The daily training part 2
The foreign world had me under its spell, I had become a part of the Shaolin Temple, up to here the fixed idea had driven me, I also felt well, the life in the monastery had something calming, the temperatures slowly became more pleasant, the inconveniences receded further and further.
For weeks I trained with my master, always three days of training, one day off, four hours in the morning, then a long lunch break of three to four hours, then another four hours of training.
The first weeks my master only allowed some exercises that I would count as "martial arts". The rest were stretching exercises, balance techniques, and strength exercises practiced with weights hewn from stone. Up and down I had to run movement patterns remotely reminiscent of Kung Fu, always in the lowest position, the buttocks just above the ground, the legs strongly bent. Then with speed upwards, into one of the positions shown to me, attack or defense movements followed. A brute ordeal, almost impossible for the untrained, and to make up for years of Shaolin practice in a short time, what a presumptuous undertaking.
Almost out of the splits then up again, hold position, down again, built into a flow of movement that was distantly reminiscent of "running forms" from karate.
A bamboo stick over the shoulders, hands placed over it on either side, then the stick parallel to the feet in one direction, and back in the other. The legs and feet follow the movement, the body gets a swinging moment, over and over, for longer and longer periods of time, the balance getting better and better.
With the back against the wall, slightly bent at the knees, then turning the upper body backwards, hitting the wall with the swinging fist at head level, just where the opponent's head should be. Then swinging back, now the other shoulder comes forward, the hand follows, the fist strikes again imaginary. Without really touching the wall, without losing balance.
The feet parallel at a distance of about 60 centimeters, the knees bent, the arms describe circling movements against each other, while the body goes completely down on one leg, the other stands off as if in the splits. Short pause, then begin the circular movements in the other direction, the upper body comes up briefly, then the body goes on the other leg towards the floor, the second leg now stands off in the "half splits".
In between, strength exercises, as they are also done in the studio, but with stone weights, some of which were suspended from rollers attached to the ceiling, a brute drudgery.
And of course the punch and kick training, very similar to today's martial arts schools, but equipped with the secret knowledge of Shaolin, which my master passed on to me "with hands and feet" (on the post picture you can see the self-made punching bag).
In case of cramps (and I had them frequently) there was an extra layer of stretching exercises, which in itself made me tired. I longed for the breaks, especially the lunch break.
Still, I had found my way!
Best gift is health; frugality is wealth's sun, most faithful clan is trust, and nirvana highest bliss
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
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