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Thread: Shaolin Journeys

  1. #31
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    continued..

    ..from above

    The pictures of training when he was a child are still vivid for Shi, just as if it happened yesterday.

    Shi said that in training, three layers of sweat needed to be shed. The first layer was called sweat of confusion, the second was sticky sweat, and the third was cool sweat. Sweat of confusion came out earlier during the training that was of no use. The second layer came out when the training was improved and the third layer was between sweat and oil could only be shed by people who had achieved a high enough level of kung fu and was entitled the right to sleep.

    Then monks usually slept in a shared bed, and the temple protection monks slept on benches that were a little bit wider than the current benches. It was about 40 centimeters wide, fit for one body and one turn would result in falling to the ground.

    Things were better in summer. In winter, the Shaolin Temple was extremely cold. According to him, he shared a thin quilt with three little monks, and they slept on the benches with mats on it. It was too cold for the little monks to fall asleep and they went to the depositary of Buddhist texts to train, and the sounds sometimes woke the master, who would come and give instructions.

    Shi said at that time, the method and postures adopted in training were primitive and dangerous. Because of this, quite a few temple protection monks quit.

    Regulations and commandments

    When going out, monks must wear a long gown and a hat

    The temple is very strict with warrior monks. For instance, when going out for a fair, all the monks are required to wear a long gown and hat, and monks’ clothing is forbidden. This regulation is not only to prevent the outside world’s interference with the monks, but also to stop outsiders from coming to the Shaolin Temple in case a monk stirs up trouble.

    At the age of 16, Shi missed his family very much, so he begged his master to let him visit his relatives who left for Shaanxi province. Only after giving him several strict rules to observe during his journey did his Master allow Shi to go.

    Shi said that he still clearly remembers his master's instructions. First, stay at an inn for the night after dark, and set out late in the morning. Second, do not disturb others and stay out of trouble. Third, never mention that he is from the Shaolin Temple or who his master is. Fourth, never show off his martial arts and fifth, be cautious and alert.

    While recalling the story, Shi said he arrived in Lingbao Country by noon on the third day of his travels. When he was about to eat lunch at a restaurant, he suddenly heard a lot of people crying behind him, "Watch out! That horse is startled. Get away!"

    Looking over his shoulders, Shi saw a big black horse running frantically while dragging a plough behind. In a blink, the horse dashed towards Shi and with no time for thinking, Shi turned around and jumped to the sky. Grabbing the horse's neck, he leaped on its back, and held the startled horse down tightly to the ground with his martial arts. Instantly, the plough flew over his head.

    The startled horse was finally subdued, yet the crowd had not yet recovered from astonishment. Shi stood up, dusted his clothes, and strode away, leaving the amazed audience behind, which were saying, "He must be from the Shaolin Temple."

    Practice Kung fu even on the Chinese New Year Day

    The sun was already well up in the sky after the monks finished practicing Kung fu. They began to eat their breakfast of steamed millet and sweet potatoes. The lunch is relatively richer. Six monks sat around a table occupied by three dishes and one bowl of soup, namely radish, Chinese cabbage, bean curd, and a bowl of millet soup. Every monk had corn cake as their staple food and they ate noodles for supper.

    A monk named Yong Han said that the temple provides relatively better food on the first and fifteenth days of every month, allowing monks a meal of bean curd, vermicelli and flour slices. In addition, on August 15, the temple provides cakes made from Chinese dates taking the place of moon cakes.

    On New Year’s Eve, monks will read Buddhist scriptures from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, monks will first set off firecrackers and then read Buddhist scripture. At 7:00 am, they eat dumplings filled with bean curd, vermicelli and radish. After breakfast, they begin to read Buddhist scriptures and they present tributes to every sacred statue and do not stop reading Buddhist scriptures until noon. In the afternoon, they will be free and some young monks will go play in the mountains. However, they must still practice Kung fu in the evening. All monks will go to bed at 10:00 pm.

    Those who doze off during schooling were slapped on the hand

    Apart from martial arts, Shi said that little monks who just entered the Shaolin Temple also received regular schooling, mainly learning four courses, Chinese, common knowledge, math and history. At that time, the little monks always had classes in the Temple together with the neighborhood children.

    Because Shi had to get up in the early morning to practice martial arts, he always dozed off during afternoon classes. As a result, Shi was always punished physically by the teacher. After the punishment, the teacher would asked him what he would do in the future, and of course he answered that he would correct himself next time. Then he followed the teacher and read aloud, "Watch new books that include both text and pictures."

    New Year's wish

    Spend his 80th birthday with his fellow monks

    In 1949, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded. At that time, the government required that all monks who were sold to the Shaolin Temple before the PRC was founded to be allowed to resume secular life and go home. Consequently, Shi left the Shaolin Temple, and returned home to farm. He named himself Mao Yonghan, and was given a job as a cook in a state-owned forest farm within Dengfeng. He spent his spare time teaching others martial arts. In the 1980s, the film "Shaolin Temple" was widely broadcasted, and Shaolin Kung fu became famous both at home and abroad. Shi was always invited to attend competitions and give performances and won many awards at home and abroad, thus becoming one of the 18 renowned Shaolin boxing masters. After Shi retired, he opened the first martial arts school in Dengfeng, the Shaolin Martial Arts School.

    In 1987, Henan TV broadcasted the feature "Shaolin Monk – Mao Yonghan" during primetime. The feature was the first to deal with Shaolin martial arts since the reform and opening-up policy was launched, which played an important role in passing down and promoting the Shaolin martial arts.

    With time elapsing, 60 years have passed. The place where the monks lived has been changed into a vegetarian restaurant, the guest room into the abbot’s room, the place where the abbot lived into the place where Buddhism is practiced, and the classroom into storage for books and pictures.

    Shi recalled that at that time, half of the monks who protected the temple were locals, and half were people from other places. Senior and junior fellow apprentices included Chang Qing, Su Lai, Xing Dao, Ying Fang, and Ying Chang. Chang Qing and Su Lai joined the army and went to Beijing after PRC was founded in 1949. Now 60 years have passed, and monks who protected the temple at that time are already in their eighties or nineties. Maybe only a few are still alive.

    Shi said that elderly people always want to recall things that happened in the past, and he now misses his senior and junior fellow apprentices very much. "Dozens of years have passed, and I do not know how they are. I am eager to see them again." Shi's 80th birthday is coming, and seeing his senior and junior fellow apprentices is the gift that will make him the happiest.
    I've never met Mao Yonghan, but I'd love to now.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #32
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    best Indian Shaolin Monk?

    I almost put this in our Bollywood Kung-Fu!! thread, but had a last minute change of heart.

    Gong-fu with Kanishka Sharma
    Soumyadipta Banerjee / DNA
    Wednesday, March 31, 2010 10:59 IST

    Mumbai: Remember the 36 Chambers of Shaolin? The Hollywood blockbuster showed what rigorous disciplines the monks of the Shaolin Temple go through to become a warrior monk. Well, now Mumbai will soon have its own Shaolin Monk to teach them the ancient art of Gong Fu. And who else can better do it than the first and the best Indian Shaolin Monk? Meet Kanishka Sharma, who is always on call for top Bollywood stars like John Abraham, Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra et al whenever they have to get kicking on the screen.

    “I am working towards opening an academy in Mumbai where I can teach martial arts to the citizens of Mumbai. I haven’t finalised the location yet but in all probability, it will come up in Andheri west,” says Kanishka Sharma, the first Indian graduate of the original Shaolin Temple in Beijing.

    “My teacher Xian Ji is the disciple of the first main guru of the Shaolin temple. I also had to go through numerous rigorous exercises to graduate from the temple. For example, I had to squat on a horse for hours together. At the end of the programme, I got a Chinese name too, it was Shiyong Xin. I want to impart the same quality of education in India,” says Kanishka, who also taught Akshay Kumar the Seven Deadly Arts in an international television reality show.

    Sources also say that the school might also be used as training ground for Army commandoes though Kanishka remains mum for it. “All I can tell you is that I’m already a consultant with the Indian army and the patramilitary forces and I teach them martial arts. I also specialise in Pekidi-tirsia-kali, (a high-risk combat art that aims at killing your opponent),” he says, adding that he has also joined the special Indian Government cell that aims at countering terrorist attacks.
    36 Chambers of Shaolin a Hollywood blockbuster?
    Original Shaolin Temple in Beijing?
    Shiyong Xin?
    Gene Ching
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  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    I almost put this in our Bollywood Kung-Fu!! thread, but had a last minute change of heart.


    36 Chambers of Shaolin a Hollywood blockbuster?
    Original Shaolin Temple in Beijing?
    Shiyong Xin?
    Maybe he should call the Order of Chan and get them to help him with that...


    Kung Fu is good for you.

  4. #34
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    From Shaolin Temple, Quangzhou

    My dentist is a kung fu guy - an eagle claw specialist - good for pulling teeth.
    Kung fu gold for Castle Hill dentist
    05 Apr 10 @ 03:43pm by BRIAN KARLOVSKY

    CASTLE Hill resident Michael Fong is not your average dentist.

    Take one look at him performing his spinning-thunder-kick and you will understand why.

    The former world martial arts champion (2000) is an expert in kung fu and recently won two gold medals at the legendary Shaolin temple in Quangzhou, China.

    He won first place in the weapons category (using a broad sword) and a first prize in the Mens Wu Chu open Form.

    Fong, 37, who was first taught by his father when he was four years old said: “Kung fu just runs in the blood for my family.”

    Fong teaches a class of 50 every Friday at Baulkam Hills Community Hall and has won over 35 international, national and state martial arts tournaments.

    He claims to be able hold down an opponent with only two fingers, using inner energy called “fung” and said his sifu, or teacher James Chee,50, could make a person faint without even touching them using the next level of energy called “chee”.

    “It might sound incredible,” he said. “When I first started I thought this can’t be real but it is, if you find a genuine master.”

    Fong told The Hills Shire Times he was personally selected by the late Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong to teach the “Open Mountain” kung fu form back to the chief instructor of the southern Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou, China. Originally from Shaolin, the “Open Mountain” form was one of many disciplines lost when the southern Shaolin temple was razed by Qing dynasty warlords.

    After practising a traditional sytle of kung fu called Shaolin Wu Chuan for over 20-years, Fong hopes to one day be able to move his opponent by “chee” alone - like his master. Fong said disciples of kung fu get stronger as they get older and he said he looks forward to moving an opponent without touching him.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #35
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    Check out our ezine

    New on our ezine: A Shaolin Summer by Leila Dehghan, just in time for our Shaolin Special 2010.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  6. #36
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    Evander Holyfield

    Now there's a great pic.


    TSS Q n A: Evander Holyfield, Part III
    By Zhenyu Li

    "God give you the opportunity. You can't choose your beginning, but you can choose the end on how you want to end." —— Evander Holyfield

    In the previous two episode of this interview, Holyfield talked with me about his seemingly endless inspiration, how he was influenced by the world-renowned Chinese Kung Fu master Bruce Lee, his perspective on China, and his bond with this oriental nation.

    Putting the last stroke on Holyfield's "China Journey" in this episode, the ring legend revealed how he benefited from the legendary Chinese Shaolin training program, his take on the connection between Kung Fu and boxing, and some secrets of his training regimen.


    Zhenyu Li: So you came down here for the purpose of scouting some fighters. What've you gotten so far?

    Holyfield: I got the opportunity to meet the head monk (of Shaolin Temple). He taught me about what he teaches young people. You know, he got 60 million followers. And I'd like to say, wow, what people have in common. I think the same way! I learned that, for the winner, winning a competition is more than just ego. It's about how you've been taught. You learned it. You didn't forget it and you passed it on. You keep passing it on and this is how this country (China, with a 5000-year history) keeps getting better and better and better. Then, I complimented his program.

    And you know, being taught is different from being trained. At this school (Shaolin Temple), they train people. What they do in training is that you speak and you make sure that they do it. So this is training. I am a fighter, so I know what it means to be trained. They tell you what to do and make sure you do it. And they know you can do it.

    When you teach a person, you don't know whether he can apply (it or not). You just give him the knowledge and he goes home and says I know it, then you'll wonder why is it that person doesn't prosper in life, 'cause that person didn't apply what he knew. He can take it in, but he is lazy, he is not accustomed to applying it. You know, people got different attitudes and all that.

    When you do get disappointment, what are you going to do? In this same program, they teach these kids to be able to concentrate, in a time of difficulty. What they were teaching these kids was to be able to concentrate when things were hard, and be willing to stand up and counter. I was VERY impressed.

    So I kinda felt that this program will change a LOT of lives. All my life as a kid, we were taught that Kung Fu is the best thing you can do. All the kids, they started young and they all wanted to do Kung Fu. The reason is that Kung Fu is structured; it's technically-sound; you have to be good to go through a lot of different tests.

    To be a street fighter, you just go out and do what you do. But for Kung Fu guys, you have to get the techniques, and you have to be judged in your forms.

    Zhenyu Li: You've been such a great achiever in boxing and in the addition learned something from the Chinese Shaolin training program. From a professional's prospective, what do you see in the traditional art of Chinese Kung Fu, and the connection between the Mixed Martial Art and boxing?

    Holyfield: Boxing is not self-defense. You have to be aggressive. You have to attack all the time. So in that sense, it allows you to have a different attitude than in Kung Fu.

    So unless you want both of them to be successful, if you always defend yourself all the time and not to attack, finally you'll find yourself get knocked out. If you’re just being passive, your opponent will push you back and you'll end up losing your ground.

    You got this big old country, if you are too passive, then somebody will move to your country, and then push you out of the country. So, you know, you cannot be too passive. You gotta have both and to stand strong.

    Zhenyu Li: MMA is becoming huge in America and some top-tier pro boxers have expressed their interest in MMA. What's your opinion about it?

    Holyfield: I've never fought with a Kung Fu guy. My whole experience is in boxing. For Kung Fu, you have to be a lot more dedicated, flexible and all that. (It requires) a LOT of discipline and patience. It takes time to do it. As a young kid, I just wanted to do something; I didn't want to take pains and time to grasp a complicated technique, you know, because at the time I didn't understand what that was for. All I wanted to do is to be better than somebody else. So when you get into martial art, you have to be able to concentrate and do all of those great things, but when I was a kid, I didn't understand all these. I just wanted to make it work on somebody; I wanted to do it on somebody; I wanted to do the things that really work.

    I learned that Kung Fu is not meant to take advantage of somebody, but to protect oneself.

    Zhenyu Li: One of the advantages that some Chinese boxers have is that they were once Kung Fu practitioners, which is good for their balance, dexterity and so forth. Shiming Zou is a good example. He is a two-time world champion and a hot favorite for an Olympic gold. Have you ever heard of him?

    Holyfield: He's a lightweight.

    Zhenyu Li: Yeah, light flyweight.

    Holyfield: Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I was once trying to sign him. But you know, there are about four or five people out of America trying to get him. Hehehe, oh, my. who wouldn't want to have him?

    Realistically, you know, I'd LOVE to have him. Because people (here in China with a number of over 1.3 billion) would love me.

    People would think, if I am great, whom I am with is supposed to be great too. With him, he has already done this by himself. So there will be a bigger promotion and all this, which would be good for him. It won't depend on who his manager is and how they want to do it.

    I have a game plan to take advantage of... you know, people like me. Then I could help promote somebody's product here. You know, this country will be the number one power in the future. You know, America is going down like this. It's gonna be China that will be the high power.

    Zhenyu Li: I've been curious about the fact that you look fabulous for your age, both inside and outside the ring. Are there any hidden secrets in your training regimen? What's your typical day like, when you are in training?

    Holyfield: You know, that depends. When I am at home, I train like five days a week. You are not supposed to get out of shape. But it's not the shape you build up that leads you to winning a fight. When I prepare for a fight, I train six days a week; twice a day.

    When I was younger, I used to train a lot harder. I always wanted to do more than my opponent. I could remind myself that, you know what, I do some that he doesn't do. That should be the driving force. But when I got older, I found that, you know what, your body couldn't do that, 'cause your body easily got tired. Now instead of running everyday, I run every other day.

    When your body gets too tired, you have to pull back, because when you are older, your body takes a little more time to recover, so you can't do the things that will burn yourself out. It'll wear your body out, like this. So when I was young, I was able to recover my body in ten minutes, like, I am ready to go again. But when you get older, when your body gets tired, it takes time to recuperate, and you don't have much time to recuperate when you are in a fight.

    You know, I learned a LOT of things when I reached the age of 30. When you want to do something physically, your body will say OK do it, but you'll pay afterwards. So I had to learn to make adjustments.

    So that's what I found that I was doing. At the last phase of my career, I was just... you know, my body is trying to make me lazy.

    Zhenyu Li: I heard that you were planning to claim the world heavyweight title for the fifth time, right?

    Holyfield: One more time, one more time. I need to finish it.

    Life is about how you finish. Regardless of how much money you earned in your life time, if you die broke, you are a broke man. It's how you end that defines you, not how you came up. God gave you the opportunity. You can't choose your beginning, but you can choose how you want to end.

    Zhenyu Li: Perfect. I truly wish you success. Thank you very much for your time, Evander.

    Holyfield: Thank you. Any time.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  7. #37
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    Kung Fu Kids - that's kind of catchy. It would make a good movie title...

    Shi Yan...haaaaaa, like that tells you who it is...
    Kung Fu Kids
    Posted: Sat Jun 19 2010, 05:32 hrs

    City children return from China with training in martial art

    Their classmates may be making most of the summer holidays watching remake of the 80s classic 'The Karate Kids' running successfully in theatres, but this group of seven middle school students are back from China with lessons in Kung Fu from the Shaolin school. “It was a three-day training in the martial art and we learned some wonderful things,” chirps an excited Samyak Jain, class VII student of The Millennium School. “The Kung Fu discipline is based on the characteristics of five animals—monkey, crane, snake, tiger and mantis an insect that hops,” he adds.

    “We went to Dang Feng, where Epo College of the famous Shaolin chambers is located and trained under Shi Yan, the shifu, or the master, who was with us for three days, teaching us the finer points,” said Sami Chowdhry of Class VIII, adding that they were all awarded certificates at the end of the programme stating that they were eligible now to graduate from the college.

    And would they give it a serious thought in future? “Of course,” says Sami.

    “Kung Fu was developed by Buddhist monks for self-defence and it is a practice that requires deep concentration. In that respect, the experience was extremely enriching and we would be applying the rules in everything we do,” says Swati Kulkarni, who was promoted to class VII this year. The students volunteered for a trip organised by Terra, a Delhi-based agency, to go to China for the crash course and also do some sight seeing. Good, they had been prepared beforehand with a practical knowledge of Cantonese to take care of the communication.

    “Besides Dang Feng (it means 'small forest') where we were trained, we also went to Beijing and Shanghai...the buildings, infrastructure, etc were amazing,” gushes Vriddhi Jhunjhunwala. The kids were impressed by the practice of riding bicycles and habit of taking public transport among the Chinese citizens, instead of moving in private petrol/diesel-driven vehicles. “It contributes majorly to curbing pollution, despite the largest population in the world,” says Suyash Tiwari. “The children had given a Kung Fu performance during our annual day and that is where we got the idea to send them for hands on training in the martial art to China,” says sports teacher of the school, Deepak Rajput. “Good to see, they are all kicked about the trip.”
    Gene Ching
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  8. #38
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    More India

    Kalari seems on the rise. Remember Holy Mountain?
    India-China martial arts meet at Shaolin temple
    2010-06-21 06:10:00

    Martial arts experts from China and India met at the Shaolin Temple, famous as one of the holy sites of the art of Kung fu, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

    Twelve Indian martial arts experts from the Nithya Chaithanya Kalari Indian martial arts training centre, founded in 1993 by Murugan Gurakal, performed Kalaripayattu Sunday alongside monks of the Shaolin Temple, who performed Kung fu.

    'Shaolin Kung fu is the father of Chinese martial arts and Kalari is the mother of Indian martial arts,' Murugan Gurakal, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

    Gurakal hoped his countrymen could learn a lot from Shaolin Kung fu.

    The Indian experts performed Kalarippayattu styles like long stick fighting, knife fighting, sword, shield and flexible swords, while the Shaolin monks performed Kung fu including Tung Chi Gong, Er-zhi-zen and Eighteen Weapons.

    Shi Yanhao, a monk who performed Tiger Fist, said he was 'happy to see the mysterious Indian martial arts'.
    Gene Ching
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  9. #39
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    Kung Fu Camp

    It beats camp rock, I suppose
    Overseas Chinese youth learn Kung Fu in Shaolin Temple
    16:43, July 30, 2010

    A group of foreign youth of Chinese origin learned Chinese Kung Fu from monks in Shaolin Temple in China's Henan Province on July 29, according to Chinanews.com.

    As a part of their trip to seek roots in China, the 50 youths from seven countries, including America, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, participated in the "Kung Fu Camp."

    The summer camp for foreign youths of Chinese origin was co-organized by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal Government, enabling a total of 2,100 youngsters of Chinese ancestry to seek their roots in China.

    By Ye Xin,People's Daily Online
    Gene Ching
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    Good for Dave

    I'm glad he had a good time.
    Local Trains At Shaolin Temple
    Tuesday, 12 October 2010

    Photo provided: Dave Weaver, far right, recently returned from a trip to China to study different forms of martial arts. Weaver is the co-owner of Iron Bear Martial Arts in Celina.

    By MICHELLE STEIN
    Staff Writer
    CELINA — Martial arts instructor Dave Weaver recently returned from the trip of a lifetime. Weaver spent six days training at the Shaolin Temple in Henan province, China. The trip lasted from Sept. 3-17, which included seven days of training, as well as time for sight seeing.
    “A guy I train with had been urging me to go with him — he had made several trips to China — so I finally told him I would,” Weaver said.
    Weaver said he trained each day with eight other students between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., took a break for lunch, and then went back for more training from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
    “The training was extremely rigorous,“ he said. “It was pretty incredible, the area where we were staying was about a mile, maybe a mile and a half down a real steep hill.”
    The group learned two traditional Shaolin Shou Gong forms as well as kung fu exercises, he said. On the seventh and last day of training, the nine students took and passed a test over the skills they had learned. All of them received a certificate from the Shaolin Temple. In the general area, Weaver said there are 45,000 kung fu students. What struck Weaver the most about the people he encountered in Henan province was their dedication to the martial arts, he said.
    “They are the most dedicated trained people I’ve ever seen and I’ve been in the martial arts since 1981,” Weaver said. “They start training at sun-up and you’ll see them training at 10 at night. They train all day. I’ve never seen anything like it. They are unbelievable. I’m 48 now, so I still work out hard, but it’s just truly amazing that they’re just always training. That explains why they’re able to do just some incredible feats.”
    During his seven days of training, Weaver said he roomed with a well-known tae kwan do master, Phil Cunningham.
    “My roommate was basically a tae kwan do legend,” Weaver said. “He actually is considered the founder of tae kwan do in Afghanistan. My initial martial art that I started in was tae kwan do, so it was really cool to be with him. He’s an incredible fighter. It was sure an honor to room with him and train with him.”
    Cunningham has trained and promoted over 900 black belts, Weaver said. He was a well-known tournament fighter in the 1970s.
    “The other really incredible thing was we actually met the head abbot of the Shaolin Temple,“ Weaver said. “The abbot is equivalent to basically the pope, or the Dalai Llama.”
    Weaver stressed how rare this opportunity was to meet Head Abbot Shi Yongxin as typically people such as presidents or prime ministers have this honor.
    “People that go there to train, really, don’t get a chance to meet the abbot,“ he said. “We actually sat down in his chambers and talked about the history of martial arts. So it was a real opportunity and it was so nice to meet him. We spoke through a translator, but the translator was very fluent in English.”
    In addition to meeting a couple of well-known figures in the world of martial arts, Weaver said he was able to experience Chinese cuisine while in Henan province.
    “The food was rather unique, to say the least,” he said. “They had some strange dishes. One they kept bringing to us was this chicken soup, but it had like the whole rooster head in it, and like the talons would be sticking out of the soup.”
    Despite being apprehensive about the food, Weaver said he would take the opportunity to train at the Shaolin Temple again in a heartbeat.
    “Without a doubt, I would definitely like to try to do that again,” he said. “It was incredible, you know. It was a trip of a lifetime and I saw some wild things. I do know one thing, I’ll probably try to pack my own food when I go.”
    Weaver is a co-owner of Iron Bear Martial Arts, which holds classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings at the YMCA in Celina. Among the martial arts taught by Iron Bear are tae kwon do, ryu kyu kempo and jujitsu.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #41
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    Gene Ching
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  12. #42
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    Catagorized as "odd" by Global Times

    Odd indeed. If his bride was smoking hot, we would all have to kowtow to him.
    Shaolin master, 98, marries bride, 43
    * Source: Global Times
    * [08:48 November 30 2010]



    A simple but special wedding with a big red "Xi"(double happiness) character hanging behind three party tables marked the first marriage of 98-year-old Shaolin master, Fang Taishan, and his 43-year-old bride, Yang, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province on November 24.

    Yang said, "He is a hero. To marry him was my idea, my good luck and my happiness. I am willing to accompany him on the last trip of his life." Fang has a led a legendary life. He learned Thai martial arts in Guangdong at age 9, and two years later he went to practice martial arts at the Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian Province. In 1946, Fang joined in the revolutionary army and in 1950 became the bodyguard for famed general Ye Jianying. Today Fang has more than 3,000 disciples.

    "At first, we didn't believe this wedding would come true," said an adopted son of Fang's. "But he was serious about this."
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  13. #43
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    Great granny fu

    06. 12. 10. - 14:00
    No Fu like an old Fu

    Great-gran Zhao Yufang has amazed fitness fans with her astonishing feats of kung-fu - at the age of 82.

    Yufang - a master in Shaolin kung fu and T'ai Chi - has also studied yoga for more than 70 years and performs her eye-watering feats of flexibility every day in a park near her home in the Chinese capital Beijing.

    "I have always led a simple life. I gave up eating meat so long ago I cannot remember what it tastes like and I exercise for three hours a day," she explained.

    "When I was a girl no master would teach me kung fu so I taught myself - and then I went back to the school and beat the master until he apologised," she added.



    The older I get, the more respect I have for elderly tongizgong practitioners.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  14. #44
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    More granny fu

    This one doesn't say Shaolin as overtly. The photos say it all.

    82-year-old woman creates herself unique body exercise
    English.news.cn 2010-12-05 10:33:09

    Eighty-two-year-old Zhao Yufang stretches her leg in the residential compound she lives in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 4, 2010. Zhao created herself a unique body exercise combining Yoga, Wushu or martial arts, and Qigong or breathing exercise in her sixties, and three hours of daily practice over years has granted her with good fitness. (Xinhua/Liu Yu)


    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  15. #45
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    Here's an odd one

    This guy is local to me. Interesting...
    Mill Valley Director Makes Splash with ‘Piano Fingers’
    By Atissa Manshouri | April 11, 2011

    During the six months he spent holed up in a Shaolin monastery in Northeastern China studying martial arts, Mill Valley native Nicholas Carmen hardly could have imagined that his first widely-screened film would deal with the thoroughly un-exotic subject of Alzheimer’s Disease.

    Indeed, a love story set among the ruins of such emotional devastation is an unlikely subject for any young filmmaker to tackle, but tackle it he did, with enough skill, compassion and flair to garner recognition and awards along the film festival circuit.

    The film has its Northern California premiere tonight at the Tiburon International Film Festival, where it screens as part of the “Marin Filmmakers” spotlight.

    Carmen, a 1994 graduate of Tam High, co-wrote and directed the 25-minute film with two longtime friends and fellow Tam High grads, co-writer/actress Ava Bogle and tech specialist Marc Steinberg. All three participated in Tam’s Conservatory Theatre Ensemble (CTE) program, which Carmen describes as very influential in his decision to pursue filmmaking as a career.

    Piano Fingers is the story of Howard and May, an aging couple who enjoyed minor celebrity in the 1950s as jingle-composers for cigarette commercials. As May’s memory fails and Howard struggles to hold onto her, the couple entomb themselves in an apartment piled with relics from their lives and careers, the TV tuned permanently to an unending loop of infomercials. Though their decline is heartbreaking and inevitable, the shared musical memories of their jingle-writing days remain intact and manage to keep them connected.

    Carmen says the story is loosely based on his great-aunt and uncle, and her struggle with Alzheimer’s. He says that even as her memory faded, she was still able to recall the piano pieces she learned to play as a child.

    “It became a story I wanted to tell… I felt it was an issue that more people should be aware of, though I’m very conscious that I’m in a different demographic from most of the people who deal wit it,” Carmen said in a telephone interview.

    As he co-wrote the script with Bogle, he says, “the story really took shape when we added the '50s aspect. It really helped to add specificity.” It also gave production designer Justin Benjamin an entire world to dive into and re-imagine. The flotsam and jetsam of Howard and May’s shared past, piled all around them, play an important role in creating both the nostalgic and suffocating feelings evoked in the film.

    That such a touching and insightful meditation on aging could spring forth from three 20-something filmmakers is a testament to their dedication to this story. Carmen and Steinberg have been friends since their middle school days in Mill Valley, and met Bogle in high school.

    “The three of us made films in high school our senior year, and we’d shoot films every summer during college,” said Carmen. Their Tam High roots played a strong enough role that for a film that they shot after their first year out of high school, they cast CTE teachers in the main roles.

    Carmen cites another Mill Valley-rooted, source of inspiration for his filmmaking career: his interest in martial arts. A black belt in Tae Kwan Do (earned right here at West America), Carmen’s curiosity took him all the way to Ji Lin Province in China’s Northeast to spend six months studying in a Shaolin monastery.

    “At the time, my interests in film and martial arts were very intertwined. I do think it inspired me to move towards filmmaking as a career.”

    Besides the “fantastic” physical training, his time spent in China also helped him form a worldview.

    “Here I was, watching this culture caught between communism and capitalism, a whole generation living between the two. It taught me to look more critically at the world around me.”

    Carmen attended UCLA, as did Steinberg and Bogle. As an undergraduate in the World Arts and Cultures program, he spent a semester absorbing European film culture at Prague’s FAMU (Academy of Film and Television), and back in Los Angeles worked on making films on his own time -- and dollar -- which completing his studies.

    He and Steinberg made a short film, Pictures of You, during their senior year at UCLA, but spent a full two years in post-production before completing it. The reason for the delay ended up being fortuitous: after graduation, the two friends formed a post-production company, Radiant Images, and capitalized on rapidly changing digital technology to find a technical niche that needed filling.

    Their success and hands-on experience were invaluable. “When we finally finished Pictures of You,” Carmen says, “we knew that [it] would not be anything like what it is now if we hadn’t gained that real-life experience.”

    Parlaying that experience into a full-fledged filmmaking career is next on Carmen's agenda, and he'll have some serious momentum from Piano Fingers to help him along: so far, the film has won several awards, including an Audience Award at Dances With Films Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the Hollyshorts Festival. It continues to screen at festivals both domestic and international.

    For now, Carmen is happy to soak up Los Angeles' under-appreciated cultural scene while he continues to balance commercial film work with his aspirations as a writer-director.

    "At the moment," he says, "the joy of making the finished product is enough to make me want to spend all my nights and weekends doing it."

    Lucky enough to have made some actual money doing commercial work, Carmen's best advice for other young filmmakers is to "learn a skill.... The reason I've been able to do this is because I've made enough money in the film business by learning a technical skill."

    His other parting advice: "You have to make sure you can find self worth in other areas that aren't professional. Because this business can eat you alive."

    Fortunately for Carmen, Steinberg and Bogle, Piano Fingers may just be their ticket out of the shark tank.

    The 411: Piano Fingers screens tonight at 7:00pm at the Tiburon International Film Festival as part of the "Marin Filmmakers" spotlight.
    Jilin Province would have been Siping City Shao Lin Martial Arts Academy, I imagine.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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