Shaolin: Wheel of Life

[zhenwu]

i need reliable opinions about this performance. the last thread actually did not elaborate on it well enough for me to formulate an opinion. is this show worth $25 to go see, or would watching the video suffice?
pros and cons would be much appreciated.

[Chinwoo-er]

Treat it as a circus with Peking operas and you will be satisfied. The acrobatics and gymnastics are pretty amazing.

Look for kung fu ? Well, let just say the ticket is not worth the paper it is printed on.

[TenTigers]

absolutely incredible-the chi-kung was funny as all heck-I can't believe the american public is that naive as to buy into this as being real monks and real kung-fu-absolutely incredible

[xiong]

I thought it was worth it, but I had never seen it before. I think that the video could capture it about as well.

At ASU they had $9 dollar tickets as well, so check into cheaper tickets at your local venue.

As far as the reality, I guess thats up to you to decide whom you choose to believe. I will be the first to admit that I am far from an expert in this matter.

All I was trying to say was that it was very entertaining, having nevr seen it in person before, I enjoyed it very much.

If you want a blow by blow description of it all you have to do is ask.

[GeneChing]

I liked the show. It was an interesting fusion of the 1500th tour with Jet Li's Shaolin Temple movie with a little Crouching Tiger and Phillip Glass thrown in. It was a lot of the standard demo material repackaged in a much slicker, more entertaining show. It was a good demo team - very strong at what they do. And it was the 1st time I've seen a 2-finger handstand live.

But it was certainly a performance all the way. The masters cast in the roles of Shaolin Monks did not bear monk names. However, they undoubtably were trained at Shaolin, and two of my monk friends, Shi Xinghao and Zhang Lipeng said they recognized a few performers. There was a lot of wushu - not surprising for any performance, but for what it's worth, it began with some traditional - yinjinjing, baduanjin and xiaohongquan. Of course, being traditional forms, these were just warm-ups but physically and dramatically, and had little effect on the audience except for setting the mood. I thnk I might have been one of the only ones in the audience who understood that part. Remember this was a show for the general public, not necessarily martial artists, and none of them could care about petty distinctions of wushu vs. traditional. They just want spectacle.

[Gargoyle again]

I just watched it, they've been running it on PBS the past few days...

Entertaining, and a fine performance, but still just a performance. This touring show is theater and drama and acrobatics, it seems intended to make you happy and smile and have fun. On those notes it defnintely succeeds.

But, it is not anything "real" with regards to kung fu or fighting or anything like that.

A side note, during one segment the camera zoomed in so tight that I could easily see that the staffs and sticks that they were breaking during their "qigong feats of strength" had been pre-cut to break. Definite evidence that it is just theater.

[GeneChing]

What were you expecting? Bloodsport? But I've seen those breaks many times and I doubt they were precut. And the two-finger handstand certainly wans't done with wires.

[jun_erh]

I don't know his name, but the one scene with the "sifu" teaching the little kids, adjusting there stances and stuff, he was doing a nice form. It was appreciated by the crowd even though it wasn't all high flying.

[ChiTaoWU]

I liked it alot. its a play and probably one of the few plays that would interest me. But the monks make it worth it its a great show dont expect to see super secret kung fu or something but youll see some nifty aerial manovers

[GeneChing]

Who expects to see "super secret kung fu or something" in a play? Probably the same people who expect to see Yama materialize when Tibetan monks perform their ritual dances...

[londoner2001]

Get off your high horses, it is incredible how when somebody has a talent other people get jealous and try to decry them, these monks are incredible at what they do if yo also watch they take everythingthey break to the crowd to show them it isn't fake! I have wheel of life on video and am in the UK, I also have the book Treasure of the Chinese Nation Shaolin Kung Fu. In that there are many monks performing incredible feats at Songshan and some of them are in the video as well so they clearly are the true fighting monks that you are seeing who are incredible at san shou and are tough fighters. Assuming that your wheel of life in usa is the same as the british wheel of life!

Oh yeah Shifu Shi Yanzi who runs shaolin temple uk appeared with the wheel of life monks on the queens royal variety performance and he is 34 fights undefeated san shou widely acknowledged as one of the greatest san shou fighters in the world.

[GeneChing]

Did you see the performance with Yanzi? I'm curious about what part he played. I've been hoping to do something with him for some time now, ever since I met him at Shaolin, but it still hans't come together. All good things in all good time.

And jun_erh, that form was xiaohongquan, one of the most basic of Songshan Shaolin. For those that actually study Songshan shaolin, the whole beginning moving from yijinjing & baduanjin to xiaohongquan made a lot of sense - it was a tip of the hat to the traditional pedagogy and evolution.

[dfedorko@mindspring.com]

May I suggest that you go to your local Blockbuster video store, rent the video and, then, make a decision.

Damian

[Oso]

Anybody seen this yet?

www.hob.com/wheeloflife/

trailer and footage of performance are at the site

looks ok.

Matt

[Lisa]

It's going to be in Calgary next week. The husband and I would go if we weren't poor college students.