I have so much understanding for bears, groundhogs and all other animals that spend their winter hibernating in their comfortable, warm, underground holes. Because it’s no fun to be cold. And cold it has been, for the last few months, living in a kungfu school and having to make do without heating in subzero temperatures. My room turned into a fridge. It’s the oddest sensation to step from the cold outside – into the cold inside. After a moment realization would dawn ‘Wait, this IS as warm as it is going to get’ and I would change out of my training clothes and layer myself up like a Michelin woman, quietly wishing I too could hibernate until, say, the end of February. But alas, training must continue…
Kungfu in winter: training precautions
So we suck it up and we train wearing layers, double socks, hats and gloves. We spend more time running at the start of every class to warm up stiffened limbs and the advantage is of course that the harder you train, the warmer you get. Or you can heat up in other ways; such as the woman from Hong Kong who joined us for a month in December. She owned a rechargeable jacket with on/off button that heated up like an electric blanket. Very feisty. In the shop windows in town I’ve seen pyjama’s that looked like you could survive arctic storms in them and all babies on the street in winter resemble mini sumo wrestlers, they are that well wrapped up. There is no central heating in this part of the country and all though many hotels and bars and such are equipped with airconditioners that can be set to ‘hot’ in the winter, the majority of people will simply layer up, sit outside(!) around makeshift fires and deal with the cold.
Frostbite? That won’t happen to me…
Me? At school there’s the option to have a room with heating for an additional charge, but I didn’t have the funds for that. And part of me (crazily?) wanted to experience the weather as the locals do. I did buy myself a nuanshoubao, a chargeable electric hand warmer. I only have to plug it in for five minutes to get it to heat up nicely and can take it with me wherever I go. Doubles as a hot water bag in bed at night. The nuanshoubao didn’t prevent me from acquiring frostnip (the precursor to frostbite) though. I spent a full week examining the spots on my fingers and naively wondered what insect had the nerve biting me in the midst of winter, until my teacher spotted the marks and instructed me to bathe my hand in hot water and to wear gloves AT ALL TIMES. That took care of it. Whaddayaknow. Something new learned.
I made slow progress in winter
Training wise I’m not mad about the progress I made. In December I hurt my knee and wasn’t able to run, jump, or do anything to warm myself up for about a week. Instead of practicing my forms I practiced Qi Gong in class. I love to practice Qi Gong but my qi cultivation abilities are not advanced enough yet to heat up my body. At times it felt more like a fight against the cold than anything else. A persistent cold that turned into a fever prevented me from training for another week and a half at the end of January. And overall my motivation to train was a lot less than I wanted it to be. But in Chinese medicine winter is yin, characterized by cold, darkness and inactivity, allowing you time and space to recharge for the blooming energy of spring. That’s a comforting thought I will take to heart.
And indeed with spring in sight
I feel like both my energy and motivation are on the up and I’m ready to go for it again. Being very optimistic here, after a few lovely sunny days, another bout of snow and cold is on the horizon. But let’s ignore that for now!
Time for insight and reflection
All negatives aside the winter has allowed time for insight and reflection too. My understanding of the practice of kungfu is expanding. It’s becoming more clear to me what it is precisely that I want to learn and work on here. Apart from that I’ve gained even more respect for the children and coaches at the school, who continue their training and their work as usual, without a complaint passing their lips despite the cold. They’re made of some stern stuff, I tell you. Same goes for the people in town who just seem to take it all on the chin; the old woman selling vegetables, always a smile on her face, come rain or shine. It’s a humbling observation for me, coming from a rich Western country where people complain about everything.
Learning to appreciate the basics again
To top all I’ve learned to appreciate the most basic of things again. The sunshine warming my face after days of mist and humidity. My hairdryer that doubles as a sock dryer and has saved my life many a time. The amazing, absolute beauty of a hot shower when the pipe’s finally defrost again after a particularly cold spell. And last but not least the ever present opportunity to take nice-snowy-backdrop-pictures…
