Shaolin: Wheel of Life

[Kristoffer]

I think it was crap and I didn't bother to watch more than 10 min of the show.

[UK MONK]

I went to see the Shaolin wheel of life yesterday, thursday the 3, october and I just want to say it was the best demonstration i have ever seen, the stuff they were doing was cool!!!!! . But it was more wushu than traditional shaolin and i was just wondering if any one has seen it and what they think of it.

[shaolinarab]

i also saw it, albeit on video, but that actually turned out to be good because i got to see close up shots. you are right, it was all wushu as opposed to traditional kung fu. nonetheless, it was an excellent performance that needed very little dialogue to understand the story. some of the fights weren't too excited b/c i prefer less wushu-style action, but i really loved all the weapons displays, especially when the monks were demonstrating their fighting capabilities for the emperor.

also, the different displays of chi prowess was really cool. the music was nice....overall, 9.5!

[UK MONK]

i liked the bit when they got the 6 year old kids doing the head flips ( sommersalts on to there head) wow!. Then they were doing the worm like a brakedancer but when they were coming back up they were landing on there feet rather than landing on there stomacks .

P.S i bought everything they had except the robe which was only £25 ( they sold out )

[kwaichang kaned]

Saw them on a tour of the uk last year.

Very impressive .An entertaining couple of hour.
Trouble being we were stuck behind an "expert" you know the type

"That wouldn't work in a real situation"
We know that D!ckhead!! shut up and watch.


I think it was the same bloke that sat infront of me at the "lane " when i was a season ticket holder

[GeneChing]

...probably that's why the show isn't full of traditional style. Frankly, traditional is not that entertaining for the general public.

There is a short demo of xiaohong by one of the young children students in the early part of the show (at least there was in the version that I saw.) No flips or splits or such, strictly traditional, but most people overlook that part because it's kind of boring... Unless you are really into traditional Shaolin.

[PangQuan]

Just curious as to who else may have seen this amazing presentation. What are your thoughts. Personally I like the part where they are displaying kung fu for the emporer and each monk does a small bit of empty hand forms.

[BM2]

I saw it from the front row by on the side. Close enough to touch the stage.My boys were three and six at the time. The younger monks tried to get my boys attention with facial movements. The funny thing about the show was watching the "side" show.The guys that were young were messing with each other when the action was somewhere else.
Do you recall when the lion dancing was going on ? There were several monks sitting in a meditation pose in a semi circle and a couple of the lion dancers would give them a subtle kick on the way by. They would intentionally "bump" into each other times during the show too. All of this was when the main action was somewhere else. I think they were bored. They would try to hide their smiles when they did this.

[norther practitioner]

Pang, use the search function.. this has been discussed before.

[Shaolinlueb]

i got the dvd. its alright. i like the making of better.

[PangQuan]

Pang, use the search function.. this has been discussed before.

LOL, im so computer illiterate, i didnt even know that was up there, this will be neat for the future thanks NP !

[PangQuan]

its pretty amazing at how many people did not see the documentary of the auditions set up for the monks to play the roles, by the westerners who set the whole show up. The form at the begining that the little boy is doing as though he is tired, then the older monk shows him how to do, then the kid does again. That form is minor hong from hong style boxing, that is the first 1/5 of the form. I know that form as well as the major hong. These are part of a 10 form set for Hong Style Shaolin boxing. My fellow students and I were pretty happy to see that, it is one of two places we have seen that form other then at our school. So many people just want to be critics. Oh well.

[GeneChing]

It's really ironic. There was a demo last year in SF - we covered it in our 2004 Shaolin special and again a bit in my Shaolin Trips, Episode 3 e-zine article that had a lot of traditional and it was not well received. There were other problems with that show which far outweighed the entertainment value, but there was some good traditional. Traditional just isn't as entertaining as modern wushu.

[norther practitioner]

Not for the masses at least (and that includes a mass of the gung fu com. too).

[PangQuan]

I personally like the fact that traditional styles are not as popular. It keeps my school from being to overpopulated. Granted we do incorporate some modern Wushu into our training (for acrobatic purposes) but our fighting stems from traditional Shaolin Gong Fu. You kind of have to pity those people that dont realize the value and beauty of TCMA. I personally can not get enough of the traditional pieces you all do in your magazine. Thats the main reason why I think your mag is the best on the market.