Engrish

Many months ago i submitted 2 photographs to the Engrish website but didn't hear anything since. Today i got mailed by the webmaster that one of my pictures made it as as Engrish of the day. just too make sure nobody feels insulted i think Engrish that is funny English resulting from too direct translations from the original language (mostly Chinese) is very very charming nothing to be ashamed off. now when i am trying to learn Chinese i totally understand it really isn't easy. The result are often beyond hilarious so i can definetly recommend the website www.engrish.com . I made and make plenty of mistakes myself when speaking foreign languages and made people crack down in laughter.

too see the picture go to :
http://www.engrish.com/2009/01/its-usually-most-fragrant-when-hot/

Chinese School!

A few days I signed myself up for a beginner's course of Manderin Chinese at the Chinese School in The Hague. Who could have thought that so little people dare to start a Chinese Course, we got an email informing us that there were not enough applicants for the course. But it is no disaster the same course is given in Amsterdam, so it just means getting up early on Saturday. I can't wait to be able to scribble down a few characters and communicate with my friends in their own language only if it is just a few sentences to start with.





I felt so bad last time that I could not talk more. I sent Xu Laoshi a card from Finland and I tried to copy the characters to write down his address and finally success! The card arrived! It will be even nicer to send a small letter. With a lot of study and patience it must be possible! And I use to think French was a tricky language… Almost everybody who has gone to Beijing has the China bug and wants to go back. You have to go there to experience it. I even watch half the Olympic marathon in the middle of the night just because they ran through the TianTan Park almost following the same route as the bus we took almost every morning. There it all was, the Temple, the big pathway were the emperors used to walk upon, the big beautiful gate with its majestic big red doors. Then they ran out of the park almost passed the little shop were we used to buy great Beijing fresh probiotic yogurt from a very friendly lady, there the Hong Ying photo shop, the busstop, it is hard to believe that only 2,5 months ago I was walking there virtually every day and it was and felt like home. Learning the language makes me feel closer to my friends there and the idea of actually being able to have a simple conversation is very motivating!

Maybe i will be able to read what is carved into the bamboo!
It looks beautiful but if anybody knows what it says please let me know it could be anything.

Kung Fu, and an art exhibition

The passed days have been packed with Kung Fu classes and great fun. After the relatively chilled out time in Finland I had to pay the price with some serious muscle ache but that was my own fault. We did things varying from Broadsword, spear vs broadsword, the tiger part of the tiger- leopard form and even training in the Art of War which was battlefield practice.

There were so many lessons going on at the same time that it was hard to pick one. For everybody who now is slightly confused since some time I have been practicing Choy li Fut and TaiChi and Bagua for a short while. This passion brought me to Beijing last year and made me eagerly return this year. There is so much to learn and to discover! Apart from that I paint, and just had a phonecall from the chiropractor practice if I would like to exhibit some work again. So that is good news. I always wanted to become a painter and spent some time in art school but found it very difficult to get a foot between the door in the art world.
I love to paint more then to lobby. Because of my trips to Asia and my Finnish roots these are the things you can find back in my paintings.

I love nature and bright vibrant colours, my work is figurative with some more abstract elements occasionally. I use all sorts of materials. But love oil colours and watercolours, the way I use watercolours isn't the traditional way but I will show you some examples of my work. Don't be shy top let me know what you think!

Training in the Park

Training in the Park
21-05-2008
Location: Beijing
Written by Koen van Westbroek, translated by Ester van Dam
All pictures except last 2 by koen van Westbroek

ofcourse we do a lot more the shopping and sightseeing. We came to China to train with Xu Laoshi in TianTan park.
The day usually starts with greeting our teacher and the other students, then it is time for stretching, usually followed by Qi Gong. Xu Laoshi often checks our hands and/or legs after Qi Gong to see if they are nicely red and warm. Then he will decide what we are going to do that day.

The things we train are:


• The eight postures


This excist of walking in circles around a tree holding our hands in different postures. There are 8 postures and per posture you have to walk both left and right way around the tree. This is mostly to build up strength, relaxation and body structure.

• The eight palms
With this execise we walk again around a tree, only less circles in only one posture. The focus is on changing directions, the changes exist out of several technique that exist of punches, kicks,pushes etc.followed in a sequence

• Chen Style TaiChi 24 Form
Unfortunately we do this not often enough. It is a shortened form from the Chen Style TaiChi system. This system characteristics are its fluent movements and the use of Fa li= explosive force in the forms.
• A Bagua Form (Sipingquan)
This is a straightlined Bagua form, without any of the characteristic circle walking. We did not have enough time to learn the whole form so I (Koen) have only been able to learn a small part. Hopefully Ester will learn more, so when she returns can show me the rest. I definitely want to keep practicing this for the next time.

• Push hands (Tui Shou)

We practice a lot of push hands. We have been shown many techniques but also engage in free push hands with the students of Xu Laoshi. The students I had to push against are becoming bigger and better all the time. Xu Laoshi wants us to push according to the Dutch competition rules. Chinese style push hands allows almost anything you can throw, move, grab and apply qinna (joint locks).


We can see that the Chinese students find all these rules pretty strange and now and then couldn’t help it to use a small joint lock. I find Chinese style push hands much more interesting so on Sunday I started pushing back according to the Chinese rules. My opponents were very enthusiastic and it became a totally different game. I flew through the air several times and landed on the floor.



That it can be a bit rough was shown by my arm that evening. It was portraying all possible shades of blue.
On the photo you can see what can happen when you do an afternoon of Chinese style push hands..

Too bad it was the last training day for Natasja, Maarten and me. There is a saying goodbye dinner planned at Xu Laoshi’s house on the last evening. Ester has the luck that she stays two more weeks

The Summerpalace

The Summerpalace
written by Koen van Westbroek
translated by Ester van Dam
All pictures taken by Koen van Westbroek except for the cat picture
date: 08-05-2008
location:Beijing



on the 5th of may Xu laoshi and Victoria (one of his Chinese students) took us to the Summerpalace. Xu Laoshi came to pick us up in the morning and then we walked to a parking place where Victoria was already waiting for us with a very luxurious car. We squeezed ourselves in the back and managed to get the door closed with all 4 of us in the back seat, it was cozy to say the least.
The Summerpalace is a beautiful place and there is so much to see that you can go there many times.





I think Xu Laoshi wanted to show us as much as possible because we went through the palace very fast. Maarten and Natasja had to catch up now and then as they kept finding new things to photograph or film.




Victoria had a very large backpack and some sort of portable cool box with a battery containing a very large elaborate but above all delicious lunch. In the afternoon we sat down for a great picknick. We are not sure if it was because of the lunch or dinner of the night before but that afternoon Koen, Natasja and Xu Laoshi had an upset stomach.
We stayed at the Summerpalace until quite late. It was even more beautiful when it was so quiet and empty.




The next day Koen and Ester went to the park alone as Maarten and Natasja weren’t feeling too well. That day it was very quiet anyway. We did a lot of Fa Li exercises and (pushhands) Tui Shou applications. Time just fly that day.
The next day we were all there again and in the evening Xu Laoshi’s wife also came to dinner. We had the most wonderful Peking duck and some other dishes in a fancy looking restaurant. The bits and pieces of the eaten duck that weren’t served at with the pancakes was fried (very yummie) and served with a spicy herb and salt dip. Half way the dinner Xu Laoshi’s daughter joined us. It was clear that she wasn’t quite sure what to do with all these strange foreign people. After being a bit shy to start with (who wouldn’t be) she started to talk more later that evening
After the delicious dinner Xu Laoshi showed us around in the local supermarket, and told us which things were good to buy. Ester and Koen bought some sort of powder that only needed added water to transform into so very nice small evening snack. That is what we could make of the explanation of Xu Laoshi but there is only one way to be sure and that is to try! We bought some bags and thought it would be a good pre-breakfast snack.. It turned out to be some sort of sweet sesame paste with raisons and other dried fruit, we loved it and it certainly gave you extra energy!


Today we stopped early with the training and were taken to some shops were they sold wapons and Kung Fu and TaiChi clothing. Maarten bought a beautiful broadsword in a holder of very light nice wood, some fans and a TaiChi suit. Ester bought 3 fans, 2 bamboo ones and one made of metal. Ester and Koen also bought a Qi Gong belt, next time we hope to get some instruction on how to wear it.
This evening we went for a quick look in the hutong shopping street next to our hostel, when we suddenly saw lot’s of police motorbikes arriving with screaming sirens. At once all shopkeepers started moving all their things that were stalled on the street indoors. A lot of local people gathered to see what all the fuss was about. Because we weren’t quite sure what was going on we decided that it was probably better to leave. On the way back we saw many police officers handing out fines to the shopkeepers who hadn’t managed to get their things inside. So it turned out oke, nothing drastic happened.
Tomorrow Xu Laoshi will take us to Beihai park were we will go and do some eh.. water cycling. But more about that the next time.

The past few days China blog 2

The past few days
Date: 01-05-2008
Location: Beijing,China
Written and translated from Dutch by Ester van Dam

The past few days were unforgettable like everyday seems to be here. Every day In TianTan park it is busy with people doing all kind of activities. Today we saw a lady with a fine pink feather on top of her head she was juggling with a small ball, trying to keep it up with her feet. Yesterday there was an old man in a wheelchair who was accompanying himself with some Chinese castanets like instrument while he was singing loudly.
Later when we were walking our Bagua circles, I saw somebody from the corner of my eye, hanging upside down in a tree. In certain things Chinese people are definetly more free then we are in the Netherlands. The Dutch like to pat themselves on the chest and say they are so liberal and free, but to be honest many things are frowned upon. There is a saying in Dutch that roughly translated goes as followed: “Act normal that is already crazy enough”.
The past few days we have trained a lot. We walked Bagua circles, did Qinna, TaiChi and Pushhands (Tui Shou). Today we got the change to practice with some of the Chinese students of Xu Laoshi. That was quite a challenge. When we explained that in the Netherlands hardly anything is allowed in Tui Shou they were stunned. In China almost anything is allowed, the idea is to mimic a real fight as realistically as possible. So anything from sweeps, qinna, throwing, grabbing, or pushing with plenty of force, using the whole body and ofcourse moving around is allowed, even encouraged. Xu laoshi showed us plenty of ways to make things pretty difficult for a Dutch style opponent and still (almost) stick to the rules.
Yesterday it was sweet to see how Maarten got tightly taken by the hand by Xu Laoshi while we were crossing the street. Not only is he an incredible good teacher he is very protective and concerned about our well being. He showed us what the normal prices are, were we can safely eat, he is very worried about us being taken for a ride (paying too much because we are non Chinese). Sometimes we feel like little toddlers safely following mother geese into the big wide world. And then again during a lesson you are suddenly tightly put into a qinna lock and he will smilingly explain to you that this is most effective! And I can assure you it is!
See you tomorrow!