Preparation
- Insurance:
We strongly recommend you purchase a major medical insurance policy to assist with the costs of any major illness or injury that may be incurred while you are here. You should check the details and cover of your insurance plan in your country. And ensure that you are covered firstly for China and secondly for Martial Arts practice.
- Exercise and stretching:
While preparing physically to attend our school is not absolutely necessary, we strongly suggest some sort of preparation to help ease the transition into a life of kungfu training. This will also help you make the most of your time here. There is a strong cardio-vascular aspect to all the disciplines at our school, so light aerobic exercise like jogging, biking or swimming for 10-15 minutes a day before you arrive would be beneficial. Flexibility is also important, especially in the legs and shoulders so a little gentle stretching may help. To do some extra preparation, you could also practice strengthening exercises such as push-ups, walking lunges and abdominal exercises like planks or sit-ups.
- What to Bring:
- General clothing: In the Summer (May-September) the weather here is very hot and you will need mostly light clothing that's easy to wash and maybe some sunglasses. When the Winter sets in you will want a few good sets of thermal underwear, a warm hat, gloves, some thick socks, a few jumpers and a warm coat. These items are quite bulky so if you are intending to stay as a long term student it may be better to budget for this and buy some of them here.
- Training clothing: For the summer and warmer weather, we suggest shorts or very light pants (trousers if you're English) and t-shirts or tank-tops for training. It may also be worth investing in some sweatbands. For the winter, you should bring thicker track pants or karate pants, thermals or long sleeve shirts and light sweaters or a windbreaker. For footwear, you should bring a running shoe with good shock absorption for warm ups, and lighter, more flexible shoes for classes, like Feiyues or other shoes designed for martial arts. You can find the clothes and shoes you’ll need here in China, although if you are taller or wear larger sizes you might have more trouble and should try to bring more with you.
- Toiletries: You can find almost everything you’ll need in the local shops however some items are harder to find. You’ll want to bring supplies of antiperspirant, shaving cream, razors, and sun block.
- Laptops: If you would like to bring a laptop with you, the school has free internet access in all the student rooms (please note, school internet access is not wireless and you will require a functional network or ethernet socket on your laptop in order to connect). If you don’t have a laptop or don’t want to bring one, you will still be able to access the internet and music programs, etc. through our computer room equipped with several computers for student use.
- Other: You will need to bring 4-6 passport style photos with you. These are for school records, Visa extensions and your certificate. Make sure these photos have a white background, and you are not wearing glasses or any headwear. If you intend to practice Shaolin kungfu you might also consider bringing a mouth guard or gum shield for sparring. You can get buy mouldable one at most sports or martial arts stores however these are a poor second best to the ones you get custom made by your dentist. Wearing a gum shield is entirely optional and down to student's individual preference. All other protective gear is provided by the school.
- Language:
Our translators attend all classes and are always happy to help with anything you need translated or written down outside of class time. They also teach optional Mandarin classes every week-day evening. It isn’t necessary for you to know any Mandarin before you come, however, for ease of getting around on the weekend or travelling you might want to learn a few numbers and simple phrases to help you.