My Experience at Wu Dao

By Omer Bartov
Omer Bartov is a Level 3 (Orange) Student at Wu Dao

I joined the Wu Dao School about two-and-a-half years ago. At the time I felt that although I was in pretty good physical shape for my age I was loosing flexibility, suffering from occasional backaches, and had at best deteriorating posture. Since walking through the doors of the school I have frankly become hooked. I cannot say that my progress was as rapid as some of my younger classmates. But I can say that the school has become a major part of my life, part of a routine that I do my best to maintain and a tremendous physical and mental addition to what is by all accounts a rather crowded schedule.

I have been training regularly, several times a week most of year. Initially I trained also in tai-chi, but for reasons of time I now focus on yoga and kung fu. Although I do yoga with Sissi only an hour per week, her careful guidance has been of considerable benefit. I have taken to doing yoga every morning at home, and now begin my long days much better prepared. My back pains have greatly diminished, my posture has improved, and I have regained flexibility that I have not enjoyed since my youth. In kung fu, shifu Tim has been an extraordinary teacher, combining strict discipline and insistence on detail with a sense of humor and a feeling of teamwork and camaraderie. Working hard, I have gradually advanced from white to yellow, and recently from yellow to orange belt. I will admit that I take pride in being (most of the time at least) the oldest member of our group of students but still keeping up. But beyond the sense of accomplishment, which is at least as satisfying and very different from anything in my own profession, I find the intense training sessions psychologically absolutely fantastic and for that reason also quite addictive. When I go to class, for the next 90 minutes I think of nothing else but kung fu (or yoga). I am entirely liberated from the pressures and worries of my work, and come out physically exhausted perhaps but also completely refreshed and mentally recharged. I am now 56 and feel better than I have in years. I hope that Wu Dao and I will continue working together for many years to come!