Rising Dragon Martial Arts School

Before attending Rising Dragon School I had a few years of Wing Chun training, 6 months of Muay Thai and some Tai Chi and Qigong training. I was lucky enough to learn White Crane Gong Fu for 2 weeks at the Rising Dragon School taught by master Yan Da Shi. Amongst learning this very effective close combat Kung Fu, a specialty of the local area, I achieved fitness goals I never thought I could achieve, including scaling the fantastic local mountain 1700 meters high and preparing my fitness for learning Kung Fu. The school was everything I had imagined it to be and more but I was very lucky to learn White Crane Kung Fu whilst the school was new and remained unpopulated in wintertime. Although a Westerner owns the school it is a very authentic school for martial arts and for experiencing the wonderful Chinese culture. I will be back!

Before attending Rising Dragon Martial Arts School, I had trained in Seiken-Ryu Karate to a 1st kyu level and to 5th kyu In Aiki-Jujitsu. Being very used to the rigid form of Japanese style martial arts, the switch to the more beautiful flowing Chinese style, for me, was not an easy one. Choosing to learn internal Sun Style Xingyi under Master Deng Fu Ming meant constant diligence, both physically and mentally, to perfect the fine level of detail required in each technique. Since leaving the academy, the patience and endurance that I learned there has rewarded me in my life every day. While I was at Rising Dragon Martial Arts School I studied extensively in the use of Chinese swords, and since returning I have continued to train in various different sword styles (nine in total). I took up fencing, and with my martial arts training I quickly became one of the best at my university. I still occasionally use borrowed moves from Chinese sword to confuse my opponent. The other students of my 'generation' are all still in touch, many of us try and see each other at least twice a year, we meet up, have a huge party and swap all of those great stories that begin "There was this one time out in China..." My advice to anyone looking for any kind of adventure out in the world is that this is it, the one, no experience in the world teaches you more about who you are. How far can you go? What can you do? How much can you take? And trust me, throw yourself fully into this, and you will have a lot of fun finding out.

When people ask me what my favourite part of my trip is so far I always cite my time at Rising Dragon School as one of my highlights. I'm still not sure what kind of parallel universe I decided to enter when signing up. The most exercise I'd done before that was more than a year ago and amounted to a weekly zumba class! But after getting over the sheer pain, horror, and abject dread about everything Shaolin Kung Fu and the 5:30 a.m. morning circuits could offer - I actually really enjoyed it. I was one of those kids at school who was absolutely terrible at aa sports - and always got picked last for every team (no surprise there.) Well I don't think any of my sporting skills improved that much and I'm pretty sure i was still the slowest, weakest and definitely the oldest at the school, but I was never made to feel like that by the other students. And for probably the first time I got to experience what doing sport in a non-judgmental and supportive environment felt like - where doing your own personal best was what was encouraged. I'd never done any running before so even for me just completing 13 kilometers without stopping was an amazing feeling and taught me such a valuable lesson - about what we and aren't capable of achieving if we put our minds to it. I thought the way that all of the students helped and coached each other made for a really great culture and they certainly kept me going for the short time that I was there. So thanks to you and also to them for a fantastic experience and wishing you the best of luck for the future with the school and any other projects you may have on the go.

Before I came to RDS I had no real martial arts experience and wasnt completely sure what I was getting myself into but I was ready. When I finally got there I knew it was the right choice, for the first few weeks it felt as if I was in a kung fu movie, very cool!I chose to learn the internal martial arts; Sun Style Taiji, Bagua and Xingyi Quan. It had always been a dream of mine to learn Taiji from a Chinese master, and here I was able to do that but it wasnt all I learned. I was at RDS for about 14 months and with all the other masters and students around me I never stopped learning. I am still amazed at what I saw; Its not the same as seeing it on TV!During my time there I got to meet and see some of the best martial artists Ive ever seen, Meeting the Sun Style Association at Sun Lu Tang's 150th anniversary and going to the Northern Shaolin Temple are just two of the trips I took with the school and they are certainly events I will never forget.One of the highlights of my time in China was performing with Jackie Chan on live TV and in front of an audience of 17000 people and it was all thanks to The Rising Dragon School! I spent about 14 months at the school; I trained hard and learnt a lot. The one thing I really understood is that the learning process will never stop. For me thats the challenge, I hope you find yours.

I started practicing Karate at the age of 14 and did some other styles on and off till my late twenties, after that I let myself go a bit like most people in their 30s. I always planned of doing something big for my 40th so with my love of Martial Arts it was an easy choice to make, head to Asia to study martial arts! I researched dozens of different martial arts schools in Asia but I found myself drawn to the Rising Dragon Martial School in Taining, China!From the start I found Scott the owner very helpful answering all my emails I sent asking different Question about the School and China itself, so I made my mind up and booked a place for three months. At the age of 40 my friends thought I was crazy going to china for Martial arts study, But to be totally honest it was the best decision in my life so far, from the moment I landed in China I have been made feel very welcome by everyone!I was met at the airport by one of the school drivers, which gave me peace of mind of a safe arrival. I got to the school late at night and was shown my room which was basic but comfortable, after a good night sleep I met Scott in person and he showed me and the other new students around the school.He told us about the different styles which the school had to offer and after that we was taken into Taining the nearest town and was showed around for the rest of the day, this helped a lot from where to eat, banks and getting the basic things you needed for your stay at the school.My first taste of training was the morning circuits at 5:30am, which was quite hard but was very good! I knew before I came it was going to be hard and I wasnt disappointed! After the 30 minute Circuit session I went to my first class of the day, as I could not make my mind up which style to choose, Scott suggested doing two days training in each style before making my mind up. After trying all styles offered at RDS I could honestly say that there is something on offer for everyone all under one roof.I enjoyed the very physically demanding Shaolin classes but I think at the age of 40 I am a little too late to be doing it day in day out! The White Crane was very enjoyable and Im pretty sure that if I had of stayed with it for the 3 months my physical strength and power would of increased ten fold due to the type of training and conditioning they do. Finally the internal group (Xingyi, Bagua & Tai Chi) is the style that I decided to stick with..Out of the 3 internal styles on offer I trained in Xingyi Quan and Tai Chi, I feel that these are styles that I can do well into my later years and they will keep improving my health the more I practice them! My 3 months is nearly up and I feel great in both body and mind!During my stay here I have learnt the 5 fists of Xingyi Quan and the full Sun Style Taiji formI have enjoyed every moment of my stay from organized trips of a weekend to my training, the staff and fellow students have made me feel more than welcome! If you ask me would I do it all again the answer would be yes, as I am planning to come back again next year. I would just like to say thanks to Scott and the masters for showing me so much in such a short amount of time!

Before I came to the Rising Dragon School, I thought, What have I let myself in for? I knew that I would be sharing a room and living with people Ive never met, in a remote part of the world, for two months! And the trainingwhat would it be like? I was so scared. Little did I know, however, that I was in for the best time of my life!Ive been lucky enough to have been travelling to various continents, for various reasons (i.e. placements, backpacking, trekking and holidays, skiing, etc.), but my trip to China has never been far from my mind. During the stay, we all had to get up early to go for morning runs, followed by some Tai Chi before breakfast. You had the option of choosing to study an internal style or an external one. I chose the external style, and it wasnt easy!I was a black belt in TaeKwonDo when I went out there, with experience in Judo and a couple of other styles. But after this adventure I really wanted to learn more! I now study kickboxing and a little Shaolin in my hometown in England. Its up to you how serious or intense you want your training to be, but everyone benefits, in terms of fitness, inner wellbeing, and just having a good time!The training involved sparring, gymnastics and learning forms. Wed do this all day, with a little break for lunch. The weekends were always cool! Wed all take the bus through the beautiful hillside to the nearest town, Taining. Wed stay there over the weekend in a hotel, and the rooms were pretty cheap! Once we took part in a local dragon boat race against the locals; we lost, of course, but it was an amazing experience!We also took some trips to The Golden Lake and that was absolutely beautiful. We trekked the second highest mountain in the Fujian Province, which is an all day affair. And not only that, but the friendships I made were phenomenal. I really grew close to some people and my time in China was my first step towards developing inner confidence and self-belief.

I was on my first year of break from studying (starting again summer '11), and had decided to do some traveling during this time. I found the Rising Dragon School by searching on the Internet, and after reading through the site I thought it would be a great idea to spend some time there. Prior to my arrival I wasn't completely sure what to expect, I thought I was quite fit to begin with, but once I started on Shaolin I quickly discovered there was lots of room for improvement.I stayed with Shaolin for the two months, and saw my fitness improve greatly. When I returned at home I was even more astonished at how much my level of fitness had improved, suddenly I felt able to run forever and never get exhausted! The Shaolin classes were good, I felt a lot of respect for our admirable master Jin, who, although he rarely showed off never ceased to amaze when he did.I imagined the training would be hard, and it lived up to my expectations. The level of difficulty and the methods were all part of the experience, and I thought it was great. I was taught one fist form, and one staff form during my 7 weeks, and of course a lot of different kicks, combinations, Sanda techniques etc. When you first get there, I think its important to not let any discouragement get you the first few days.There is a lot to get used to in the beginning, your schedule, the food, new people and lots of other things that you aren't really accustomed to. Lots of things are different in China, and life there is obviously not as luxurious as I've been used to back in Denmark. Despite that I still think the school had a great standard! In no time you'll be used to it, and appreciate it all. You'll meet lots of great people and Scott and the staff are all wonderful people.I really felt that it mattered to Scott that his students got something out of their stay, and he is always there to help. The masters were also very talented, and great teachers. A few months later after coming home, I had to join the military for a while. During this time I could really feel the benefits of having been to the school.Of course my stay at the school didn't just benefit me physically, I also met lots of great people, experienced a completely different culture and way of living, and I will certainly miss the great people who I met during my stay. Some general advice from me would be to do a good amount of cardio, and also stretching before your stay here. Its much easier to do lots of the stuff if you already have a good range of movement.Also don't forget to see some of the attractions there. Just walking up the big mountain next to the school with some people was a really great experience that i wouldnt want to have been without. Good luck to all the future students, I hope you'll have a great experience as I did. If I have the time again I will definitely consider coming back.