Shaolin Graduation

[jun_erh]

Do people graduate from Shaolin? At one point in history, didn't people go there to learn, then they had to fight some of their teachers or something, then they left and did whatever?

[GeneChing]

In fact, if you check out the new Shaolin Special 2003 that I've been plugging all over this forum lately, I discuss some of the special programs available in one of the private schools. That school, Xiaolong's school, even offers job placement to its graduates. It's a professional school. Many of the students are enrolled because they are pursuing a career as a coach or in the military or police.

As for the temple, it's a Buddhist monastary, and you don't really graduate from Buddhism, at least not in the same way you graduate from professional school. Fighting your way out of the temple is waaaay too Shaolin Wooden Men, too many movies, too many wuxia novels....

See? All the answers are in the new Shaolin Special. You just need to know how to read between the lines....

[richard sloan]

What you are referring to was Qing Dynasty stuff:
The Lohan Tang, the Da Mo Yuan, the San Jing Gun, the Dummies, the cauldron, roll credits.

The Lohan Tang were the best fighting monks culled from the five Ch'an Families. There are actually a few lineages at Shaolin, not just Fu Yu's. Historically there were five families or sects. Fu Yu's is the Cao Dong sect, but there are other lineages, like Wan Heng for example is a part of the Linji sect.

After you made it past the Lohan Tang, then you went against the Da Mo Yuan, four monks who were responsible for protecting the Abbot. After you made it past these guys, you had to deal with the San Jing Gun. These were the monks who held the keys to the library, there were three of them.

They put the dummies into effect because, according to some, the monks could decide to take it easy on you, but the dummies had no such attachments.

Then, there was the branding cauldron popularized by David Carradine's Kwai Chang Kane, and who did not get chills up their spine when his sleeve would slip back and everyone dropped to the ground and kow towed.

Some sources say the wooden men never existed, some say the brands were stories too, but some say the Qing used the brands as a means of hunting down and killing the monks. Shi Yan Ming says he has actual plans from one of the manuals for building the Mu Yi Xiang.

I guess we will see what happens.

[Vash]

Indeed. And ye olden toudi practitioners punched through the samurai armor with a chambered punch.