Four months Chinese kickboxing &shaolin course till 2019 February

 Caleb Nickelson   (USA)   

Caleb spent four months training in Kunyu mountain academy                      

  1.) I chose China to study Kungfu Mountain shaolin academy, because it is the birthplace and there is no better place to learn. I decided I wanted a change from my normal life back home and to gain a new perspective on life. Going to China, my goal was to strengthen my mind, body and spirit (DONE!!). Some family and friends motivated me to pursue my dreams and move to China, but more than anything I pushed myself to do it and that’s what most important in my opinion. On a day to day basis at the school my external motivation was definitely all my friends at school. Just training together in general is motivating, there is something about suffering with a big group of people that makes you push yourself past your limits; knowing that you’re not in it alone. Overall everybody at the school pushes themselves and each other and its comforting and encouraging having that constant support. My Shifu was also extremely motivating he didn’t really push you past your limit, but instead made you want to push your limits yourself which I think is more beneficial than someone forcing you into something. You walk away with more knowing you did something yourself and it is a testament to your own willpower. All around you at Kunyu there are constant ways to find motivation in yourself and push it onto others, its an incredible environment. 

 2.) There are so many things I gained from Kunyu, it would take up pages for me to list and describe them all. I’d say I accomplished my goal of strengthening my mind body and spirit. I think the overall life at Kunyu teaches you so much about your personal strength and helps you realize you’re truly capable of doing anything you put your mind to. Another massive thing I gained is family at Kunyu. I don’t think you can find anything like else like it. You do everything with the students at the school: eat together, train and suffer together,live together, enjoy yourselves on the weekends. You get to know a person very fast because of this, you see them at their highs and lows in training and this creates bonds unlike anything else. Generally everyone although very different, has a similar mindset of constantly wanting to improve themselves and its a great feeling be surrounded by like-minded people. The friendships I have made from Kunyu are my biggest highlight. I created lifelong friends that I still talk to on a day to day basis even since I’ve left the school. 

 3.) Your masters and Kunyu family are obviously a huge help and influence at the school, but for me it was the Chinese students. They play a huge part in the structure and daily life at the school. They are the examples for all of the foreigners and are extremely patient when helping us train things they have long perfected. Everyone at the school looks up to them and they are the role models for us. This being said the fact that they are 13-18 years old is even more of a reason as to why they were such a big influence on me. They are some of the strongest people I have ever met and yet at the same time very playful and gentle. I cannot wait to see where they end up later on in life. 

 4.) A typical day at Kunyu looks like this: Wake up (maybe earlier to do Tai Chi before breakfast), eat breakfast, have a short break between breakfast  and morning training, have you first training class of the day, another short break then to your second training, followed by lunch and a longer break to get some rest and let your food digest, then you  have the last training of the day with ye-haha at the end, after you last training there are a few optional classes (as well as some during training depending on the day of the week). Then you have dinner and plenty of free time to train more on your own in the training hall or whatever else you want to do. There is plenty of free time to work on self development, relax, read,study, etc. All the Shifus at the school are awesome and extremely skilled. They know how to train and as I said before help you push yourself past your limits. The translators are on duty consistently throughout the day and are more than happy to help you with anything you need. They’re all great people and I loved to kind of pick their brains and ask questions about their own lives, school life, chines culture etc. I really enjoyed socializing with the translators. The whole staff at the school and very friendly and welcoming, even the chefs and the maintenance man/gate keeper (he has the best smile at the school). 

 5.) The surroundings at the school are the ever beautiful Kunyu Mountains.You get to walk outside every morning and see that, what could be better? The Taoist temple right next to the school is just as beautiful and has some very interesting history, it adds to the whole experience and culture, especially when you train there! Kunyu is in a small quaint village with everything you need and even a couple good restaurants. During the fall and winter you are surrounded by apple orchards with delicious Yantai apples and even cherries in the spring. There is plenty of places to hike and explore in your free time and epic snowball fights in the winter. The beautiful scenery adds to the whole kungfu experience and makes it truly unique. The nearest town is about 30 minutes away (Muping) and is where a good majority of the students spend their weekends. There you can shop, eat everything in sight on the local market street, see movies and just relax. Yantai City is a bit further a little over an hour depending on how you get there. The city is much bigger than Muping and has a big beach. It's good for anyone that wants to get away from the small city and village  life and escape to the big city. 

 Hope everyone is doing great at the school!!! I miss you guys so much, tell everyone hello for me! Overall everything else is great and I loved my experience at Kunyu! If you have any questions or need me to do some more review things let me know! I plan to do a review video for youtube and upload it in the next week or so once I get settled and moved into a place in Thailand. Hope all is well and training is good,     

Email:calebnickelson@yahoo.com     

Email:Colombe-henrion@hotmail.fr   

Four months of full time Chinese kickboxing class till December 2018

Hamish cole             (Australia)          

Email: hamish.cole98@gmail.com