A long long time ago, when I was a shy, young girl, my favourite TV show was Xena: Warrior Princess. Every week I watched in admiration as Xena fought and conquered warlords, evil kings and villains with amazing feminine poise and grace, raw confidence and mighty fighting skills. There was a woman who could stand her ground and who wasn’t to be messed with. Independent and strong. “Wouldn’t it be cool to be like her…” I dreamed.
During the next decade I blossomed from a shy girl into a reasonably confident adult, sort of independent and strong I guess, but definitely lacking in raw confidence and mighty fighting skills, which was a pity.
Then, many years later while in Thailand, I met a traveler who told me about a kungfu school he had attended in China, where he studied Qi Gong and Tai Chi. “It was amazing,” he mesmerized, as if he was recalling a dream. Kungfu. I had always had an interest in martial arts, but had never done anything with it. My fellow traveler’s tale of a faraway place where mornings start with the cultivation of elusive qi energy and naturally evolve into afternoon sword play practice, greatly piqued my interest and for five years the thought of going to China lingered in the back of my mind. A forgotten childhood dream had been rekindled.
It was not until spring last year that I finally decided to take the plunge and travel to China for two months to study kungfu, just to dip my toes in the water. Because I was armed with absolutely no knowledge of kungfu and no martial arts experience whatsoever. But I had an open mind and a yearning to learn something new.
Coming to China turned out to be a catalyst for me in many ways. During those two months studying kungfu, I discovered a practice more holistic, more encompassing, than any I had previously encountered. A practice that goes much deeper than any regular exercise routine; that seeks to combine the power of the mind – and its stillness within – with the power of the body, with the intention to cultivate growth and to strengthen body, mind and soul. And then there’s an entire philosophical and cultural side to it too. Deadly fascinating.
Upon my return home to Ireland I made the bold decision to go back to China. This time for a full year. A year of immersing myself into my own body and mind, a year of discovering and learning, a year of going back to basics, a year of kungfu. I will be studying at the Dragongate Kungfu School, at the foot of the mystical Wudang mountains in Hubei, China. I’ll train 5 to 7 hours a day, 6 days a week and my training will incorporate different disciplines and different forms; from Qi Gong to Baguazhang and from Tai Chi to sword training.
On this blog you can read about my time and progress at the school, about the philosophy behind kungfu (that I’ll be learning about as I’m going), about discovering the wondrous Chinese culture and my salty attempts at learning the lingo and maybe off topic tales of other travels and experiences, too.