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Reflections On My Two Months In Chen Village
One afternoon I was walking with my Sifu along a farm road. I don't remember if it was April or August but I am sure that it was not during the cold winter months. My Sifu turned to me and said that it would be incredible if I could stay for half a year. This is the second time that he mentioned this to me so I know that it was important to him. He believed that I could make great improvements if I could commit myself for a longer period of time. I replied that I really wanted to stay but the maximum time that I felt that I could leave my students in Hong Kong would be for 2 months. I put off the decision because I was so concerned about being away from teaching for so long.
A year passed, I did my normal annual 3 visits to Chen Village to train but the more intensive special training that my Sifu had proposed was always in the back of my mind. Kung Fu was my life. I had already come so far from my childhood of reading Kung Fu comic books to realizing my dreams of training at Chen Village and now my Sifu was offering me the opportunity to have special training with him. But I kept asking myself, how many of my students would wait for me to return, it took me several years to build the foundation of my school. One day, having thought it over for such a long time, I finally decided that I needed to go. If I could not be a Master of Kung Fu I would never be happy. I had walked on Kung Fu Road with persistence and determination for so long, I felt light and happy once I made the decision.
So during the summer of 2004 I spent 2 months at Chen Village doing hard and special training in the summer heat which averaged 35 degrees. I was elated to have this opportunity to keep growing and moving forward, being able to realize my dreams. I took advantage of this opportunity, when I arrived at my Sifu's home I put all of my energy into studying and did my absolute best when practicing. Every morning I locked myself into the training room and continued to train. The Chen family knew that I was working hard on every movement, trying to master the highest level, so they didn't try to find me. There seemed to be a quiet understanding between us.
There were occasions where I worked straight through the afternoon which turned out to be a mistake, I should have rested. My training was intense and exhausting, I had been pushing myself to the limit and one morning I woke up feeling awful. I couldn't move. The doctor informed me that I was sick and had a fever. He said that I could not continue to practice in the 35 degree weather without resting. I received 2 injections over 2 days for 5 RMB! It really helped me to recover quickly. What touched and surprised me the most however, was how kind my Sifu was to me while I was not well. One morning as I stepped into the great hall I saw a full breakfast on the table but my Sifu was not there. I asked his daughter where he was and she replied that he had gone to the town of Zhao Bao to buy something. She then said that he would be back shortly and that I should have my breakfast however I wanted to wait for him so that we could enjoy the meal together. My Sifu soon returned on his bicycle, he was holding a plastic bag and said that he had gone to the town of Zhao Bao to buy one of my favorite foods, it was a steamed bun filled with either chicken or lamb, a speciality of Xian in Northwest China, a Muslim cuisine. My Sifu had woken up early and made this 40 minute bicycle trip on a road that was in disrepair. I remember it not tasting that good but my heart was always warmed by his kind act.
Not all of my afternoons were spent in training. Some of my time was spent helping with the work needed on the farm. The time that I was there they had grown corn and were harvesting it. It was a very social event, villagers would sit by the road chatting as they removed the husks. I remember there being a lot of flies. After a days work if you looked from far away you could see a long golden road of corn.
