Grandmaster’s dojo is about 45 minutes outside of Taichung in a township called Caotun and on Monday we had the wonderful opportunity to train with him here. There are several training spaces, some indoor and one larger outdoor space connected to the building. The outdoor space is where we practiced after having tea together. The sides are open but it is covered by a metal awning which provides a very nice soundtrack when it rains, which it did several times while we were practicing. (Grandmaster said that this is his favorite training music.) Grandmaster seemed very happy to host us at his dojo and it was a special treat to get to see him in his element.

The building also contains a memorial room for Great Grandmaster that was really neat to be able to visit. It contained several of his personal items, as well as martial art weapons, pictures and documents. Pictures were allowed and are below!

We practiced Hsing I in the morning and T’ai Chi in the afternoon and had a wonderful day of instruction and practice. There were members from several different schools, including people from Texas, Northern Virginia, California, Italy, and France which made the experience even better. After lunch a few of us walked into town and got bubble tea and were able to see the town a little bit. The weather was damp and misty, but the temperature was very comfortable and the rain wasn’t heavy.

We took taxis back to the hotel and started preparing to pack up. Most of us were heading back up to Taipei on Tuesday for an early morning Wednesday flight back to the states. It was a wonderful and unique opportunity to immerse ourselves in our martial arts as well as to experience the global Cheng Ming family firsthand. We all came back with memories and experiences we will never forget!