Shi Decheng

[GeneChing]

I'm announcing this all over because it's coming together rather last minute. I'll merge this with our Tiger Claw Foundation seminar thread after it's over. Hope some of you locals can come out and support!

Shaolin Small Hong Fist by Shaolin Warrior Monk Shi Decheng
3rd Annual Shi Decheng Shaolin Seminar
February 10th, 2007 1:00-3:00 Milpitas, CA

Small Hong Fist is one of the most popular forms practiced at Shaolin Temple today. Known in Chinese as xiaohongquan, this is a root form known by all Shaolin practitioners. If you’re new to Shaolin Kung Fu, Small Hong Fist is the first step towards mastery. If you’re already familiar with Small Hong Fist, this is an excellent opportunity to refine your skills with direct coaching from Master Shi Decheng. Following the seminar, Shi Decheng will be available for returning students to review of any previously learned Shaolin material.

Tuition: $45 per person.
For more information and to reserve your place, contact Gene Ching at 510-656-5100 X137 or Gene@KungFuMagazine.com.

Location: USA O-Mei Kung Fu Academy, 451 Los Coches St, Milpitas, CA 95035 408-719-9288

In cooperation with www.russbo.com, www.usaomei.com, and www.sdcshaolin-kungfu.com and www.KungFuMagazine.com.
__________________

[GeneChing]

Still promoting my master's visit. He's my master, after all.

Hope some of you local members can make it. Right now, it's a pretty intimate group, which is great for the attendees, but I'm hoping for more.

[LFJ]

shi decheng- xiaohongquan

the ending is a little different here...

[GeneChing]

It'll look exactly like that, just not as pixelated.

Actually, that looks like older footage. Decheng looks younger. Hard to tell. And I'm not sure if he'll teach the short xiaohong or the full length xiaohong (the one demonstrated above). That'll probably depend on who shows up and what their aptitude is. For a few of the attendees, this will surely be a review seminar.

[Ravenshaw]

Out of curiosity, how many people have signed up? Many you don't know?

[GeneChing]

...that's great for you, since you'll get more attention, Ravenshaw. That sucks for me, because the last thing I need is more attention. I was hoping to hide behind other guys, big tall dudes like you, so my master doesn't beat the stuffing out of me again. As a disciple, one with crappy skills now, I get more and more Shaolin spankings. See my write-ups on the 2004 Shi Decheng Workshop and the 2005 Shi Decheng workshop. But enough whining from me. I'm hoping for more people just because it supports Shi Decheng in his travels. With Tiger Claw Foundation events, we make no money whatsoever. That $45 goes directly to Decheng. Through an arrangement with my other master, Shifu Tony Chen, we get to use the O-Mei school floor for free too. It's a longstanding tradition to support monks and masters in their travels (well, traveling masters like the jianghu is a totally different deal than seminars, but the essence of the gesture is still present). Unfortunately, many of the regular TCF seminar supporters are out of town or out of money next weekend. So here's hoping a few more show. At the very least, it'll be fun to be on the floor with you again, Ravenshaw. You can carry my body out after.

[LFJ]

Actually, that looks like older footage. Decheng looks younger. Hard to tell.

yes, it must be at least 10-15 years old! lol

from the same program: this video is of shi yanfeng from houston, very young. or as he's called here- shi "xiao" feng. ha!

shi yanfeng- tongzigong

[GeneChing]

Ravenshaw: Nevermind me, I'm just stressing his visit. It's really bad timing for me personally. One of my dear friends passed away recently. I was at his bedside when he left. His memorial is the same time as our seminar, so I have to miss it. Also, my wife and I have previously scheduled something for that night so I have to hand my master off to Jeff for the evening. Plus we've just undertaken this massive project, so my work is really behind. Shaolin has this way of slapping me at the worst times. Perhaps that's the burden of being a disciple. Or maybe it's being a professional.

BTW, there's some talk of trying to have a little dinner thing after the seminar with Decheng. The timing is a little funny since there's a long break, but it still might come together.

I'm not going to get into your fetish for liking to be hit by old men. Must be a Sabbath thing. Remember, I used to work on Folsom, where people paid good money to get hit by scantily-clad women. We'd see them having cig breaks in the alleys a lot.

LFJ: I remember Yanfeng at that age. He was phenomenal. Technically, you can't take Shaolin monk vows until your eighteen, so Yanfeng couldn't adopt the generation name Yan until he came of age. He was what is known as a shami - a child disciple - back then, so xiao was a more fitting moniker.

[Xian]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uIN9...eature=related

It is from a DVD, where he demonstrates a lot of Jiben Gong and also some applications. You see Da Hong Quan, Lian Huan Quan, Tong Bi Quan and Yi Ying Jing.
And later own even some stick work but from that I have only seen the preview till now.


Kind regards,
Cyrill

[LFJ]

I have the video. It is French made. It also shows several animal styles and weapon demonstrations. Each performance is from the odd side view, but he's good and powerful nonetheless.

But I heard he changed the way he does the sets, to conform to Shi Yongxin's push for standardization in Shaolin. I'm not too cool with that idea, as a lot of valuable material would be lost if everyone did that. Fortunately, not all the traditionally learned masters are going along with it either.

Since Shi Decheng has been out of Shaolin for some time now, I wonder why he would want to do that anyway.

[GeneChing]

My last three instructors were all from Shi Yongxin's inner circle of monks: Yan Fei (formerly Shi Yanfei), Shi Yantuo and Shi Yanchen. Each of them had their own unique versions of the forms. While the Abbot has endorsed particular versions in videos and books, I'm not finding that this is enforced by any means. In fact, I'm not sure that all of the videos and books even match. The abbot has allowed the compulsories too, but I don't see that many monks doing it. Those still seem more of a Dengfeng thing. That being said, I'm not sure that the Abbot is all that into standardization, but you know, I'm putting together some interview questions for him right now, and I'll ask about this.

Shi Decheng has been in two European video series to my knowledge. The first was a 3-part series by Fechter Verlag, Wien, the Austrian company that produced the International 1500th anniversary tour which started in 1995, along with several other tours. That one is in English and was done in 1998. The second one was a 2-part series by Kung Fu Developpement, a French series by Mathieu Vilcot, done in 2000. I think that excerpt above is from the former.

[Fa Xing]

Shi Decheng has been in two European video series to my knowledge. The first was a 3-part series by Fechter Verlag, Wien, the Austrian company that produced the International 1500th anniversary tour which started in 1995, along with several other tours. That one is in English and was done in 1998. The second one was a 2-part series by Kung Fu Developpement, a French series by Mathieu Vilcot, done in 2000. I think that excerpt above is from the former.

That's probably the one I have on VHS, would be nice to have it converted to DVD or digital just to have the data and keep the vids as collector's item.

[LFJ]

Shi Yongxin has been working on books that show the "definitive" version of popular Shaolin sets, after interviewing folk masters and comparing things and adding any missing movements, etc.. This has been going on for several years. I have been hearing about him wanting everyone in Shaolin (at least those under him) to conform to this new standardization of all the sets.

As for Shi Decheng conforming to it as well, I heard this from a Shaolin friend who has been training at his school in Dengfeng regularly for the last few years. He said he has learned 3 or 4 versions of Meihuadao, for example, just from Shi Decheng alone. Upon asking why he changed the way he does all his sets now, he says it is because of what Yongxin is pushing.

I assume it's not so easy to keep hold of all the Yongxin disciples around the world and make sure they are doing their sets the same way now. Hence, some still doing it their unique way. That would probably require some sort of huge meeting.

But not all the books have been published. Only a handful, and it's said he's planning to cover over 300 sets, ending with the weapons.

Maybe keep this for the interview question! See what his plans are with the books also! I'm not sure how fast they are coming out, but they are quality material.

[GeneChing]

Funny you should bring that up as I was just looking at Decheng's old version of meihuadao on my video, Shaolin Trips. That's also the version in Decheng's '98 video series. I learned that version in '95 but for some weird reason, it never stuck. I think my BSL dao form overrode it. So are you saying Decheng has abandoned this version completely, or that he is teaching both versions? What is/are the other version(s) as you said your friend learned 3 or 4?

Now I do the new version - the Abbot-endorsed one. I learned it initially from Yan Fei, then had it tweaked by Yantuo, but have been reverting to Yan Fei's version lately. We ran a version of it in our 2011 Shaolin Special: Shaolin Plum Blossom Broadsword By Shi Yanguang, with Zhao Xiaohu. Each one is different. And all three of those are Yans, under Yongxin.

You know, I just noticed that those French vids call xiaohongquan "tao de la petite main rouge".

[Sal Canzonieri]

Shi Yongxin has been working on books that show the "definitive" version of popular Shaolin sets, after interviewing folk masters and comparing things and adding any missing movements, etc.. This has been going on for several years. I have been hearing about him wanting everyone in Shaolin (at least those under him) to conform to this new standardization of all the sets.

As for Shi Decheng conforming to it as well, I heard this from a Shaolin friend who has been training at his school in Dengfeng regularly for the last few years. He said he has learned 3 or 4 versions of Meihuadao, for example, just from Shi Decheng alone. Upon asking why he changed the way he does all his sets now, he says it is because of what Yongxin is pushing.

I assume it's not so easy to keep hold of all the Yongxin disciples around the world and make sure they are doing their sets the same way now. Hence, some still doing it their unique way. That would probably require some sort of huge meeting.

But not all the books have been published. Only a handful, and it's said he's planning to cover over 300 sets, ending with the weapons.

Maybe keep this for the interview question! See what his plans are with the books also! I'm not sure how fast they are coming out, but they are quality material.

has there been any new ones since the ones that came out 2 years ago? Last ones I got where about 6 weapons booklets.