Bak Mei

[Eric]

Was the priest Bak Mei a traitor. Did he sell out the the shoalin temple and seak and destroy the monks that escaped from it for the ching emperor? I read this an a hung gar site the other day. Only to be killed by hung gar style. Does anyone know?

[Shaolin Temple]

I hope I did not offend anyone but yes, bak mei did destroy Shaolin.
Bak mei's style (Omei and taoist arts was developed a few hundred years ago whereas Shaolin is around 1500 years old now)was regarded as a sister martial arts technique to Shaolin. Although there are lots of debate to this the fact remains, the taoist priest bak mei was an evil doer.

All martial arts introduced to Shaolin was done so
via Boddhidarma who originated from India. The style that was practiced at that time and even to now is called wu ji or mo kik. This is a more
superior form than tai chi (once again, no offence). In the olden days, all martial arts were classified according to class and hierachy. The
upper class were to learn upper class styles and peasants...the common forms. Wu ji is the mother technique of tai chi.

Shaolin and bak mei were developed from this derivative but during the Ching dynasty, the taoist bak mei priest was a henchmen of the
government and due to the centuries of rivalry between Buddhism and Taoism, he took it upon his right to try and wipe out the Shaolin cult
(as he called it).

He was responsible for the death of Hung Yee Kun's disciple brothers such as Fong Sai Yuk and their master San Te and abbott Chi Sin Fat Si.

Hung Yee Kun with his son Man Tik were the salvators of Shaolin and after clearing this world of the evil demon, they restored the Shaolin Temple in The South (Fujian Shaolin and Chengchou). There are actually 3 Shaolins in China. One in the north (Songshan) and 2 in the South (Fujian and Chengchou...which is not so well known. The Chinese government have just found the foundation and restoring it now).

bak mei is not a bad style. It has a good system but like all styles, you may get a black sheep in the family.

Otherwise, who cares if it is Shaolin or not or whether he was bad or not. His fighting style is strong but the originator was evil and disillusioned by fame, fortune and hatred.

Kung fu is about hard work and perseverence, tolerance, chivalry, justice. No matter what
style you practice, do it well with good intention and you will improve.

Spread the art of kung fu outwards and you will be rewarded from the learning and teaching experience.

Amitabha.

[Ross]

Here is a different perspective...so chill there are often a number of versions of what happened. Promoting distrust between systems has been one reason for the old joke....if you want to defeat kung fu men leave a group of them alone in a room!

from: http://www.cdc.net/~xylon/history/not_traitor.htm

"Monk Bai Mei, as one of the elders of the Shaoling Temple, decided to remain neutral from the revolt against the Manchurians. Monk Bai Mei's decision to stay away from this conflict was influenced and consistent with the intrinsic values of Buddhism, "separation from secular affairs". His belief was unfortunately not shared by everyone, including one of his disciples. This disciple was hired by the Manchurians to become a head hunter; his mission was to hunt down and either kill or bring in "rebels". After successfully capturing and killing many "rebels", these "rebels" devised a plan to rid themselves of this head hunter. Monk Bai Mei's disciple was captured and upon hearing the news, Monk Bai Mei sent a message to the captors and asked them for custody of his disciple. Monk Bai Mei asked the captors not to harm his disciple and agreed that upon receiving his disciple under custody, Monk Bai Mei would make sure his disciple's involvement with the Manchurians would end.

Monk Bai Mei and these "rebels" agreed on a location to meet; however, when the captors arrived, they could only produce the lifeless body of the disciple. Monk Bai Mei was over taken by anger and began to fight the captors. Among the captors was Monk Che-sien, another elder of the Shaolin Temple and the instructor of Hung Tse-kwan (founder of the Hung Gar System). Even though Monk Che-sien played a role in making the exchange agreements with Monk Bai Mei, Monk Che-sien was not involved nor was he responsible for the death of the disciple; someone else in Monk Che-sien's group was to blame. During this battle between Monk Bai Mei and the captors, Monk Bai Mei and Monk Che-sien crossed hands. Monk Che-sien was well known for his "Iron Head" and during the battle Monk Che-sien charged at Monk Bai Mei. Unfortunately for Monk Che-sien, Monk Bai Mei was well known for his "Cotton Belly" and upon impact between Monk Che-sien's "Iron Head" and Monk Bai Mei's "Cotton Belly", Monk Che-sien was sent off flying through the air. Upon landing, Monk Che-sien died of a broken neck. After this battle, Monk Bai Mei refrained from all internal conflicts. This historic event, according to many and especially Hung Gar practitioners, defines Monk Bai Mei as a traitor. Despite the popular belief about Monk Bai Mei, our salute at the beginning of every pattern reflects Monk Bai Mei's decision to remain neutral. Curiously enough, when our group traveled to China and visited the Shaolin temple, the giant statue guarding the entrance had a salute quite similar to ours."

[tnwingtsun]

Well said brother