March/April 2009 Wudang Special

[LaylaConn]

As I've stated before: I love the articles on Wudang and Grandmaster Tu's Iron Palm. However, now that I look back on it, I also enjoyed the articles on Daoism and the TCE Championships. I guess that's why KFM's bimonthly. ;)

First of all, I found it interesting to learn that there are certainly more than one form of Daoist. Silly as it may be, the thought never occurred to me. That and unlike the Buddhist monks, the Daoists actually let their hair grow out. Having been raised in a family who loves and creates rock music, I am naturally inclined to admire those with longer hair. I'm not comparing Daoism to hippies by any stretch of the imagination, but I admit I was pleasantly surprised to see that there really was a Religious practice which openly suggests the growth of hair to such extremes.

It's odd though. When I think of a Chinese priest, I immediately think of a Buddhist monk from early kung fu movies. Having been originated in India, you'd think that one would think of the Dao religion first and foremost. It's a true Chinese religion.

By the way, if I happen to be offending anyone, please don't take it seriously. I just happen to think this is interesting and am simply typing what I think as I think it. No matter, I do apologize if I happened to offend anyone in the mean time.

On the subject of Iron Palm, I must admit that "iron body" techniques have long intrigued me since I first heard of them over ten years ago. Naturally, I couldn't wait to read it. Although not to my surprise, the instructions provided for the eight different methods of iron palm training are the same ones my master showed me a while back. That, and Grandmaster Tu's stance and physique's eerily like my father's. He actually showed me similar techniques in about the same manner. I'm not going to give too much away for fear that someone might take my description too seriously and choose not to buy the mag, so I'll leave it to you.

Hell, I'm rambling again! Maybe it's a sign that I should start practicing for a change (lol)! I know I haven't gotten around to blogging about Wudang as well, but I suppose I'll have to save that for tomorrow. I've got an early shift to get to. :eek:

[GeneChing]

I wanted to add "Wudang Special" in there. It's our first 'official' Wudang special and I'm quite proud that we pulled that off right after our 10th official Shaolin special.

[DaoistGate]

The supense is killing me. I can't wait until our copies get here! :)

Julie
(Zhou Xuan Yun's wife and unofficial translator)
www.DaoistGate.com

[GeneChing]

Did you touch base with Joan about it?

[DaoistGate]

Did you touch base with Joan about it?

I just got both of your e-mails. Seems like everything is on its way.
Thanks for your help!

[SimonM]

Saw it on a news stand this morning. Haven't had a chance to go and buy it yet. On my lunch break I have to go back and buy a notebook to begin figuring out the plot for my next book now that I have the first draft of the first book done and I'll probably pick up the mag then.

[Chief_Suicide]

My wife subscribed me to Kung Fu magazine in early January. I received the t-shirt quickly, but I haven't got this issue yet. I was at Borders and I saw they had the new issue out for march.

Should I expect to see this issue in the mail soon, or will it not come till March? The last issue said to display until March 1st. It's the first week of February, so I was just curious.

[GeneChing]

Our subscribers were shipped out a few weeks ago. Because we do an in-house bulk mailing, some subscribers might get their issues after the issue hits the newsstands. There's a slight chance that your subscription missed that mailing it was closer to mid-January. You can check on your status by emailing sales@martialartsmart.net. PM me and let me know what they say. That department is based in our TN office, not here in CA.

Thanks for subscribing. (http://www.martialartsmart.net/19341.html)

[DaoistGate]

I was very happy to read the whole Wudang issue. Zhong Xue Chao (Bing) is a childhood friend of Xuan Yun's and we were very happy to meet Don Allen at the International Chinese Traditional Martial Arts Expo in New York last year. It is great to see everyone working together on this issue!

I do have to say that it is sad that the end of Xuan Yun's article was edited out. The end of the article talked about how Xuan Yun and I met in China, got married, and moved to the United States. It also talked about what he is involved in here, including his series of instructional DVD's with YMAA, and his regular classes and workshops here in Boston. It also discussed his thoughts on the U.S. martial arts scene. It's not quite the same story if you leave out the happy ending!

I do have a bit of a comment on Don Allen's 3 Things You Might Not Know About Daoists article. Contrary to what Don Allen wrote, the distinction between a Daoist monk and Daoist priest does not exist in in the Chinese language. The term for a Daoist monastic is a 道士 and this term is used for both Daoists who live in temples and don't marry or eat meat and for those who live outside the monisaties and can marry and eat meat. 道士 can be translated as either Daoist Monk or Daoist Priest. The difference between the two Daoist lifestyles is more than a semantic one. The difference acutally depends on the sect of Daoism the practitioner took vows in.

In 142 A.D. Zhang Dao Ling established the Orthodox Unity Sect of Daoism ( 正一道 - Zheng Yi Dao). Orthodox Unity Daoists (like Zhou Xuan Yun, Zhong Xue Chao, and Don Allen's teacher Yuan Xiu Gang) can live outside the temples, and are not required to be celibate or vegetarian, and some chose to practice the martial arts. In the Song Dynasty (around 1200 A.D.) Wang Chong Yang established the Complete Perfection Sect of Daoism (全真道 - Quan Zhen Dao) which incorporated a more Buddhist monastic lifestyle, and a Confucian system of ethics. Complete Prefection Daoists usually do not practice the martial arts, although they do a lot of meditation and qigong. Wudang Mountain is sacred to Orthodox Unity Daoists, but in the more modern times, the two schools exist side by side. I suppose you could translate Quan Zhen Daoist as Daoist Monk, and Zheng Yi Daoist as Daoist Priest, but in Chinese the term used is the same. The use of the same term underlies the similarities between the two sects, not their differences. Practitioners of both schools show the same level of committment to their religious cultivation they just walk different paths to get there. Sorry if this is getting a bit long. Xuan Yun talks a lot about the history of Daoism and it's role in the martial arts in his Wudang Taiji Quan DVD, as we've both written a lot about it on his web site.

Thanks again for the great issue!

Julie Baecker (Xuan Yun's wife and unofficial translator)
http://www.DaoistGate.com

[GeneChing]

We saved that for the web platform. We typically let the issue breath on the newsstands for a few weeks before bumping them up with the web versions. It's mentioned in the Author Section. We'll put the table of contents up here very soon (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/index.php). Then we'll make the unabridged and cover stories go live later.

Don Allen is on his way to Wudang this weekend, so I doubt he'll be able to reply to your comments until later.

[Zi Zheng]

I'm not much of a forum guy. Can't get into it. As you will find, a lot of people take things personally and get defensive on here. I am not one of those people. I will only reply in response to things I have written to "protect" my credibility. So, this is in no way an attack or anything pertaining to a negative response.


道士 can be translated as either Daoist Monk or Daoist Priest. The difference between the two Daoist lifestyles is more than a semantic one. The difference acutally depends on the sect of Daoism the practitioner took vows in.




The difference in Dao Shi is more than a semantic one. And I did state "Amongst the many sects, two types of Daoist exist. We do agree that the difference is more than a semantic one, but in America the terms "priest" and "monk" describe the differences between the practices of these types of Dao Shi. The distinction is made to clarify any confusion that would be brought on by using an umbrella word such as Dao Shi. The Chinese use more umbrella words where we have completely separate words to describe things. Perfect example... giraffe. In Chinese it is "Chong Zhang Lu." translated as "long neck deer." In America, we do not see this animal as a deer and in language it has it's own word. "Wheat" can be another example and there are thousands more. So, what might have seemed as my ignorance of the subject is clearly catering to a public that has no understanding of Chinese, or the want to have to research the differences. It is clearly used and written that way for simplicity and lack of confusion. Also... as you know, we only get a couple of thousand words to get the point across. Sometimes, especially with this subject... not easy. :)


The use of the same term underlies the similarities between the two sects, not their differences. Practitioners of both schools show the same level of commitment to their religious cultivation they just walk different paths to get there.

Agreed. I liked this.

I will be in China soon for the next 6 yrs. I let my website go. You can get in touch with me on www.myspace.com/usawudang

or at usawudang@yahoo.com

I look forward to seeing you guys again in the future.

[@PLUGO]

For those of you who haven't yet purchased the issue. (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=803)

[DaoistGate]

Hi Don,

Glad to hear from you! I didn't mean anything personal from my response, and I'm glad you didn't take it that way. I agree that arguing in forums is silly. I meant to show another way of looking at the issue, rather than question your credibility. I think you did a great job with that article, and I know the rest of the Wudang crew appreciates the work you've done in keeping the art alive. I appreciate the difficulty of explaining something to an audience that may not be familiar with the background.

As for differences between Daoists, it's a tricky subject. I do feel that the differences in the lifestyles are more due to the existance of two different schools of Daoism, rather than two different kinds of monastics. But I suppose the end result is the same. People can be Daoist in a way that feels right for them. The first question I ever asked Xuan Yun was if he was Quan Zhen Daoist, or Zheng Yi Daoist. I already had a crush on him by then, and asking the question was a way of finding out which set of vows he'd taken. :)

I usually translate 道士 as Daoist Monk since I think people associate the term Priest with Western religions (which might involve a ministry practice and prosteletizing) and associate the term Monk with Eastern religions. Although, just a few months ago I got an e-mail from another Wudang master's student who said she thought Xuan Yun was a fake, because I'd used the term Monk rather than Priest on his web site! Maybe I should change my translation!

BTW, did Yuan Xiu Gang show you how to burn any of your hair that falls out and drink or write fu-lu with the ashes? Xuan Yun's got a very strict practice for handling his lost hair. I like how focused Daoists are on the conservation of natural resources!

Best of luck in China. Xuan Yun is there now, but will heading back to Boston in a week. Maybe you'll bump into him!

Julie
www.DaoistGate.com

[Snake77]

I'm still waiting on my issue........................:(

[Chief_Suicide]

Our subscribers were shipped out a few weeks ago. Because we do an in-house bulk mailing, some subscribers might get their issues after the issue hits the newsstands. There's a slight chance that your subscription missed that mailing it was closer to mid-January. You can check on your status by emailing sales@martialartsmart.net. PM me and let me know what they say. That department is based in our TN office, not here in CA.

Thanks for subscribing. (http://www.martialartsmart.net/19341.html)

I e-mailed the address above and haven't heard anything yet. I e-mailed them from an e-mail address different from the one my wife ordered the magazine with, so I assume that might be the issue.

I'll wait till March before I get too worried about it. Can't wait to read it though.

[GeneChing]

Snake77, I'm not sure what's up with yours. Email the address above to find out. Sorry for the delay, gentlemen. We're doing the best we can while trying to keep subscription prices down for y'all.

[Chief_Suicide]

I got a call on my voicemail from a guy named Brian in Tennessee that said it is on its way.

Thanks for checking; I can't wait!

[GeneChing]

Snake77 - did you contact sales@martialartsmart.net?

[Chief_Suicide]

.... got it today. Thanks again!

[GeneChing]

The unabridged The Road to Wudang (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=804) By Zhou Xuan Yun (Mysterious Cloud) is now live on our e-zine for our 2009 March/April issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=803). The issue is still on the newsstands, so pick it up if you haven't already!

[GeneChing]

We just posted RZA on Breath Control, Martial Arts and Being a Student (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=808), part three in my RZA interview trilogy. Part two was in the Wudang Special. Part one was RZA on Iron Fist, the Last Dragon and Barack Obama (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=795).

You'll also find our cover story, American Wudang (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=809), is now live too.

Our Wudang Special is still on the newsstands for two more weeks, so be sure to pick on up if you haven't. And if you haven't subscribed, we're doing a special subscription promotion for the month of March 2009. Subscribe now and you'll receive an extra issue. That's 7 issues for a year subscription and 13 issues for a two-year subscription. Order your subscription online at our forum sponsor, MartialArtsMart.com (http://www.martialartsmart.net/19341.html), and then drop the following code into the 'comments' box: March Madness Forum. We'll send you our first Wudang Special (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=803) as a bonus issue with our compliments. This offer limited only to new and returning subscribers.

[iron_leg_dave]

Good stuff, but what would be really cool is an issue on American internal stylists like Tony Yang, William C.C. Chen etc.

[doug maverick]

i chuckled a bit when i saw the caption for the new hung yan yan film, say cobweb instead of coweb. makes me think its some kinda of fruity spiderman movie.lol sorry to bust your balls on that gene.

[BrokenTitanium]

Any word on when the next issue will be out? thanks

[GeneChing]

On newsstand date is 4/7/9. If you're curious about our newstand dates, they are all listed in our Advertising Information for Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine General Advertising Rates section (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/about/adrates.php).