Absolutely do not sign up for Real Gap's kung fu program in china unless you have been studying martial arts diligently for at least a year before arriving. Our complaint for the program, which we submitted to Real Gap, was as follows:
"We are writing to let you know a number of problems with the kung fu program. These include, but are not limited to, most classes
being unsuitable for beginners, the lack of appropriately nutritious food, the occasional lack of running water for showers, and the
absence of translators in certain classes.
(1) Ability. Our main complaint involves the statement made by Real Gap that, “students of all abilities are welcome to join this programme, to train in a variety of different forms of Gong Fu.†Having both had exposure to classes where this is the case, we feel comfortable saying that the Shaolin class (which is the reason we came to the school) was not suitable for beginners at all. The other students in the Shaolin class had been there from 2 months – 1 year and we were expected to do the exact same things as them – including dangerous acrobatics.
(2) Food. The programme information sheet clearly states that the food provided “will be nutritious and provide a good diet to support the level of training you will be doing.†Miniscule amounts of protein are served at each meal. For anyone who has ever done martial arts, or any exercise for that matter, having sufficient amounts of protein with which to rebuild torn muscle is crucial. Within a few days of arrival, we learned that almost every student at the school had ordered bottles of protein powder from Hong Kong to supplement their diet.
(3) Water supply. Whenever it rains, the water supply is cut off. Given that we are just entering the rainy season and it has rained every day this week, the water supply for showers has been extremely intermittent. As you can imagine, not being able to shower after 7 hours of exercise is unacceptable. Not having flushing toilets or water to brush your teeth also becomes extremely unhygienic after a few days.
(4) Translators. You warranted in your program information: “There will be translators present to ensure you fully understand the movements and forms you are learning.†Since we speak no Mandarin,
this was obviously an important fact for us. Unfortunately, while some of the students spoke a little Chinese and often offered to help the teachers convey what they meant, there was only a translator in one (White Crane) of the three available classes at the school. This obviously makes it difficult to “fully understand†what we’re meant to do and definitely detracted from the experience for us.
Based on the above problems/ misrepresentations, we believe we are
entitled to a refund and while we believe receiving ¾ of our payment back would be appropriate we are open to you proposing an amount that you deem fair."
Obviously what Real Gap deemed fair was zero. Very inflexible and unprofessional company. DO NOT USE THEM.
