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Thread: Shaolin busts fake monks in CA

  1. #16
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    Gene wrote:

    "All of the posters and ads promoting this show say that its a group of Shaolin monks brought over by the abbot himself and that the abbot will be present."
    .........................

    Yes, this could be a problem. :-)))) In fact a nasty problem.
    r.

  2. #17
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    Gene Ching, the "one man shaolin media circus".

    just kidding, but that is a phat nick!
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  3. #18
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    Well, Sir, every good rivalry needs good documentation and a videogarpher!

    this could be as big for our genre as girls gone wild: nothing like living history.

    maybe you could workup an historical introduction and a bit about the last time they had a row about which was the real thing....

  4. #19
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    Gene:
    as i looked at photo#1 i had a question: do shaolin monks and abbots actually carry framed documents saying they're from Shao Lin Temple? should this have been an indicator of the ages old dog-and-pony show? could it be that these phonies are bennegde wannabes and figure that Shao Lin won't get hurt in the process? even if fines are established Shao lin will have benefitted from thier endeavors. so in the end they may feel justified. Shao gets more publicity and restitution for the activities, plus they get recognition from US courts that a certain group is the one and only and thereby can charge more for thier appearances. not to mention the free advertising that occurs with the media circus. they wouldn't be the first religious organisation to take advantage of the american judicial system.

    perhaps the best thing to do is to not give either organisation coverage of this problem so we can see who makes the most noise and wheather it involves pandering or not.
    Last edited by YuanZhideDiZhen; 03-04-2005 at 02:11 AM.

  5. #20
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    Shaolin gone wild

    The "one man shaolin media circus" is way too wordy for me. I kinda like "Shaolin snoop dog" though.

    In my mind, this is just more growing pains for Shaolin Temple. I don't think everyone has a real sense of how massive Shaolin is now. The last time I was there, they did a 45,000 person procession (read about it in my e-zine column, Shaolin Trips). Now let's consider that for a moment - 45,000 performers; 40,000 martial artists with 5000 musicians and dancers to accompany them. Our biggest national CMA tournaments here in America are around 5000. 40,000 is eight times that. And that was just the opening demo. Now the question that I've posed about this for years now is, where are those 40,000 martial artists going? They can't all stay at Shaolin. It's easy for Americans to go to China - all you need is some travel cash. It's hard for Chinese to get to America. But a few might be able to go on a tour. Taht's a tasty prize. The tour performers aren't making a lot of money for their work - the money goes to the promoters (sort of like snakeheads).

    Personally, I don't think the negative press helps Shaolin at all. There's so much precedent with fakery that it's harmful for all the tours. I'm not sure that the Abbot would have made a fuss over this (there are other 'unauthorized' tours that have come through) if not for three things: 1. They used his name. 2. They allegedly did not pay for the last show. and 3. the connection to Leland Yee. But now that it's happening, the choice of coverage is not ours. Like I said, this story ran in the Chinese newspapers. I'm just translating it for our forum here. Ok, maybe I'm adding a little of my own spin on it, but that's my priviledge as the Shaolin Snoop Dog...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  6. #21
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    Shaolin Snoop Dog

    So there were a few more articles in our local Chinese newspapers about the recent Masonic show here in SF. Attorney Huang said that Shaolin Temple was not going to pursue this issue and left it for the people of the SF bay area to sort it out. Ho still claims he has the rights to do whatever he likes with his 25 martial monks, 3 coaches, 3 doctors and 1 buddhist monk, according to his contract. He also stated that the Abbot was misrepresenting the last tour since it wasn't all martial monks like he claimed. There were several kids under 18, and you have to be 18 to be a monk, so those kids weren't 'martial monks', they were shami, implying that they don't count so the Abbot was lying. Ho's troupe is to remain in the area for a few more months. They have another show scheduled, April 9 in Sacramento, a Charity fundraiser to rebuild a retirement home. Of the 3165 seats in the Masonic, the show sold 2500 seats in the evening and 1800 in the afternoon. Leland Yee was there with his wife and presented a plaque to Ho. Guosong said that if you check the official Shaolin website, you can still find his name as a current martial monk. Attorney Huang said that the website hasn't been updated, and it will also include a press release from the Abbot concerning this. We gave a cursory glance to the website and couldn't find either Guosong's name or the press release.

    This was all reported Saturday (continued debate) and Sunday (review of show) in World Journal.
    Gene Ching
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  7. #22
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    gene. 95% of the people in the show wont know the difference. only people like us who know not everyone who trains at shaolin isnt a monk. sure they study shaolin so dont 44,000+ plus people in the area. there are always a couple to go for the ride.
    Quote Originally Posted by Psycho Mantis View Post
    Genes too busy rocking the gang and scarfing down bags of cheetos while beating it to nacho ninjettes and laughing at the ridiculous posts on the kfforum. In a horse stance of course.

  8. #23
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    Ahh, but the show is not the point...

    Please keep in mind that I'm just relating a rather hasty translation of what was published in the World Journal. I'm more interested in this for the impact on Chinese pop culture, since that's what shapes a lot of CMA culture. Many students get their information from their masters alone and don't realize that it might just be something that they read in the paper.

    There is a precedent case for the fake monk tours - it goes back to Hong Kong in the early nineties. I'd have to dig through my notes to remember the exact details, but I would argue that this incident set the standard for fake monk tours for the last decade plus.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  9. #24
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    I think "Attorney Huang" is a cool handle!!

    Straight out of a Run Run Shaw extravaganza.


    pei pei: Don't do it, attorney Huang will find out!

    bruce: hmmph, attorney Huang will never know!

    pei pei: more tea?
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  10. #25
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    Gene:

    Yeah, i too remember a few 'fake' Shao Lin tours in the states and one that started in Korea and made to Taiwan before getting the boot in either seattle or sf.

    it was precisely that hubbub that created a discussion at one our family dinners (a bi-weekly occurance) in which i recieved a fair bit of knowledge about the temple and its rivalries. before that i knew nothing. Sifu's school opened for a group of Shao Lin monks at the Washington International by request from Shao Lin to the tournament's Sponsor where we learned a great deal more from a supervised session with the monk named Bow.

    From a publisher's pov i can understand what you said. from a legal pov i see other things as well that I have not mentioned but you have appraoched. The Shao Lin Monks are fairly business and political savy because they have retained thier right to exist in an environment intolerant of differing philosophy. And Rivalry does fuel the media fire here in the states. In China they have a business license as well as a religious license *for each member monk* which costs bucks. Each Member Monk is alloowed a certain number of decipes, and thier deciples acolytes: each of which have different licensing requirements and costs. that's how some aspects of artisanship works in china: you either serve the community and they serve you and you pay for specific rights of capitalism and prosyletisation. Your statement about promoters is true too, but also fairly decieving as just about every aspect of a presentation's fiscal responsibility and rewards are dictated by law in the united states: which did not occur even twenty years ago. it first occurred on paper in 1990 and was further explained in 1995 but was not widely adhered to and still remains little more than an administrative policy due to the monopolies that exist within the media conglomerate.
    Last edited by YuanZhideDiZhen; 03-12-2005 at 12:23 AM.

  11. #26
    Dear Sir,
    how is Shi Guo Song currently regarded by the Shaolin temple ?


    Kind regards,
    Xian

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xian View Post
    Dear Sir,
    how is Shi Guo Song currently regarded by the Shaolin temple ?


    Kind regards,
    Xian
    Dear 5 years later.

    This room is empty. Use the other room at the end of the hall.

    Kung Fu is good for you.

  13. #28
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    I think Guosong is back in Oakland

    He was there for a spell, then he went to Canada, then I heard he returned. Honestly, I haven't kept track. I can barely keep track of where I am day to day, much less the 40+ Shaolin graduates that are running around the S.F. Bay Area...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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