Unlike most people in the club, I first found Fujian White Crane whilst I was working behind a bar - I should probably explain; two people who were dressed a little oddly would come to the bar I was working in and would discuss at length the finer points of Kung Fu- from the advantages of circular blocks over straight blocks, different stances and techniques to simple things like "hit hard, hit fast, hit often!".

These two people were members of the club, and I was fascinated by what they were discussing. As I had no idea what they ever meant, I would always pester them with different questions, which they would answer as patiently as possible. However they kept explaining to me that I would never understand anything unless I came to a class. As this had being going on for some months, I finally stopped harrasing them and did eventually make it to class.

I'd been listening to them for so long, and as I'd always had an avid interest in martial arts I figured I would be able to get to grips with the classes very quickly. I'd watched every Bruce Lee film and documentary ever made, right? I'd seen every Jackie Chang film around, read his autobiography, any kung fu or martial arts film you could think of, it had all been watched by my eager eyes- surely this would all come naturally to me, how could it not?

A humbling hour later, I left feeling tired, sore and bewildered- I hadn't been able to do anything! None of the books I'd read or films I'd seen had helped. This wasn't like watching someone else do it, this actually required effort! Upset that none of my previous knowledge had helped, I went back twice a week to try and learn more- that soon changed to three times a week. Then more.

Wanting to spend more time in class, I stopped working in a bar and got myself a nine to five office job to free up my evenings. I started sparring, took up Suang Yang, learnt as much as I could about this perplexing style that never seemed to get any easier, and always seemed to have more to teach me. At all times, in class and outside, I'd be asking my instructor and all the seniors a barrage of questions- most often they'd give me the same answer. Train more! Seemed like good advice so I took it.

Slowly, over time something odd started happening. People were asking me questions, not the other way around. I answered as best I could (usually 'train more' seemed appropriate) and I started getting involved in club activities. Having gotten to a stage where I can finally help other people with the style, I wanted to take a step further and become an instructor and start teaching students.

It's been a fantastic experience throughout, bringing new people to meet, new challenges and has helped me with my own understanding of Kung Fu. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in class.

Alex Dowbor-Musnicki