Old Dog, New Tricks

On a typical Sunday a month ago, I got up much too early, took a much too expensive cab to a much too big sports bar where I watched UFC for way too long.  Afterwards I decided to take two of the new UC kids who accompanied me to People’s Square to check out the weekly matchmaking sessions that are held there.  While wandering around the park, I spotted a crowd.  When I walked closer to investigate, I saw that there was a white teenager, with a t-shirt that said Russia on the back, debating with an old Chinese man in English.  From the few snippets of conversation I caught it seemed like the two were debating capitalism.  The two UC kids who were with me did not seem that interested in what was going on so I took them to the subway and they left.

I stayed behind in People’s Park and waited for my friend Angela to arrive.  As soon as the two UC kids left, I rushed back to where I saw the crowd in hopes of catching some more of the debate.  This time I saw the Russian teen speaking and playing around with a little Chinese boy.  When the Russian asked the little boy why he wanted to go to the US, I cut in and told the boy that the correct answer was because there was more money in the states.  After that, I introduced myself to the Russian, but in mid conversation, I was cut off by a man who wanted me to translate something for him.

When I finally got away from the man, the Russian was once again surrounded by a crowd.  This time, I approached the Chinese man who appeared to be taking care of the Russian.  The Chinese handler was dressed in bright traditional clothing and holding a Russian flag.  It was an odd sight for sure and things only got stranger when I started talking to the handler.  When the handler heard was from Fudan, he got excited and told me that they were visiting the campus on Friday and asked if I would give him a tour.  A bit hesitant, I answered with a “maybe” and asked for his card.  I almost laughed out loud when I read the name “Nelson Mandela” on the card.  “Is this man for real?” I thought to myself and after talking to the handler about it, it turns out the answer was “yes.” 

From my conversation from the Chinese handler I learned a few things about what was going on.  First, it turned out that I had wandered into the People’s Park English corner where locals come every Sunday to practice their English.  Second, the young Russian was sent by his father to the care of the handler, who was not Chinese as I initially thought, but Taiwanese.  The Russian was here to learn Chinese as well as study international relations, except he had not found a university yet.  Lastly, I learned that the world was dominated by the US which manipulated countries like China with their currency and Chinese university students are mindless sheep.  That last part came straight from the handler’s mouth.       

Sometime in the middle of my conversation with the handler, Angela arrived and I dragged her over to the English corner because I wanted to hear more conspiracy theories.  As soon as she came, she was mobbed by a group.  In the crowd, a familiar face popped out and greeted me.  It was Jeff, a random Fudan student who recognized me from Toastmaster’s.  Jeff, like many of the local Chinese students I meet was extremely awkward, so much so, that I pulled Angela into my circle so she could deflect some of his attention.  Somehow, Angela and I got separated from Jeff, but while we were walking away he ran up to us and asked for Angela’s number.  Not going to lie at that moment I felt pretty rejected because I had spent so much time talking to Jeff and after all that effort he goes and asks for Angela’s number over mine!  Guess my conversation skills could not compete with Angela’s looks.

Later that week, I received an email from the director of our program telling us to avoid People’s Park on Sundays because it was the site of the Jasmine Revolution.  The Jasmine Revolution, was an event that was thought up by some Chinese bloggers who took their inspiration from the recent revolutions in the middle east.  Very few Chinese people got the message that their government was being overthrown, so the whole Jasmine Revolution was a dud.  However, rather than it being a one off event, it transformed into a constant weekly event in cities around China.  For Shanghai, the place of protest was People’s Square where a walking silent protest was to be held weekly.  Already, there have been reports of foreign journalists getting manhandled by plains clothes policemen.  The US State Department had actually issued a travel advisory warning Americans to avoid People’s Park on that day that I was there.         

Suddenly, it made all the more sense why the man who asked me to translate some English for him was talking about over throwing the government.  In addition, it also explains why the writing that the man asked me to translate dealt stated that Shanghai’s architecture was a testament to the disparity between the rich and poor.

Shanghai to me is starting to seem like an old dog with new tricks.  After six months in the city I am learning there is still much that I do not know.  


-muffinman

Martial Arts at People's Park

Another paper for my Shanghai Global City class. This was supposed to be a group paper, but I ended up writing 90% of it, which I was alright with because I just tackled it like a blog post. Hopefully all of you will find it as interesting as I did.

- muffinman

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At the heart of Shanghai lies People’s Park, an oasis of recreation and calm is surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the surrounding People’s square. In the small exercise corner of this park, our group discovered the martial artists that call this park home. Our research group set out to learn as much about these recreational martial artists in People’s park as we could.
On our first day of field work, our group wandered to the exercise equipment area, where we observed various individuals striking the trees repeatedly. Puzzled by what we saw, we approached these individuals, all male and around the age of forty, and asked them what they were doing. The first man that we talked explained that the reason that he was hitting his knuckles against the tree was to strengthen them. When he showed us his knuckles, they were all perfectly aligned presumably from his training. He explained to us that he practiced a “san da” style and that there were masters teaching on Sundays at nine o’clock in the morning. The second man that we talked to was also hitting a tree but was doing it with his forearms rather than his knuckles. Like the first man, he was hitting the tree to strengthen his body. The goal was to hit each of his forearms three hundred times against the tree every day. He went more in depth about the teaching that occurs on Sunday mornings, explaining that there were four main styles being taught at People’s park.

We arrived at People’s park at 9:25AM on a sunny Sunday morning and as soon as we entered the park, we spotted the first group of martial artists. At first we only noticed a small group of six or seven martial artists who were practicing with the master. It was very easy to pinpoint the master out of the group as he was the one leading the routine, as well as correcting the students’ posture and footwork. The group of students were predominantly male and well into their forties or fifties. On the sides watching the students, were other martial artists who were stretching and socializing. Further away, there were a group of younger students who were practicing something that looked like a different style, but we could not spot the master.
We approached one of the individuals on the side, a man in his forties dressed in a white martial arts uniform and asked him about what he was doing in the park today. Needs more info (Max) The man confirmed to us who the master was and named the style that he was teaching.
Next, we approached the only foreigner in the group of students, an Australian male in his forties. The Australian had been practicing with this specific master for three and a half years, though he has practiced martial arts prior to becoming this master’s student. He trains to improve his health and flexibility, claiming that it has helped him find balance and keeps him centered in Shanghai’s fast paced lifestyle. The Australian comes to the park to train with the master four to five times a week in the morning before going to work.

The Australian student gave us good understanding of the structure of this master’s teaching as well as how martial arts are taught in the park in general. The master teaches seven days a week from 6:30AM to 4PM, though these hours are subject to change at the master’s discretion. Saturday and Sunday are the busiest and also the most relaxed and social. Most students who come, stay for about two hours. According to the Australian, the master is world-renowned for his technique. The master travels and teaches around the world at various times of the year. The Australian told us that foreign students will raise funds to have the master come and teach in their home countries, something, which the Australian has done more than once.

As for his own martial arts experience with this master, the Australian explained that the master is very old fashioned. The master’s teaching style is reminiscent of kung fu movies, where students are told repeat a simple move over and over again, only being taught something new when the master has decided that the student had mastered the technique. The Australian told us how he practiced walking around in a circle for two months before being taught a new a technique. The younger students who we initially thought were doing a different style were actually new students who were just practicing one technique repeatedly, most likely for two months, before moving on. The students that we saw doing a routine with the master had at least one year of experience.

In the park, the teaching of martial arts is completely recreational and is often done for the health benefits. There is no application, or sparring, done in the park. Classes are taught in Mandarin, but there are many foreign students who do not speak any Mandarin and learn through mimicking, though according to the Australian, some styles are not as foreign friendly. There are at least half a dozen masters in the park and all of them have some fame. Permission must be granted by an unspecified group before being able to teach in the park. The masters all hang a small banner to show that they have permission to teach. Every year, all the schools come together and perform in the main area of People’s park.

After talking to the Australian, the rest of my group left while I stayed behind at People’s park. I walked around a little and watched the other masters’ teaching. One group particularly drew my interest, because it seemed the most practical. Their strikes and movement were all very direct as well as the master taking great care to explain the theory behind the movements. I saw the heart that the master had for his students, much more so than the first master that I watched, this master had a brand new female student, who was performing horrendously. Nonetheless, he took much care and patience in teaching her, which was very admirable.

Seeing the martial arts in People’s park gave me a whole new perspective about the place. Just when I thought I had seen all there was to offer at this old park, I discover a whole new subculture that I had completely missed.