CK Martial Hearts (Shaolin Temple), Henan, China

5Gonzalo G 5:00 PM Jul 24, 2015

5 Days Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Training
I was in a 5 days martial arts training. The place of most of the trainings was inside the Shaolin Temple, others in the forest around the Temple. The Kung-fu classes were teach by a monk of the Shaolin Temple. Also some Taichi early in the morning in the village near the temple teach by AJ. The course is organized based on the existing facilities of the local village, that means that you will experience how a local Chinese hostel is like, and how the local food of a very simple village is like. You will be in the middle of hundreds of young Chinese Kung-Fu students, that gives the village a sense of a big school. Every thing there is prepared to train Kung-Fu. This was my first experience in Kung-Fu. Some considerations: The monk will treat you like a 7 years old child. So no matter how hard the training is, he will keep pushing you. Sometimes I think that he is being paid by some ex-chinese girlfriend, according to AJ (the organizer), he was the only that paid the monk. Do not worry about your level or your physical condition, the monk will make you feel your physical limits. And he is really creative thinking in different ways to make you improve your physical condition, especially in some areas of the temple partially under construction. I had the idea that Buddhist monks were some kind of naturalist or environment friendly guys, but when you have to heat 300 times the nice tree behind you, then you doubt about his considerations with the mother nature. The temperature in the area is around 35ºC, and you will have to drink around 3 litters of water a day. If you want to discover which other parts of your body exist and were there the hole life, this is the right place. The hostel. The service is very friendly and speaks only Chinese. The rooms are quite simple, clean, and nearly no cabinet to place any thing. If you get the room in the last floor, this will help to improve your physical condition because there is no lift. Wifi, is working quite well there, (consider the Chinese firewall if you come from outside China, may be you will need a VPN). Food. Frugality might be a good word to describe it. You better like rice, the grandma that cooks will never be listed in the Michelin guide, except for the soap of thursday. Any way you will be so tired that there is no need to think about what you eat or how it looks like. The first day grandma will give you a boll and a pair of chopsticks, that you have to keep, like the other hundreds of children in the schools near by already do. A couple of boiled eggs will be the luxury part of the daily breakfast, and if you were never before in a Chinese hotel/hostel, then the breakfast/lunch/dinner will be a real Chinese experience for you. Make as much exercise as possible so that you will eat whatever is prepared. The presentation of the food can only be improved, to say it in a polite way. If you are lucky, the monks will invite you to the early morning religious exercise. Starts at 5 am. Also you will have the chance to have breakfast with them. Having the same breakfast as they have, then you will think that grandma's breakfast is just amazing. AJ the organizer, will help with the translation if required, he has been living in China for a long time and has a long experience in Martial Arts. The organizers AJ and Nick will support you in case of any issue. If you want to improve or start in Kung-Fu, or you want to experience how is living in a real Kung-Fu Chinese school, this is the right place. (For other expectations, please check Bali 5 stars resorts).

5Mike J 5:00 PM Oct 1, 2016

CK Martial Hearts is where it's at!
This program isn't like other Kung Fu programs in China: you get close training with a real Shaolin monk for at least five hours every day plus additional training time for application of what you're learning, and it's totally fine if you have no experience in martial arts or fitness although the more you train beforehand, the "easier" it will be; everything is already panned out so you don't have to worry about figuring out what to do (plus your instructor doubles as a translator); three meals a day and rooming are all taken care of, as well as transportation; you get to learn the history of what and where you're practicing along with other sights you venture to; and you control how much you do, but expect to be pushed to your limits physically, mentally, and even emotionally. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a different kind of challenge and experience.