“Tigers Don’t Get Colds”: Lessons from an unusual master

There’s a figure in the distance. Down on all fours, his sweatpants-clad rear juts out, as he waddles past a trashcan. With utmost delibera­tion and a look of intense concentration on his serene face, he alternates hand and foot. He is both awkward and regal; tiger-in-pants meets King of the Forest.

Success: I’ve finally spotted Han Laoshi.

“A new student!” exclaim his followers, a ragtag bunch of all-too-friendly sexagenarians. They lend me a set of obligatory hand-gear (worker gloves), and class is in session.

My teacher is a sprightly 72-year-old man with a personalized t-shirt. A banner behind him states 爬出健康 (“from crawling comes health”), the mantra of his unique philosophy – the “Five Beastly Walks” – which teaches disciples how to attain personal wellbeing through mimicking the gaits of animals.

Citing tenets of Chinese medicine, he notes that such “exercise” can benefit the flow of qi energy throughout the body and “stimulate the chan­nels of the limbs.” Activating acupuncture points, “beastly walking” can cure a variety of ailments and annoyances, including muscle pain, diarrhea and even diabetes.

His near cult-like followers – some clambering like apes, others doing impressive leg stretches – nod approvingly. Many have studied under him for several years. “Tigers don’t get colds,” their master explains. “Walking like them, we can learn their secrets.”

At his well-established benchside spot (he’s been giving lessons for 15 years), students can learn five different walks: the elephant, the ape, the bear, the tiger and my personal favorite, the kangaroo. But don’t expect to be hopping on day one. Students progress through the styles, begin­ning with the lumbering pachyderm and ending with the spry marsupial.

His class is less a class and more a trip to the gym. There is no set time limit or length of instruc­tion. You last only as long as you can stand the complex, full-body workout.

I will spare you the intimate details of Han Laoshi’s walks – in fact, his techniques are a trade secret. (Really – Han is quick to display his copyright certificate.) For 20 kuai, however, you can get a copy of his vividly illustrated how-to booklet, as well as an instructional DVD, full of surreal scenes of the elderly gentleman strolling like a tiger in front of a cornfield, to the elegant strumming of a guzheng.

For 2.5 kuai more, you can get signature-edition, rubber-coated gloves. After studying under Han Laoshi, I have decided to put them in my medicine cabinet and clear everything else out. Tigers don’t have medicine cabinets, after all.

Han Laoshi’s class meets daily 7-9.30am by a bench in Beihai Park. Ask for the “Guy who teaches you to walk like animals.”

This article was excerpted from the Insider’s Guide to Beijing. Fully updated for 2009, the guide is available in stores in Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities and on the web at Amazon.com and www.immersionguides.com. To have a copy delivered to your home, office or hotel in Beijing, call 5820 7101 or e-mail distribution@immersionguides.com .