Lucky Switzerland 2010! Shaolin Praying Mantis + Taijiquan + Chi Kung :)

[Andrea]

Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family and Guests

I remember last year I was thinking: Wow the "Shaolin Traveling Dragon Sword" here in Switzerland . What an opportunity! We are so lucky... there can't be more than this.

Yet as Andrew Sipak and Sifu have announced, Sigung's 2010 Swiss Tour will bring even more. Not only will Sigung visit our beautiful country for two weeks, he will also teach in two locations: Bern and Zurich, and bring two fantastic arts to Switzerland: the Shaolin Praying Mantis and Wahnam Taijiquan.

We in Switzerland feel very lucky again. And a growing number of Swiss Shaolin Kungfu and Taijiquan practitioners are looking forward to take part in these exiting courses. Will you join us?
It would be lovely to welcome you here in Switzerland and enjoy the fun and "family spirit" of our big Shaolin Wahnam family.

As most of us cannot post in the "course announcement" thread I have opened this thread to discuss anything you like about the Swiss Tour.

See you soon
Andrea

For details on the courses see the announcement at: http://wongkiewkit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9161
A discussion about the Shaolin Praying Mantis can be found here: http://wongkiewkit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8797
Videos to prepare the 4 abridged Taijiquan sequences and the set "Old Eagle Catches Snake" can be found here: http://shaolin.org/video-clips-3/tai...sequences.html

[Andrea]

Stunningly beautiful; mountains, lakes and the two capitals of Switzerland

Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family

For those of you thinking about joining us in Switzerland, a bit more information about the two course locations, which are considered the two capitals of Switzerland.

Zurich is the economic and financial capital of Switzerland, and Bern is the political capital. Both cities offer much to see.
Bern has a beautiful century-old town center and Zurich is famous for its large shopping street called "Bahnhofstrasse". During summer you can take a refreshing bath in the lake of Zurich and enjoy sun bathing along its shores. Or join some of us for a Taijiquan or Shaolin Kungfu session. While Zurich likes to present itself as an international and highly active town (currently its inhabitants come from 160 different nations), Bern prefers to take things at a slower path and prefers life quality instead. Can you see how the courses will bring a good Yin Yang balance to both regions ?
And the famous mountains? Switzerland is small and thus the mountains are not far from either city. A short train trip will take you into the famous "central region" (Zentralscheiz) of Switzerland or up to the "Berner Oberland". Both regions are stunningly beautiful.

I was looking for some videos for a friend and thought I might share them here as well:

Zurich
Scenic view of the Zurich and its region from a mountain nearby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kBWwmP2RAk
Video about Zurich (well the official version..) http://tv.cityguide.com/services/pla...id=33310479001

Bern
Nice views of Bern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX_mpPD1XUU

Mountain Regions
Lucerne - The most visited location in central Switzerland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXpAgVsz3LA
Pilatus - a mountain famous for housing a dragon in central Switzerland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGEKrY85fPw
The famous Jungfrau region http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xbYCZNmY5k

Enjoy and see you soon in Bern and Zurich!
Andrea

[Martin Do]

Dear Andrea,

Switzerland really is beautiful. I was there last year for the Mountain Retreat being a student in Taisipak Kai's class for a week in the mountains (the experience still overwhelms me as I remenise .

Flying into Zurich the fields were absolutely gorgeous, better kept and more neatly trimmed than my own haircut which I happen to think very highly of , despite what my class mates may say.

The train journey from Zurich to the Mountains was filled with extremely beautiful scenes of the mountains, the lakes and traditional Swiss houses. I was like a child in a new country throughout the train journey.

For me, the best place has to be in the same room as Sigung, recieving teachings of the Shaolin arts from Sigung .

I do plan to return to Switzerland again when it is possible for me, likely to be around July-August time .

Best wishes

Martin

[Luo Lang]

Thanks Andrea for the nice thread!

Dear Martin,
Please inform if you are planning to come back to Switzerland early enough!

You get the chance that someone will take care of you for sure!

[Martin Do]

Thank You Sisook

Dear Roland Sisook,

Thank you very much for your very kind and generous offer . I am very touched by it Sisook. I will PM you separately on this.

With my kindest regards

Your Sijat

Martin

[Andrea]

Dear Martin Sihing

We are looking forward to welcoming you here as Sifu has said.
July-August is a very nice time here in Switzerland.

Warm regards
Andrea

[Andrew]

July-August is a very nice time here in Switzerland.

So true. I remember my first year in Switzerland. It was 1st August (Swiss National Day) and my wife (fiancée at the time) and I went walking in Davos (where we were living at the time) IN THE SNOW !

[Andrea]

So true. I remember my first year in Switzerland. It was 1st August (Swiss National Day) and my wife (fiancée at the time) and I went walking in Davos (where we were living at the time) IN THE SNOW !

It must have been the same year, I spent my special summer holidays in Davos. I had planned for a week of mountain hiking and instead enjoyed plenty of snow.
Luckily this is the exception. There are usually just some small snow areas left in the very high mountains, while the rest of Switzerland enjoys a warm summer. Actually just thinking - during Sigung's courses we had as far as I remember always a very nice and hot summer weather .

Andrea

[Andrejs]

Wahnam Tai Chi Chuan set "Old Eagle Catches Snake"

Hello all,

Those attending Wahnam Tai Chi Chuan Course – Old Eagle Catches Snake 26th, 27th & 30th August 2010 in Dällikon, Zurich, Switzerland, it will be interesting to see these two clips about battle between the Bird and the Snake.

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYpeC_YbqBw&feature=related “Hawk catches Snake on the ground”

2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf240LcsPno&feature=fvw “Eagle catches Snake from the water”

“It was recorded that the great Patriarch Zhang San Feng drew his inspiration to evolve Wudang Kungfu, which later developed into Taijiquan, from Shaolin after witnessing a fight between a bird and a snake.”
http://www.shaolin.org/video-clips-4/taijiquan-bluemountain/taijiquan-05/old-eagle.html

All the Very Best,

[drunken boxer]

Hi guys I was just wondering if any UK or Swiss students could advise me on the best way to fly from UK to Bern. From my searching the best I can find is through one of those cheap flight finders using Lufthansa from London to Bern return for about £325 - does that seem reasonable for UK-Swiss travel?
For me time is the most important thing ie I don't mind paying more so that I can fly at good times to avoid having to take extra days off work, ie I'd rather pay more for a direct flight than pay less and need an extra day off in order to catch 3 flights, know what I mean!

[Andrea]

Dear Paul

Bern has a small regional airport called Bern-Belp. In winter there are direct flights from the UK, in summer you have to change. The price you found with Lufthansa looks ok.

You can find cheaper flights to Zurich or Basel. Switzerland is very small, from both airports you can be in Bern in about an hours by railway. The course locations are in the center of Bern, near the central railway station.
Easyjet for example flies to Basel-Mulhouse Euroairport (the airport is a cross-country airport) and to Zurich. Prices as seen today 50-60 £ (plus the taxes you cannot see before booking). Or any other airline serving one of those airports. For the train trip: 108 Swiss Francs (forth and back) = +/- 70£. Time wise it is faster (from what I have seen) than flying directly to Bern, as you have trains every hour.

Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks here

Andrea

[Shaolinfist]

Hi Paul,

I found a flight on www.travelpack.com, via airfrance for £263. Leaving on 19/09/10 at 08:25 from heathrow arriving in Berne same day at 19:00. Return flight is on the 25/09/10 arriving at heathrow at 16:25.
I only did a quick search so you may be able to find cheaper flights elsewhere.

Best regards,
Phil

[Martin Do]

Hey Sisook,

I flew with Swiss air last Summer from London City Airport to Zurich for around £100 including tax. As Mark Sisook said, you can get a train to Bern from Zurich.

London City Airport is convenient for you. You can get a DLR to it. Furthermore, check in is 30 mins before flight. It was great for me last year. Got to the airport 45 mins before flight time, checked in, got a coffee and sandwich, hoped on the plane and off I went. To my surprise,Swiss Air also gave me a delicious cheese roll and tea as complimentary on the flight which I also enjoyed .

Best wishes

Martin

[drunken boxer]

Andrea, Phil, Martin,

Many thanks, I'm glad I asked! For me I'm more interested in saving time than saving money, as I'm running out of vacation time for this years courses more than money. It looks like flying to Zurich or Basel then getting the train is perfect, if it goes every hour and takes one hour, and the course location is near the central train station, that seems very easy. I was thinking that the transport links in Switzerland with the international influence of places like Zurich and Geneva would be superb. A well organised country and a well organised course!

thanks
Paul

[drunken boxer]

Booked my flight and hotel now, woohoo! And thanks to your help guys I think I have managed to plan the flights so that I can work the day before and the day after the course, rather than spend them travelling, which gives me 2 extra days to use for other courses, double woohoo!

I'm so looking forward to it, to my first trip to Switzerland, looking forward to the craic in the hotel, and I'm sure there was something else... oh yes, to buying my first bona fide Swiss army knife!