Just a quick post to make sure im still alive and posting. Lots of excuses for the break such as losing the login info, trouble loging in, working late and being a lazy ass - all pretty lame as usual.
So heres a nice little vid from the 2009 Surfing Hainan Open, courtesy of Nate from Santa Cruz, not only does he shred on a stick and won the Shortboard Open division, but he can film and edit too! thats multitasking for ya! enjoy
Ive been running round like a blue arsed fly lately because of the surfing contest, but it all went well, got some great waves in Hainan, and finished off some post contest stuff. Finally Ive got some free time, 6days off for the Chinese new year - so ill get back into my regular blogging routine (was it ever regular?)
So heres a nice wee pic of the gang from the 2009 Surfing Hainan Open. You can spot me up the back in green , and Brendan - the guy I worked with to organise and run it. Although I look like Im pulling a muscle flex pose Im actually just trying to get comfortable on the rocks (yeah right!)
Ill post some more pics soon, and some more info on surfing in China.
So this Wednesday Im off to hainan for the surf contest Im organising, Ive been pretty busy lately getting stuff together and finalising everything. The weather has been crap in Shanghai, its raining today, cold and miserable so Im pretty much hangin gout for some time on the beach soaking up the sun. As for the surf, heres a taste of whats predicted:
Looks like a bit of swell around so im hoping for some decent waves. Will post pics up after the contest to brag and show off my tan.
As I mentioned several posts back, Ive been busy working on this surfing event, which is all coming together with only a few minor hiccups. Its looking like it will be a fun event, and I cant wait to get out of the Shanghai cold.
You can find all details at Surfing Hainan's Website with entry forms, FAQ, and stuff.
And the good news is I get a few days off work to hang at the beach. Im off to Indonesia this saturday to organise some surfing stuff to do with prizes and business, so ill try to post on my adventures there.
A friend of mine in New Zealand (Hayden Parson aka Goose) has recently purchased a new Vio POV camera. He is an avid filmer with several good surf videos out (you can spot my mug in a few), and is pretty well know in the NZ surfing community.
A POV camera is a small pen camera which makes it easy to get some great angles, and apparently the new version has an even wider angle lens so for surfing you get an even more realistic feeling.
This vid is from Gooses second attempt, and a pretty sick one at that. I cant wait to see what he will come out with in the future in some bigger heavier waves.
Will post up new stuff as it comes out.
I came across this video while wasting time trying to get over being sick, not that surfing the internet is a great way to cultivate health...but meh.
The northern eagle claw system is a great system, and Master Leung Shum is one of the best. Eagle claw and 7 star praying mantis made up 2 of the 5 styles originally in the Shanghai Chinwoo (精武）school, and they are both northern systems so there are similarities. Praying mantis has techniques from the eagle claw system, such as using the eagle claw hand to grab and both systems have a few common forms.
My teacher spent some time training with Leung Shum in New York, and Ive got a book he wrote so its only fitting to do a little tribute.
So usually, on a Monday I go to training after work, then I come home and do the Movement Monday. This Monday however, Ive been knocked down with illness, and it seems theres no exercise for me at the moment.
As you can see being sick has taken its toll on me, physically, psychologically and fashionably. However, a day wrapped up in robes and fluffy Lilo hats will see me back stronger than ever next week
And believe it or not I actually do wear that hat around the house - its suprisingly warm
If your a loner you probably knew that yesterday was singles day or Guanggun Jie（光棍节), or as my colleague translated it, "nothing but the stick day", I thought this was much better than "singles day"
I found this article on China Daily which gives a little insight into where the festival comes from, heres the crux:
"Singles' Day is, of course, not an official celebration in China. Neither the government nor any non-governmental organization has named it such. No one can say, either, exactly where and when it was first celebrated. But it's apparent that November 11 was chosen because the date, when written down in Arabic numerals, looks like four single people standing together.
There are stories that it originated on Chinese campuses at the end of last century, when college students celebrated being single with a little self-mockery. But now some Chinese have given it a classical Roman origin, saying the day honours a respectable monk during the rule of Claudius, the Roman emperor from AD 41 to 54.
According to the legend, Claudius forbade weddings so that more young people could be sent to his wars, but the unnamed monk defied his order and held weddings for lovers. He was thrown into prison and finally tortured to death on November 11."
Well, there you have it, I personally prefer the original Chinese origin. So in the spirit of mockery, heres probably the most lucky photo Ive ever taken. Guess that calf will be celebrating singles day after that incident.
So its been a while since I posted, and as usual I have an excuse, actually a good one. I just returned from spending the last two weeks trapped in Hong Kong. After the HR department lazily took 2 months to not process my visa I had to leave the country, then wait for them to process and send the documents to me in HK, before applying for a new visa then re-entering the mainland.
So if your getting a visa yourself your probably wondering what documents do you need? Ok so it goes like this: First you need a 就业许可证- a working permit permit (nice translation huh), a 通知函 (work letter) then you get a Z visa, after that you get your temporary residence permit, then you get the 就业证 - the working permit, then finally you get your residence permit. Somewhere in there you also need your health check, contract and a whole lot of bullsh*t waiting and people telling you the wrong thing.
Confused? yeah well now you know what I went through. So when in doubt, make sure you get a job with a HR department that knows what they are doing, unlike the masquerading clowns Ive got.
On a brighter note I did manage to take the chance to get out of the city while in Hong Kong and pop over to Big Wave Bay (大浪湾), unfortunately the waves were not as big as the name would suggest but it was definately worth the ride.
They have surfboards for rent, theres a small cafe on the beach where you can get food and drinks, and the beach is pretty nice. To get there you just take a mini bus or normal bus from Shaukeiwan. the bus line is Shek O, and you can get off at Big Wave Bay rd and walk for 5-10 minutes. Some of the bigger buses will go down to the parking lot for Big Wave Bay. Its only 7 HKdollars, and a great way to escape the city. Just watch out for the odd plastic bag floating around, nasty creatures those.
So Ive been a tad busy lately trying to get my visa sorted, thats about 4 months and counting. I managed to land a job, get a contract, have my health check, and now its down to getting my working permit...Then I can hopefully get my working visa. Feels like Im in a ridiculous tv soap, that just keeps draggin on.
So while Ive been trying to work out what it is I actually do in my new job, Ive got on to something Ive been wanting to do for a while. Im organisising a surfing contest in Hainan. Yeah that island at the bottom of China. There are waves, believe it or not, and not too bad from what Ive heard. Ill be teaming up with Brendan at Surfing Hainan which does board hiring, lessons and can organise transport, hotel and take you to the spots if your up for some waves. Things are still in planning, but its looking good so far, so hopefully this will give me a good excuse to take time off work
Ill post more info when its decided, and if your up for surfing check out Brendans website for more info
