Axel’s travel report

DREVILLE Axel, 24 years old, from France.

At first the idea came to me to link my two passions: Travels and Martial Arts, and my interest in China led me to look for schools in this country. But I must admit that it was a bit by chance that I decided to go for Shaolin KungFu.

I was quickly seduced by this school for very simple reasons: at all times (food, accommodation, training) and à la carte (adaptable timetable as well as the duration and dates of the stay) and this for a very reasonable price; variety of disciplines (Shaolin KungFu, Taiji, Sanda….), the fact of being able to train all day and 6 days a week with people from any nationality but also with Chinese, and for those who want the possibility to take Mandarin classes.

You will also find more than just a school, it is a real human adventure. You make many friends there, often sharing the same dreams as you, and on whom you can count all along your stay!

For my part, I knew nothing at all about KungFu; and not knowing if I would like the discipline or if I would be able to keep up physically, I contacted by email for more information that immediately reassured me. So I decided to try the adventure for a period of 6 months, which has just been revised upwards for 3 more months (and yes time goes by so fast here…) !

During the first 5 months, I was training all day long and then some time ago I wanted to speak a language other than French or English; and yes! I wanted to give myself the means to have better communication with the local population, so I decided to spend half a day learning Chinese!

In a few months, I learned a lot about myself, with “Shifu” (Master) who really adapt to everyone’s physique and abilities, I was able to push back some of my limits and I continue to learn this Art that fascinates me now (bare-handed martial forms, handling Shaolin weapons, acrobatics, muscle strengthening etc….). It is certain that I will leave with knowledge and memories full of memories, but also the desire to come back…