Advertisement
Published: October 15th 2012
Edit Blog Post
Usually on the weekend all of the students go drinking Taining. Most of them end up in The Arches. The owner of the school -Scott Bird owns the barand set it up at the behest of the local mayor. He charges European prices for drinks, staffs it with long term students and has a dedicated flow of customers from the school at the weekend. He's not stupid – but when I meet him he seems a little on the jaded side. He's short and muscly with a shaven headed diamond earrings and flat cap. For a "laugh" him and his number 2 have bought oxygen masks and go running in the mountains with them on - to create an even tougher workout. (funfunfun...)He started off as a personal trainer and then went into a business with a friend, when that didn't work out he set up Rising Dragon Martial Arts school as the first martial arts school to teach westerners in Asia.
The Chinese business culture is based around connections and who you know and socialise with. Therefore he spends the weekends at the bar drinking Baiju ( the local and very lethal 75% proof rice liquor) with important locals
and business men. The culture also demands that if a Chinese person invites you to drink with them, buys you a drink, meal or offers you a cigarette its incredibly bad manners to refuse.
I feel a little sorry for him – the smoky all nighters at the bar are in complete contrast and stark opposites to what' he's trying to achieve at the school - well not that sorry for him... It feels a little like he encourages the students to come down and drink with the locals because it provides a bit of entertainment for the Chinese to watch the westerners getting drunk. Camille and I have ordered a cab and he comes over and asks if we will do him a favour and drink with some of the businessmen.
Aside from the fact that we are about to leave - i'm here to get fit not to get pissed – so I decline...
“ oh you are letting me down girls – they just want to have a drink with some beautiful women...”
I sense the 18 year olds don't normally tell him No. But i'm paying him to be at his school – and to get in shape – and also - even if I realllllly wanted to get pissed I probably still would have said no. I've never been one to accept free drinks from men on a promise later that I never fulfil later just for some free booze – and i'm not about to start now. I don't like feeling like an escort service. Also i am too OLD to do get up at 5.30 in the morning and do six hours of exercise a day on the remains of a hangover!
Week 2 starts with a morning circuit run by the legendary Pierre. Another long termer who is referred to as Scott's “number 2” and whispered about in hushed tones of awe and dread alike.
He is 21, walnut brown with an enormous French hooter and an almost comedically strong Gallic accent, gelled hair and pecs that you could skate board on. However contrary to what they've been saying the circuit is ok – even though he makes us hold bricks at the end and do lifts with them!
In Kung Fu its acrobatics day. The boys eye my legs dubiously - which now have the grazes and bruises from the Stairs exercise turning a nice mottled mushroomy brown and blue colour as well as a green yellow bruise from a motobike accident. (Patrice was driving and had to swerve sharply to avoid us plunging to our deaths over a precipice - so the bike landed on my leg...hey i'm alive...)
“your legs will never be the same again!” they say.
Then add hurriedly “ but eventurally in a good way...!” bless.
My legs hardly notice - as they are - in technical terms – fucked. But i suck it up and say:
"Oh it all looks worse than it is...i bruise really easily" which is true. My ex used to call me "apple" for this reason.
They think I will like acrobatics because its basically gymnastics and girls are good at that right?
Well no wrong – I still have memories of school and Victoria Waring complaining to the gym teacher because she couldn't do a routine with me because the only thing i could do was a forward roll.
And so it still stands except when they all start doing backward rolls and I say I can't – instead of just leaving me they teach me the correct way to do it. So I try – and after several ominous sounding crunches from my neck I succeed! Its amazing what doing sport in a non judgemetal and suportive environment can do (I.e the very oppposite to my schooldays when I was picked last for every single team...)
Hey ok its a backward roll already! And yes I am still the very weakest and also oldest in the school BUT I have done more than I could before – I have improved my personal best and that feels good.
Next its the turn of the cartwheel – I have a fear of them for some reason. I try and practice but somehow manage to pull my hamstring and yet another long shadowy blue bruise comes out all down the back of my right leg – it may be i've pulled a ligament or a tendon??
Oh well one thing at a time – maybe i'll stick to backward rolls its a petty victory but you know... and as for the boys? Oh they all spend their time dong backflips....!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.109s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 7; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0909s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb