Going back to Shaolin in 3 weeks!!!

[Shaolindynasty]

I'm going back to Shaolin temple this year! i went last year with Shi YanJu from the Chicago Shaolin Temple and liked it so much that I decided to go back again this year. I'm going on the 16 of August. Sweet!!!!!:D

Sorry not much of a point here other than I'm excited!

[shaolin23]

I'm going back to Shaolin temple this year! i went last year with Shi YanJu from the Chicago Shaolin Temple and liked it so much that I decided to go back again this year. I'm going on the 16 of August. Sweet!!!!!:D

Sorry not much of a point here other than I'm excited!

Are you going with a group? How much time do you get at the shaolin temple? How much is it?

[Blacktiger]

I'm going back to Shaolin temple this year! i went last year with Shi YanJu from the Chicago Shaolin Temple and liked it so much that I decided to go back again this year. I'm going on the 16 of August. Sweet!!!!!:D

Sorry not much of a point here other than I'm excited!

You lucky bugger!!! - cant wait to get back - maybe next year for me:)

[Shaolindynasty]

I'm going with the Chicago Shaolin Temple. I'll be there for about 15 days of training, and lots of insider stuff with Shi Yanju;)

[GeneChing]

Be safe.

And extra points for you if you can post us a 'hi from Dengfeng' here! :cool:

[Shaolindynasty]

How many points do I get if I post from Shaolin Temples Cafe?;)

[GeneChing]

Post a pic of you from there and you'd be the honorable Shaolin grand puba here for at least a week. ;)

[sha0lin1]

Now Gene, you know there can only be one!

[Shaolindynasty]

What about a video message from the cafe, how many points?


Just been informed that I'm gonna learn Dahong Quan(also qixing if there is time) while I'm there:cool:

I've wanted to learn this form for along time, this is going to be a good trip

[GeneChing]

The Shaolin forum is an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take it in turns to act as a sort of Shaolin Grand Puba for the week, but all the decisions of that Puba have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs, but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more major...;)

[sha0lin1]

The Shaolin forum is an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take it in turns to act as a sort of Shaolin Grand Puba for the week, but all the decisions of that Puba have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs, but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more major...;)

Look, I am a fully ordained Shaolin Grand Puba. The first one was a sasquatch who used to secretly watch the monks train in the fields and courtyards learning all of the different styles. Our Great Grand Master then went against his parents wishes one day while down at the river, he stole a razor that a monk had left behind and shaved his whole body to appear more like the monks and went to the temple and after displaying what he had learned on his own they let him in. However, being a sasquatch, he never felt completely accepted by his brothers so he formed a new order at Shaolin. The Song Shan Waterbuffalo's. This tradition has been kept alive and was passed on to me. The rules state that if you want to be a Shaolin Grand Puba you can challenge the current Grand Puba to a death match. But first you have to fight the 13 Shaolin Bronzemen and make it. Then if you survive you can fight the Grand Puba. Other than that it is passed on to the successor of the Grand Puba's choosing when he can no longer fulfill his duties.

[Shaolindynasty]

The Shaolin forum is an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take it in turns to act as a sort of Shaolin Grand Puba for the week, but all the decisions of that Puba have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs, but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more major...


So how many points................:confused::D

[Shaolindynasty]

I'm leaving for china tomorrow, sweet!:cool:

[Blacktiger]

Have fun and improve your drinking fu - get into the Baiju:)

[GeneChing]

Hope you're getting a right proper Shaolin spanking at Shaolin!

[Shaolindynasty]

I haven't logged on here and took a look at things in a long while so i just noticed. Thanks Gene and yes i was spanked shaolin style!

Over all it was a really good experince. After the buildup of the previous trip this time i was able to get past the "I'm at shaolin" excitment and absorb more. I trained mostly in the small village next to shaolin this time, last time i trained in shaolin temple itself. I learned dahong quan and qixing quan. i also learned another form at shi yan lu's school in dengfeng when i visited there for a day.

The most important thing I learned at shaolin was the spirit of kung fu training. These people have little yet they train hard every day. I saw students training 4x a day in a way that most people here wouldnt do once. I think perserverance is what makes them good.

Even though it's been 5 months ago i am still processing everything I experinced there. I'm still processing the trip in 2009 for that matter lol

[sha0lin1]

I am going back in 3 months, can't hardly wait. This year we are training at WuTang also. This will be a very exciting trip.

[GeneChing]

Glad you have a good experience! Hope you can share more about it here in your upcoming posts

Have a great trip, sha0lin1!

It's been way too long since I've been back to China. :(

[Shaolindynasty]

My personality would never allow me to train at wudang. I'm way to agressive and impatient, it's hard enough for me to practice taiji for an hour at a time now.

[GeneChing]

Don't believe the hype. There's all sorts of stuff practiced at Wudang, not just taiji. When I went, I was very impressed by some bagua practitioners working trees like Muay Thai fighters.

I imagine some might say the same thing about aggression and patience at Shaolin, but we all know different.

[Shaolindynasty]

I found the monks at shaolin to be very patient with everyone............... who wasn't their disciple

[GeneChing]

Once they realize you are serious, all that patience is left for the tourists only. I had more than a few monks kick my ass, but only after they knew I was going to be there for a spell, and that was before I took discipleship.

Maybe I should have said 'spanked' instead of 'kicked'.

But back to Wudang, taiji is only one of the eight major styles practiced there. I'm sure if you went and trained, you'd get spanked Wudang style, especially if you said you were from Shaolin and you thought Wudang was inferior. That would draw out some serious Wudang aggression and impatience. :p

[sha0lin1]

Once they realize you are serious, all that patience is left for the tourists only. I had more than a few monks kick my ass, but only after they knew I was going to be there for a spell, and that was before I took discipleship.

Maybe I should have said 'spanked' instead of 'kicked'.

But back to Wudang, taiji is only one of the eight major styles practiced there. I'm sure if you went and trained, you'd get spanked Wudang style, especially if you said you were from Shaolin and you thought Wudang was inferior. That would draw out some serious Wudang aggression and impatience. :p

Maybe we will try that line. I am more interested in Wudang for the scenic beauty than the martial arts and we are only going to train there for 2 days. Hope to learn one of their sword forms.

[GeneChing]

Good luck with that. Let us know how it goes. ;)

Wudang is more spread out than Shaolin, but you still have the same tourist lesson issues. You got to have guanxi to get to the authentic stuff. Without it, you might just get some tourist wushu lesson and be sent on your way.

[Shaolindynasty]

You got to have guanxi to get to the authentic stuff. Without it, you might just get some tourist wushu lesson and be sent on your way.



Most don't know this fact. This is what causes so many issues with shaolin. coupled with the sense of entitlement most westerners have when it comes to learning martial arts, most end up learning some basic wushu then walk away with the "no traditional at shaolin" attitude.

Of course, many people go to shaolin believe that a few weeks there is better than any training you get at home.

it isn't

If you really want to learn kung fu from anyone you need to cultivate a relationship with the person. traveling in china for a few weeks/months doesnt allow the time for that. many that go to shaolin in search of traditional would do much better searching out a sifu close to home for this reason

for those of us who have a sifu at home, training at shaolin does give you a boost and motivate you to pursue you practice at home in a more vigorous fashion

[wenshu]

Most don't know this fact. This is what causes so many issues with shaolin. coupled with the sense of entitlement most westerners have when it comes to learning martial arts, most end up learning some basic wushu then walk away with the "no traditional at shaolin" attitude.

Of course, many people go to shaolin believe that a few weeks there is better than any training you get at home.

it isn't

If you really want to learn kung fu from anyone you need to cultivate a relationship with the person. traveling in china for a few weeks/months doesnt allow the time for that. many that go to shaolin in search of traditional would do much better searching out a sifu close to home for this reason

for those of us who have a sifu at home, training at shaolin does give you a boost and motivate you to pursue you practice at home in a more vigorous fashion

This frames the issue perfectly.

These days it is easier to find traditional Shaolin in the states at one of the cultural centers than if you just walked into a school in dengfeng without any connections.

My own pilgrimage was a good while ago, but since i never posted any photos:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgQjohxOSI/AAAAAAAABXg/7bf9pdPzwzs/s800/IMG_0664.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgSGbMO47I/AAAAAAAABXg/iFqlwxBZ2MU/s800/IMG_0790.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgSJk95SxI/AAAAAAAABXg/TnC6rCX5kbo/s800/IMG_0794.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgSKQsZAdI/AAAAAAAABXg/wqB-n5biQ64/s800/IMG_0795.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgSMtMJ8EI/AAAAAAAABXg/tzjq7mzTsBM/s800/IMG_0799.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgQzCsJdxI/AAAAAAAABXg/paGbbrm56zc/s800/IMG_0686.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgO0M1i62I/AAAAAAAABXg/-u08SsM4Ow4/s800/IMG_0495.JPG

I don't remember what the name of this stage show was. . .
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgOEPxLQMI/AAAAAAAABXg/YAO5cvvHZRg/s800/IMG_0402.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgODNstSSI/AAAAAAAABXg/2pb-Jzgi8mQ/s800/IMG_0399.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_LZZ116SJC7Q/TNgOO77lFyI/AAAAAAAABXg/XvmEac62EXw/s800/IMG_0431.JPG

[Shaolindynasty]

It's the Shaolin Zen music grand ceremony. I saw it in 09, there are some videos floating around but they don;t do it justice. it's amazing in person

[wenshu]

I was, being the cynical b@stard that I am, actually unimpressed.

Confused by the village girls dancing in the buckets. . .?

Although the pictures came out spectacular.

I know they sell a DVD of it.

[Shaolindynasty]

many that go to shaolin in search of traditional would do much better searching out a sifu close to home for this reason



I should clarify. I don't just mean searching out a shaolin sifu. If nothing else studing another system close to home is better than going this extreme long distance route. That is if the purpose of your training is to aquire skill;)

Also what i said isn't meant to seem like "after they know they will reveal the secrets" is some type of shaw brothers manner. I just meant that it is human nature to be more reserved in what you share with someone and over time people are more open with each other as they get to know them.

Even in the USA the sifu won't share everything right away.

[Violent Designs]

We cannot just expect a teacher to give us everything on a silver platter!!! This type of mentality goes against everything Gung Fu stands for!!!

[bawang]

hey gene ching my chilese brother do you know if its possible to visit shi dejian? do u know if theres a lot of tourists that visit him?

[sha0lin1]

Good luck with that. Let us know how it goes. ;)

Wudang is more spread out than Shaolin, but you still have the same tourist lesson issues. You got to have guanxi to get to the authentic stuff. Without it, you might just get some tourist wushu lesson and be sent on your way.

We are good on that, one of our Master's brothers used to be a Shaolin Monk, now he is a Daoist monk living at WuDang. So we will get authentic training.

[sha0lin1]

I was, being the cynical b@stard that I am, actually unimpressed.

Confused by the village girls dancing in the buckets. . .?

Although the pictures came out spectacular.

I know they sell a DVD of it.

Yeah, I bought it when I was there, it is just scenes from the show and some interview with Shi Yongxin, the CD of music from the show was good though. I was impressed by the scale of the whole thing. The girls were pretty though and a couple of the people sitting in front of me had binoculars and were passing them back and forth between each other commenting on which girl was pretty and which one had the biggest breasts, I guess they didn't realize that some foreigners can understand Chinese.

[GeneChing]

@bawang - Dejian is pretty hard to get at. As it said in the NG article above, he tried to be reclusive and it sort of backfired on him. I was really lucky to secure the interview I did with him in 2005 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=590). Perhaps that was my Shaolin yuanfen. I'm afraid I don't have any leads for you.