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Thread: Shi Decheng

  1. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by rage911 View Post
    Scott

    Ya I'm in the same boat as you. I dont think Ill go if he doesn't. Seems like a lot for a weekend on a short notice.

    Agreed, and if shifu wants to drive that will be o.k. as long as he doesn't get behind the wheel and you and I do the driving. The last time we took a trip and drove he scared the buddha out of me. He drives exactly like his wushu, very fast.

  2. #47
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    Nice review from NZ

    I still haven't been at Decheng's new foreigners' school. I guess it's not that new anymore...
    Shaolin, China: Mad for martial law
    4:00AM Thursday Jul 16, 2009
    By Simon Rowe

    Better to sweat in practice than to bleed in battle", goes an old kung fu saying. At the Shi De Cheng School of Shaolin Kung Fu, a modest-looking martial arts academy at the foot of Mt Song in central China's Henan province, sweat is guaranteed.

    For 10 days, I rise at 5am to a reveille of opera music croaking from an old tannoy system and join a torrent of sleepy-eyed teenagers in the chilly streets for the ritual race up the mountain.

    This is the day's first task for the 40 Chinese and six foreign students who commit themselves to an unwavering routine of eating, sleeping and doing kung fu, for as long as they can take it.

    No one slacks off. No one drops out. And all through the long, hot day of gruelling calisthenics, basic fighting stances and kicking techniques which follows, nobody complains. Doing so would not be showing the true spirit of kung fu, or gong fu, which literally means "perfection through hard work".

    "Mama lai, mama lai! Slowly, slowly!" former Shaolin monk and kung fu master Shi De Cheng urges any of his students who show signs of wilting. Even those of reasonable fitness, like me, find the learning process a slow and exhausting one.

    Always jovial and always attired in the loose pants and slippers of a temple monk, Shi De Cheng knows well the limits of human pain tolerance. He has studied wushu, or Chinese martial arts, since the age of 6, immersing himself in a curriculum of Buddhist scripture study and meditation, vegetarianism and rigorous kung fu training.

    Shi De Cheng's school sits on a quiet tree-lined street in Dengfeng, a rural service town 13km from Shaolin Temple, the oft-lauded birthplace of kung fu, where he studied. One of the world's oldest fighting arts, Shaolin kung fu is said to comprise more than 3000 individual techniques, but Shi De Cheng doesn't overload his newcomers. instead, he starts them on just 18 basic stances which form the basis of the songyang gong fu, or long fist-style kung fu, which he teaches.

    But why, in a country brimming with exotic locations, sumptuous food and comfortable hotels, would anyone choose a holiday of hardship?

    For foreigners like American Jesse Pasley, a Japan-based english instructor: "this is a chance to learn an ancient fighting art at the source, which in this case is a former shaolin monk. he's the real deal."

    Pasley, who visits Shi De Cheng's school to train each year, also enjoys the cultural exchange with local students.

    For the Chinese students, the reasons are more pragmatic: many aspire to work as stuntmen and women in the burgeoning Chinese and Hong Kong action film industry, or as professional performers, even bodyguards.

    It is simple curiosity that compels me to travel the 14 hours martial law by overnight train from Shanghai to sign up for a 10-day taste of authentic kung fu lifestyle.

    On arrival, I'm given a set of loose training pants and T-shirts, toiletries and slippers, and shown to my quarters in a spartan former hotel. Everywhere there are signs that its youthful residents eat, sleep, and breathe kung fu: the lobby wall is pockmarked by throwing needles, improvised barbells litter the passageways and there are rubber shoe prints two metres up the walls.

    The daily pre-dawn race up Mt Song is not compulsory for foreign students, but making the early-morning lineup impresses Shi De Cheng's committed instructors. Stretching and strength-building exercises follow the run.

    And this is just the warm-up. After a brief but fortifying breakfast, we begin the two-hour morning class - during which I discover a new muscle daily - executing high kicks, turkey-walking, bunny-hopping, cartwheeling down the street and being pushed and pulled wheelbarrow-style along the footpath by my panting partner.

    To the bemusement of many foreign students, training takes place not in a hall or gymnasium, but on the street outside the hotel and office. A row of plane trees provides precious shade and during hot afternoons most students are reluctant to step outside this cool zone. Training outside certainly has its benefits: the dry winds blowing off the Gobi desert offer respite from the shiftless heat and the delicious aromas of the neighbourhood dumpling shop and jingling bell of the watermelon vendor are welcome diversions from our exhausting drills.

    However, the same melon vendor plus assorted cigarette-puffing granddads, mothers pushing prams and buses filled with commuters take such an interest in the foreigners attempting kicks on their footpaths that I feel like passing a hat around.

    One aspect of Shi De Cheng's school that receives few complaints is the food. A small kitchen creates delicious and nutritious daily menus of home-cooked vegetables, river fish or chicken, rice, and tofu dishes, served on an all-you-can-eat basis.

    The afternoon training session follows a similar pattern to the morning and finishes around 6pm, when dinner is served.

    Evenings are given over to joining the local students for tai chi, wooden staff and nun-chuka practice on the street, or taking a stroll downtown for an icecream or a game of open-air pool.

    Due to its proximity to Shaolin Temple, and in some degree to the success of movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, martial arts have become big business in Dengfeng, attracting movie-star hopefuls and entrepreneurs alike.

    Fifty or so schools now offer tuition in kung fu, Chinese boxing and taekwondo, and many accept foreign students for up to $50 per day with meals, lodging and instruction included.

    CHECKLIST

    GETTING THERE
    Air New Zealand flies daily to Shanghai. See www.airnz.co.nz.

    GETTING AROUND
    Dengfeng is 63km southwest of Zhengzhou city in Henan Province. Flights from Shanghai to Zhengzhou cost around $350 and overnight trains are roughly half that. Buses from Zhengzhou to Dengfeng run several times daily, take one hour and cost $2.50.

    SHAOLIN
    Shaolin Temple, open from 8am to 7pm, is a 20-minute minibus ride from Dengfeng. Shi De Cheng's school is located at Songshan Shaolin Shi De Cheng Wushu building, Henan Province, China. See www.sdcshaolin-kungfu.com/. The school charges about $50 per day inclusive of meals, accommodation, and tuition.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #48
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    If you're in Boston...

    09-04-2009 (4 days)
    Shi De Cheng Shaolin Seminars

    Join us for 4 days of seminars with world famous Shaolin Warrior monk Shi De Cheng. Seminars will include Shaolin Spear, Beginner hand forms as well as Chin-na and Qi-gong.
    For more information, contact: Sifu Scott Jeffery
    Phone: 781-8719062
    Event Address: 73 Reservior Park Dr.
    Rockland, MA, 02370 USA
    Online: sifu@jadeforestrockland.com - jadeforestrockland.com
    Scott told me Shi Decheng is headed to Montreal after Boston (Erik Gosslin is hosting) and then to France.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #49
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    Shi Decheng in Massachusetts in two weeks & here in June

    Sifu Scott Jeffrey of Jade Forest Kung Fu of Rockland is hosting Decheng for two workshops.

    Shaolin Chin Na
    Tuesday, February 23, 2010
    6:00pm - 9:00pm
    Shaolin Monk, Shi De Cheng, instructs students on the traditional art of Shaolin joint locking and control techniques.

    Tai Chi Buddhist Qi-gong
    Wednesday, February 24, 2010
    6:00pm - 9:00pm
    Learn Tai Chi Qi-Gong techniques from Buddhist monk, Shi De Cheng.

    These seminars are open to all Jade Forest students, as well as students of other martial arts schools and studios.
    COST per seminar: $75
    Please reserve your space and submit your payment by Saturday, February 20.
    Save 10% when you enroll in 2 or more Shaolin Training Seminars.

    Jade Forest Kung Fu & Tai Chi of Rockland
    73 Reservoir Park Dr.
    Rockland, MA
    http://jadeforestrockland.com

    Also Shi Decheng is planning to come to our Tiger Claw’s 2nd KungFuMagazine.com Championship on June 12, 2010 in San Jose.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  5. #50
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    More from Scott Jeffrey

    Wu Xing Ba Fa Shaolin 5-Animals
    Thursday, February 25, 2010
    6:00pm - 9:00pm
    Price: $100

    Jie Ben Gong & Shaolin Weapons form
    Saturday, February 27, 2010
    11:00pm - 6:00pm
    Price: $150 + weapon
    The TBA weapon on the 27th will be either Damo's fighting cane or Shaolin Sword and Shield (form #2)

    Same conditions from above apply.

    781-871-9062 sifu@jadeforestrockland.com

    Tell Scott that Gene sent you.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  6. #51
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    Ah... Gene...

    I clicked on your link to the championship... and there was a link to your article by Martha Burr on Master Helen Liang. It's too long to read at work, but I printed it off and will read it along with the new magazine issue.

    You will be hearing again from me about this one!

    Well done Gene; and please give my regards to Martha too....

    Thanks!
    .... Skip

  7. #52
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    10 Year Anniversary

    Today Shi Decheng is celebrating the 10 Year Anniversary of his independent school in Dengfeng. I had hoped to go, but things just didn't work out as planned. Seems like just yesterday when he opened that school.

    amitoufo!
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  8. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Today Shi Decheng is celebrating the 10 Year Anniversary of his independent school in Dengfeng. I had hoped to go, but things just didn't work out as planned. Seems like just yesterday when he opened that school.

    amitoufo!
    Yeah, the whole perception of time speeding up thing as you get older is interesting.
    Congrats to Shi Decheng on a decade of prosperity.
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  9. #54
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    Decheng in Boston

    Scott Jeffrey is hosting Decheng again this weekend. See the listing on our calendar.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  10. #55
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    I just talked to Decheng via Scott

    He's spending one more day in Boston, and then he's off to France. He'll be there until December, and then back to Shaolin, and then back to Europe after Chinese New Years.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  11. #56
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    Article in Epoch Times

    组图:前少林武僧访美教学
    It's in Chinese. Some nice photos.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  12. #57
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    Shi Decheng's 2011 US visit

    Scott Jeffrey and Tim Hartmann will be hosting Shi Decheng from 9/25 to 10/17 this year. Scott will host him first, then Tim. The seminar dates and curriculum will be announced soon.

    Scott Jeffrey oversees Jade Forest Kung Fu & Tai Chi in Rockland, MA

    Tim Hartmann oversees Wu Dao Kung Fu and Tai Chi in Cambridge, MA
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  13. #58
    Master De Cheng will also be in Germany at the end of this year.

    for the following dates: 12./ 13. November 2011, 19. November 2011,

    20. November 2011

    location: Leverkusen Germany

    Website: http://www.shaolin-leverkusen.de/kontakt-anfahrt/

    Hey Gene hope you dont mind I post this


    Kind regards,
    Xian

  14. #59
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    Thanks Xian!

    Quote Originally Posted by Xian View Post
    Hey Gene hope you dont mind I post this
    You know, Decheng travels a lot, so much I can hardly keep track of him. So thanks for the post - I knew the forum was good for something.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #60
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    You know, Decheng travels a lot, so much I can hardly keep track of him. So thanks for the post - I knew the forum was good for something.
    Maybe I can go there,if so I will give a little feedback here on the seminar.


    Kind regards,
    Xian

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