Preparation
What to bring?
We advise that students bring good quality trainers/sneakers for training. In summer most students wear a t-shirt and sports trousers or shorts for training. While in winter students will also wear a jumper or hoodie, coat, gloves and hat. The summers are hot and humid, while the winters are cold and snowy.
It is advisable to bring a power adapter if you are bringing any electrical equipment with you from your home country. There are power sockets in the rooms that students can use. You could also bring a basic medical bag with you and any other special items from your home that are unlikely to be available near the school.
Money and banking
ATM's at the Bank of China can be used to take out money using a card. Cash can also be sent from a foreign country through Western Union or Transfer Wise. Traveler's cheques can be cashed at a bank such as the Bank of China but may take a little while to process.
Health
In China, local clinics and hospitals are well-equipped and have many Western, Chinese or a combination of both medical traditions. In a medical bag, it is convenient to have things like sunscreen, insect repellent, band aids, some cream or ointment for cuts and bruises, something for an upset stomach or nausea, any prescription or allergy medicine and multivitamins if taken.
Visitors are not recommended to drink unboiled tap water in China. For training, students either fill up their bottle with pre-boiled water at the school or buy bottled water as they are quite inexpensive. A big refillable 16l jug of water costs less than $1.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the practice of Qigong and Tai Chi are considered beneficial and restorative to health.
Your Room
We encourage our students to bring anything which makes them feel at home. If you wish to bring your personal mug or pictures that is okay, too. Please plan accordingly so your room will not be cluttered and only bring the items you really need.
Physical Preparation
There's no need to worry about having a base level of skill or fitness when arriving at Shengjing Shan, we take the time to put in place the proper physical foundations for each of our students. Nor is there a need to worry about your age; we’ve trained kids and grandparents alike. The important thing to remember is that everything will be relative to your own abilities, our goal is to encourage you to challenge and redefine them according to how you see fit.
That being said, we do encourage those wishing to make the most progress during their stay at our school to follow the advice below regarding light physical preparation:
1. Work on Aerobic Conditioning:
This is simply to say start doing some light exercise; anything which particularly interests you and gets the heart pumping is ideal. Whether it be a run in the park, swimming for 30 minutes or even a full game of basketball, any exercise is better than no exercise.
2. Start Flexibility Training:
Stretching is a much underrated component of modern training in the West; however, here in China it is an integral part of any form of exercise. Stretching, or rather flexibility, refers to the range of motion in, or of joints, as well as the length of the muscles which cross our joints. We encourage you to research Static, PNF, and Dynamic stretching and try to incorporate it into any training you might currently be doing. We advise 20-30 minutes per day.
3. Muscular Endurance：
Muscular endurance is the ability of a given muscle group to sustain repeated contractions against resistance over an extended period of time. It is a key feature of Chinese martial arts strength and stance training, exercising both muscular and physical endurance.
Therefore we encourage you to begin integrating this type of training into your daily routine. The best and most transferable exercise is the “Wall Sit”, as it is almost identical to the Chinese “Horse Stance”.
In the beginning aim to hold this stance with your arms held out in front of you for 1 minute. Gradually build it up until you are satisfied with your time and your form.