School-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.