This week SMAbloggers was nominated for the! The Liebster award is an award for bloggers, nominated by other bloggers. A kind of chain letter if you will that highlights new blogs and the great stories these bloggers they are sharing.
For this nomination a big thank you goes to Will at monkeystealspeach.com. Will, as you may know has in the past contributed some excellent blog posts here at SMAbloggers. As well as this Will also has his own excellent blog full martial arts stories, interviews, travel tips and tea culture.
So here’s how the award works.
- Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their site.
- Display an image of the award and write a post about your nomination on your blog.
- Answer the 10 questions your nominee has asked in their blog post.
- Nominate 5-10 other deserving new bloggers for the award and ask them 10 questions of your choice.
- List the rules of the award in your blog post.
Will’s 10 Questions
1.Tell us a bit about yourself
In the summer of 2007 while on a break from my urban planning job back in Belfast I made the decision to travel to China and study traditional kung fu. I craved adventure and a change from the daily grind. Most of my friends had gone travelling between school and university or between university and work. I’d created a window of opportunity and felt this was the right time to use the money I’d saved. My martial arts experience at that time was limited to my regularly Jeet Kune Do classes. Despite my lack of sashes or belts I wasn’t worried. What I lacked in experience I knew I had in determination to work hard and learn as much as I could. Like most of you reading this I’ve an interest and passion for martial arts as well as a growing interest in learning more about the spiritual and healing arts of China. As a teen I used to day dream about what it would be like to visit a land where a monkey could become a king.
China here I come…
Immediately I set to the task of researching kung fu schools in China. I craved being taught in a traditional way without distractions. I wanted to learn how to deal with confrontation effortlessly and improve every aspect of my life.
So I took action and found a school, got my visa and boarded a plane. 13 hours later I arrived in Beijing totally unprepared. I stayed the night in a hotel near the airport and the next day I boarded my internal flight to my end destination with high hopes. I was as green as the grass I’d left back in Ireland. From that moment until now it’s been one hell of an adventure.
Over the last few years I’ve visited a lot of kung fu schools and met a number of students studying at these schools. Some have come for martial arts, some adventure, some for health and fitness and some simply to create space for changing past bad habits. Your reasons for seeking this type of experience are your own. But what they should have in common is a desire to improve. Focus should be on the training and the experiences and other benefits will follow.
2. What was your first trip and how did it change you?
The first really great trip that I undertook was a month long visit to Krakow and Poland. via Prague. At the time I was madly in love and was reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Pirsig, Robert M. (2006) . Discovering places new with a person you love took the trip to a whole new level. It was a time I will never forget and inspired in me a desire for further growth.
3. What’s the biggest thing you’ve gained from travel?
Lasting friendships life lessons, and new learnings.
4. What kind of a traveler are you (backpacker/luxury/solo/group etc)?
I’m not much of a solo traveller. I have always gained more from being able to share my experiences with others. Maybe my next journey will be one of solo travel.
5. What’s your favourite destination so far?
This questions is very difficult. Rather than a physical place I think I will say that my favourite destination has been a state of mind. This can be reached through meditation, and mindfulness. I found myself there most when I was constantly practicing baji quan zhang zhuang. Hours of practice creates the space for certain changes take place not only in the body but the mind. You become more grounded, charged, calm and blissful.
6. What’s your most memorable experience?
In 2007 when myself and my buddy Rhyn Nasser first decided to travel around China visiting martial arts schools and masters to include on the http://www.StudyMartialArts.Org website. What an amazing journey this was. It was packed with adventure, discoveries and meetings with so many amazing martial artists.
7. What’s your worst/most disappointing experience?
When I was a young child and first realised how stupid and selfish grown ups where.
8. Where do you plan to go next?
This I don’t yet know. For the past ten years I’ve been happily living in China. Last year I completed my postgraduate in Education so there could be a new challenge on the horizon. For now though my plan is to focus on BJJ and my general physical and spiritual health.
9. How did you get into blogging?
Honestly, I got into blogging through necessity. I wanted to do two things. Drive traffic to my website and help others passionate about travel and martial arts. I guess it was a logical progression.
10. What are your plans for your blog this year?
At the moment I’m running two blogs essentially, http://www.StudyMartialArts.Org/blog and http://www.SMAbloggers.com. For both blogs I’m the main contributor. So what I’d like is to be able to produce more unique content for them. Whether that is written by me or another passionate writer I don’t really mind. What I don’t want is to compromise on quality. With this and better automation and planning I want to see both blogs achieve, move views, visitors and ultimately more people experiencing martial arts travel and training through www.StudyMartialArts.Org.
SMA bloggers 