Pierre and Laura from France sharing their experience training at the Yuntai Mountain School in China.
Pierre and I spent several weeks at Yuntai Shan International Culture and Martial Arts School in September 2025, training Kung Fu.
We come from France and did not have much experience in Kung Fu. I practice Muay Thai boxing and have a strong interest in Oriental Medicine, which is how I was drawn to this discipline. Pierre was totally new to it and joined me to share the experience.
My goal in coming here was to deepen my understanding of the connection between body and mind, and to improve my overall condition as a way to prevent and heal physical and mental imbalances. In our European modern lifestyles, we often forget that the body reflects psychological and emotional states. In Chinese, Thai, or Japanese medicine and practice, this is a central concept.
During these weeks of training, what we learned and continue to learn is based on principles such as:
- Discipline, commitment, and repetition over days, weeks, and months are key to mastering the movements and training the mind. As Shifu said: “Kung Fu is boring, Kung Fu is repetition. If you want to master it, you need to commit and repeat again and again.”
- Respect for the rules. As a foreigner, you will find things that are done differently from in your country. What matters is to show respect and openness to local ways of doing things.
- Empty your cup. To truly learn from your teacher, you need to let go of what you think you already know. Everyone has past experiences, just listen to the teacher in front of you. They have dedicated their life to their discipline, often since childhood, and they have much to teach you.
- Listen to your body. When you start deep training, a lot of things come to the surface. You can get sick or injured at first; it happened to Laura and to many of her foreign friends she trained with, whether in Muay Thai or Kung Fu. Three months of practice often represents more than a year of training back home. Pay attention to your fatigue and your body’s signals. Take it easy, rest when you feel it is needed, and everything will be ok.
- You can start at any point in your life. Just do it. Whether you are a beginner or experienced, everyone is welcome and will progress at their own pace. Do not be afraid to start from zero or not knowing anyone. You will learn a lot and make international friends along the way.
Overall, this experience was truly inspiring. We would like to thank the entire team of the school, with special gratitude to Yuan Shifu for organizing such a beautiful program, to Hu Shifu for his patience and dedication in training foreigners, and to Niu Laoshi for her excellent Chinese classes.
All our best,
Pierre and Laura
