PDA

View Full Version : What does the Shaolin temple think of Bruce Lee?



Erasmus Lightstone
01-06-2001, 06:59 AM
Now if this isn't an article that should be run in a future issue of "Inside Kung Fu" or similar mag--I don't know what is!! Get interviews from monks and grandmaster's in the REAL Shaolin
temple(s) and ask their honest-no b.s opinions on Lee, his Jeet Kune Do and wether or not they agree or disagree with his philosophies and why. It would be a sellout issue!!

8stepsifu
01-06-2001, 07:02 AM
both shaolin and bruce are dead. Move on

If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.

Kristoffer
01-06-2001, 01:09 PM
....just out of curiosity (sp?), have you ever been to the Shaolin temple? As I heard there are alot of 'fake' monks there.. the grandmaster sure is. But In the backyards and in the shaolin village there are REAL kung fu sifus. They have a few schools wich are quite large.

So I don't think that the temple is dead. Who cares if they have 'traditional' training at the temple... They still train for like, 4 hours a day. (something that I doubt that many in the west does)

just a thought.
~K~
:cool:

Kristoffer
01-06-2001, 01:12 PM
and i don't really care so much for Bruce..
come on man, may he rest in peace all ready!

reemul
01-06-2001, 05:41 PM
Well some have survived, they're just relocated outside China.

As to what the Shaoin think of Bruce, they don't.
By western standards, bruce was ahead of his time with regard to the martial art conditioning, but in comparison to Shaolin masters he was out of his league.

8stepsifu
01-06-2001, 10:58 PM
I believe that good Shaolin practitioners took off and preserved it. What was in China was either too amateur to bother with or was executed. The "Shaolin" I'm talkin about is the kind of crap that produces Shi Yan Ming.....Did you see his blackbelt article? What kind of a kung fu practitioner that talks about chi kung goes around with his abs flexed. His article exposed him as a know nothing pretty wushu boy with no real kung fu. I agree, Bruce was awesome for the USA in the 70's but has nothing on a Shaolin Master. How could he? He was limited to his own experience. Shaolin has a thousand year old history. The Shaolin Temple no longer produces the best kung fu fighters, private kwoons around the world do. And bruce Lee is dead and he wasn't spectacular to begin with, we just didn't know any better.

If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.

loki
01-06-2001, 11:32 PM
"WHO CARES ?!"

NO ROAD IS AS LONG OR FILLED WITH AS MANY OBSTACLES AS THE ONE TRAVELLED BY THE CHINESE BOXER. FEW ATTEMPT TO TAKE IT . THOSE THAT REACH IT'S END ARE EVEN FEWER.

old jong
01-06-2001, 11:39 PM
Shaolin is today a tourisme industry and Bruce Lee is a dead movie star so...

C'est la vie!

fiercest tiger
01-06-2001, 11:51 PM
ive been there 4 times, and i can tell you that its all wushu and NO ONE their knows real kung fu.
i have been there to buy weapons and to see china and to train in the south but went there to see and experience the temple. i even done a demo for the monks there.

the so called monks put a demo on for me and about 10 other people that where there, much like the travelling monks that are putting on shows around the world. it is wushu nothing more nothing less, and the iron palm monks that breaks the bricks, the bricks where very poor because i went behind the temple where the bricks were keeped that they use for the show and i picked it and punched it in half it was like sand.

hey these guys are good a wushu but its not real kung fu when they use fake props to make themselves look good.

all in all it is a beautiful temple and china is awsome. the weapons are so cheap, uniforms and painting etc. i will go back with my students on a trip again one day. :D

peace

bakmeimonk@hotmail.com

reemul
01-07-2001, 12:02 AM
yep, I believe in another thread I posted something to the effect of the Shaolin masters leaving between 1928-1933. It is hard to come by, but it is out there, however most of the systems have died. If you do find it, no one will believe you anyway. Just so we are clear I am no fan of Shi Yan Ming or the crap coming out of Shaolin temple.

reemul
01-07-2001, 12:05 AM
Bruce Lee did encounter a real Shaolin master, interresting story.

NorthernMantis
01-07-2001, 03:06 AM
To tell the truth I don't even think they ever heard of bruce lee.

"Always be ready"

NorthernMantis
01-07-2001, 03:06 AM
To tell the truth I don't even think they ever heard of bruce lee or his art.

"Always be ready"

Brad
01-07-2001, 05:41 AM
Just about every Shaolin Monk I've ever seen has been a wushu athlete who couldn't make it on to a pro level team. The forms I've seen are usually modern routines muddied up to look more traditional. At least that's what I've seen in every documentary I've watched. Also occasionaly a Pro team member will shave their head and go to the temple to teach the monks for a while. This may not be the case anymore since there's a much larger student base now than there was when the temple was 1st renovated.

Anyway, back to the topic, I remember reading an article where a former monk said something about Bruce Lee being one of his idols. So I asume they know about him :)

HuangKaiVun
01-07-2001, 05:48 AM
Ask the Shaolin monks directly.

I'm sure that they would answer.

Erasmus Lightstone
01-07-2001, 06:32 AM
"Shaolin is a tourism industry and Bruce Lee is a dead movie star" so C'est La Vie.

This statement needs to be commented on. First of all, Bruce was a martial artist FIRST and a movie actor SECOND! MOST kung fu founders of the original styleS are DEAD...does that mean that the martial arts community says "Sorry-we can't study the style--nor can we comment on the founder or the system--just because..they're dead"? No-of course not!! Other people remarked that Bruce Lee couldn't hold a candle to a shaolin monk..I assume you mean that he would get his ass kicked eh? I wasn't asking that either. I asked rather rhetorically if anyone agreed that it would be an interesting feature story.

reemul
01-07-2001, 06:55 AM
Don't look to the Temple for Shaolin kung fu.

Some buisness men of a Tong brought Bruce into the catacombs of San Francisco, Where he was introduced to Master Lo (last of the White eyebrow masters) and another master who will remain nameless.

Erasmus Lightstone
01-07-2001, 08:02 AM
Thanks for your input-but please explain how him being introduced to a White Eyebrow master relates to what Shaolin(the temple) or Shaolin(as in the remaining genuine monks and not impostors) has to say about him and JKD?

reemul
01-07-2001, 12:42 PM
You asked what the Shaolin thought of Bruce,

My response was that they thought nothing of him.

He was basically to impatient to study the so called "traditional" systems. They were not impressed by his ability because in their eyes he was a novice.

The Shaolin temple has been void of Shaolin monks for 70 years. Having left the monastary and China they ceased being monks and those with the information of the shaolin systems do not call themselves monks.

As for the current Shaolin practioners, some like his movies, some don't, and pretty much none aspire to be like him, they're seeking what is far beyond what he was capable of.

If you don't see the relevance of Bruce meeting a Shaolin master and what traspired, not correlating
to your question, you are beyond my help.

Kristoffer
01-07-2001, 12:59 PM
I read in a article about the authors trip to the shaolin temple. He made it clear that most of the 'kung fu' that were trained there was modern wushu. BUT,,, there was the real deal too! It was just very hard to find becouse every 'monk' were the same funny looking robes :D But after he talked and trained to alot of monks, he stumbeld across a chinese who did traditional kung fu. The author was pretty sure that this man came from the shaolin village....

In the article, he writes that in the shaolin village there are strictly traditional schools of kung fu.
He also writes that alot of people look down on the temple just becouse they are not what they used to be, but the training there is very extreme , so does it really matter when u are getting the work out of a life time :D ??

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

soooo, about the village???? Is that true??? :confused:

~K~
the super-duper supreme

WongFeHung
01-07-2001, 11:33 PM
someone posted, "go ask the monks"
hhhmmmm, okie-dokie, lemmie just fire up the ol' ouija board, light some candles and see if I can scare up a monk,.....okay...wait a minute, something's comming through....."Girl? What you do to yo' hair?!" "Why it's Autumn Sunrise, do you like it?"

Braden
01-07-2001, 11:44 PM
Yeah, you can tell that Bruce was a martial artist first and an actor second by how he cut his acting studies short to go train.

No, wait a second...

Erasmus Lightstone
01-08-2001, 07:15 AM
Reemul

I'm not beyond your help because I don't know the story!! All you said was that he met a shaolin monk. OK? AND? Then what?

reemul
01-08-2001, 11:27 AM
I did say that, they didn't think much of him one way or the other.

Here is what happened anyway(not much):Some buisiness men who belonged to a Tong brought Bruce
to where the Shaolin masters "hung out". The buisness guys were impressed cause he basically made it in terms of Chinese Actors. As I said he met Master Lo of the White eyebrow clan and another master. Bruce got cocky and wanted to display his abillities and called upon the "un-named " master to go a couple of rounds. He said ok. As
bruce started squareing off, the master just stood there. Bruced told him to put his guard up and I believe the master replied something to the effect of "my chi will be my guard" and just stood there.
To cut it short Bruce backed down. It is just as well, the master in question had approximately 170 fights in a year and these were underground fights
,not in a ring.

But as I said they didn't think much of him one way or the other, the only KF guys that got upset
when Bruce started teaching were the Wing Chun people

Erasmus Lightstone
01-08-2001, 12:29 PM
Thanks for Clarifying Reemul,

That is an interesting story. As much a fan of Bruce that I am--I will be the first to admit that he was cocky. I can only speculate based on logic alone that as the years went on(assuming he had lived) he would have matured enough to know that it was best not to brag needlessly. Have you or anyone else on this bulletin board seen the movie "Dragon" with Jason Scott Lee? I can't say for certain what style the other kung fu stylist with the long hair was using. It was definitely Tiger based of some sort(Hung Gar?)..but there was a scene where he(the opponent) did a Phoenix eye fist move and a Flying Side kick(Tae Kwon Do?)at the end of the first fight. Do you know what style it was? Nice chatting :)

DreamLover
01-08-2001, 02:13 PM
they tried to make it bak mei mix with northern. But considering it should have been purely Northern Wong Jack Man I do not understand!!!

HuangKaiVun
01-08-2001, 02:49 PM
I hated that "Dragon" movie.

I thought it was an insult to JKD and to Bruce Lee - having a prettyboy get up there and act like the quintessential arrogant martial arts bully that Bruce Lee so obviously WASN'T.

As far as the speculation about how he did in fights goes, none of us were there so none of us really know.

Nor should we care.

origenx
01-08-2001, 08:16 PM
reemul - are you making that up? i have never heard of underground shaolin msaters living in San Francisco. Never heard that story basically. you got reliable source?

Kristoffer
01-08-2001, 09:22 PM
theres a jkd forum for u bruce lovers.... Maaaaybe u should bring this up over there?

just a though :D

~K~
the super-duper supreme

Dragon Warrior
01-09-2001, 01:22 AM
To all of you who doubt Shi Yan Ming, he has come to my school and done some seminars and I know one thing: he will kick all your asses. He does not just teach Wu Shu because he taught us some traditional forms and a few techniques. Jealosy is the only reason you people talk crap about the monks. Everytime I see them do something, whether it be Wu Shu or not it is amazing. If you really doubt Shi Yan Ming and think he only does Modern WuShu then go to his school and tell him to his face. You dont have build your ego on the net, just go to his school, you could show his students that his training isnt traditional.

Temptation tempts my victim to proceed,
forward ignorence wouldn't allow retreat,
you'd rather pursue death than admit defeat (Masta Killa: Wu Tang Clan)

Chris V.

reemul
01-09-2001, 04:16 AM
The story wasn't made up, but honestly I don't think anything I can say would remove your skepticism.

8stepsifu
01-09-2001, 04:44 AM
Shi Yang Ming exposed himself like a subway pervert in the last issue of blackbelt. Before I assumed some abilities to him, but when he said that he didn't teach blocking and posed with a six pack I pushed the BS alarm. Kung fu guys have stomaches like babies, it's called breathing properly, anyone that has ever held a bow stance for any length of time needs to do this to increase both balance and endurance. EVEN THEATRE PEOPLE KNOW THIS. It's called the "Alexander method." Don't think that some guy is a kung fu master because he's fit and chinese. These days, it's just as likely that some fat Cajun guy is a kung fu expert. In any case a picture is worth a thousand words. BTW Did he ever claim to be a Master....or just a "fighting monk" If thats so then I'd like to introduce "FRANK, THE KUNG FU FIGHTING PLUMBER!" Or Albert the kung fu fighiting college student. Shi Yan Ming's sets are pretty, but they guy has no real kung fu. I'm not gonna waste any more time on this cardboard sifu, as far as I'm concerned he goes in the Ashida Kim pile

If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.

Dragon Warrior
01-09-2001, 06:38 AM
To 8stepsifu
if you think shi yan ming's stomach is weak, go give it a try. Ask him to go punch for punch with you. You punch him in the stomach and he'll punch you back. Lets see if that six pack is as weak as you claim. Im sure he wont say no. After that, ask him to spar with you a little bit, bare knuckle or with gloves, im sure it wont matter to him. Go find out if your judgements about him are true.

Temptation tempts my victim to proceed,
forward ignorence wouldn't allow retreat,
you'd rather pursue death than admit defeat (Masta Killa: Wu Tang Clan)

Chris V.

reemul
01-09-2001, 12:11 PM
HE, is not a Shaolin practioner. Dont' get caught up in the temple hype.

mortal
08-07-2001, 10:13 PM
Sifu Shi Yan ming having a 6 pack is a good thing. Should he have a pot belly like most of the "Sifu John Smith from north butt****". I can't beleive you people rip him. I train with the guy and he is invincible. I would love to see any of the fake tough guy kung fu nerds that doubt him step up. You couldn't touch him. I am not just some starry eyed student. I have trained at this school for three years. There is more to it then an outsider could possibly know.
If he is not a monk, maybe but he sure spends 100%of his life acting like one. His techniques are no techniques. Those simple punches are all you need if you are fast enough. His kicks are even faster. While I'm at it wushu is the name of what we all do,in China(duh) Kung fu is the description of when its practiced. I can't beleive nobody on this site knows that.
When I went to the tournament in baltimore the last couple of years I couldn't beleive how low a level of kung fu that is practiced in the states. Its laughable. If any of you are good at kung fu and work hard when they train I would like to meet in the new york area to share ideas. This is not a challenge but if you saw even what I can do(basics that you all make fun of) most of you would be impressed. I hope i didn't **** anyone off too bad but this bashing has got to stop. Some of you should be training as much as you post on this forum.

Amitabha

Crimson Phoenix
08-07-2001, 10:40 PM
Some precisions: most of us know the difference between gong fu and wushu, if we don't use wushu it's because PRC dubs its show derivation of TCMA that way an it's already hard enough to be clear...OK, we could use wu gong, or quan fa, or whatever suitable term but gong fu has now spread to design TCMA so we use it because everyone understands what we mean even if it is not a suitable term.
And Shi Yan Ming is surely not invincible...how do I know? Because no one is...aside from that, some persons are subject to controversy in here, even names like Yang Jwing Ming or Adam Hsu do not receive 100% of votes...so try not to take it to personally :-)

Phoenix

mortal
08-07-2001, 11:16 PM
I don't take it personally, I find it funny.

P.S. he is invincible!!!!!!!! ;)