this, the hard part for me is actually doing it.

This September my real journey will begin. I am going to study at a Shaolin Academy in the mountains of Kunyu Shan, Yantai, in Eastern China. Studying martial arts full time has always been my dream and will take me to a high level that I could never achieve from doing it casually.