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Thread: Matthew Ahmet

  1. #16
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    a sujiadizi

    Heck, I'm a sujiadizi. I've never called myself a Shaolin monk. I've called myself the real fake monk, but that's a different story.

    British monk giving new fame to Shaolin kung fu
    by (08/12/05 23:59)

    By Han Manman

      Matthew Ahmet was an ordinary teenager from north London four years ago. But after he graduated from high school, he chose a path less taken – he dcided to become a Shaolin monk.

      Wanting to become a kung fu master like his idol Bruce Lee, Ahmet gave up the carefree life of a young man and entered a world of training, discipline and punishment.

      After years of hard work, his dream to become a “master” has come true. He is one of the “kung fu stars” in a popular group of performing Shaolin monks, who are on a world tour that included a show in his hometowKung fu show in London

      Although the UK leg of the tour ended last week, 20-year-old Ahmet still remembers the excitement. “All of my friends, my parents, even people I don’t know who saw me on TV came backstage to say I did well. Thesaid seeing a Westerner (doing kung fu) on stage made them feel inspired that their dreams can also come true,” he said. Ahmet denied he was chosen to perform because he is the only foreigner in the Shaolin temple, located in Henan Province. He said it was his skill that became his ticket into the group. “I am at a high level, like most masters on the team.ife in the Shaolin temple

      Ahmet’s visit to London seemed o have taken him full circle. His transformation from an ordinary boy into a monk began nine years ago, when Shaolin monks staged a martial arts show in London.

      “At that time, I liked Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li But nothing prepared me for what I saw! A monk did a handstand, supporting his weight with just two fingers.” The then 11-year-old Ahmet whispered to himself, “I want to be that strong.” And his dream was borHe began to train at a small local martial arts club. As his skill improved, he started working with a private teacher at 5 am every day, before going to school. At 16, Ahmet went to the famed Shaolin Temple with the help of his London teacher, who had links with the Shaolin monks.

    “Every day we’d wake up at 5 am and train throughout the day until around 9 pm. We’d do stretching, fighting exercises and practikung fu forms,” he said.

      “The first few weeks were incredibly painful and lonely for me. I wasn’t able to ring my mum and I lost over a stone (6.35 kilograms) in weight. But my pride kept me going. I didn’t want to admit defeat, and lso saw children aged four to five training alongside me, doing the same punishing exercises,” he said. “If they could do it, then so could I. Finally, after about a month, I learned to carry on through the pain, ando conquer it.”Ahmet has himself become a kung fu coach at the temple, teaching around 30 students. “Most of my students are Chinese, then there’s the odd westerner for a week or so throughout the year,” he saidDuring his UK tour, Ahmet also visited schools to talk about Buddhism and being a monk. “I want to teach kids that they can be cool without being violent,” he said. “As a Shaolin disciple, I’ve learkung fu ... but helping others and spreading happiness is an important goal in my life.” When asked if he has even once regretted the decision to give up a life in Britain to become a monk, Ahmet said: “I’ve never regretted the cision to go to Shaolin. It’s a dream come true!inding true love

     It was also at the Shaolin temple that Ahmet met the love of his life. He is marrying Chang Chunyan, a 20-year-old student, on January 25 – his parets’ wedding anniversary. The temple has allowed him to get married because he is classified as asujiadizi, a person who has trained at the monastery, but who is not a Buddhist cleric.

      “Chang is the love of my life and wehave been together for more than two years. She is also pregnant with our first baby and I can’t wait for the child to be born,” he saidAhmet will be traveling to Los Angeles next week for the US leg of their world tour. “Chang will come with me. Many of my mother’s relatives live in LA, so they can all meet my future wife,” he saidWhile Ahmet is excited to have a family with his fiancee, he also wants to continue being a ung fu” ambassador. In the process, he may even get a chance to work with his movie idols.“Hopefully, I could work with some of my matial arts idols like Jackie Chan. Since all my dreams have come true so far, I can’t see why these dreams can’t come true either,” he said.
    Gene Ching
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    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  2. #17
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    that's show business G~

    the Bitch Goddess herself.
    there is no end to the shameless lies that spew forth from her.

    c'est la vie.
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  3. #18
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    The monk gives everyone a rating of "ba, 8"

    (or maybe he's saying pa, or pha, or ppa, or bha, or bba... I have a hell of a time hearing the difference in languages that have multiple versions of the same consonant... like Korean, which is the worst. I've written essays on how impossible it is for native English speakers to understand spoken Korean. Don't even get me started)

    Anyway, every time they're judging and it gets to him, I say "BA! EIGHT!" And then he says "ba, 8!" I think he gave someone a 9 on Monday. I was like

    And the Russian judge makes Russian jokes.

    (paraphrased)

    "All Russians are watching this on secret KGB websites"

    "China is right next to Russia. We are like brothers. 9!"

    "This morning Kremlin, where Russian government lives, called [insert their dancers name] and said 'if you don't do well, you will be dancing in Siberia for the next 10 years!'."

    "They say Russians like to drink vodka in the morning. Not true!! Sometimes we like cognac!"


    Really?? Can we have some more jokes? You're so funny. Really.








    For real tho, I thought the last round of Russian Cossack (spelling?) dancers were awesome, and they got low scores. That dance they do where it's like one legged squats (pistols) is **** HARD and they deserved at least an 8 just for being able to do it. I've tried for years and can't even do it once. I can do pistols, but I can't do their dance.

    And I agree it's a DANCE show. The monks are bad ass, but they're not really dancing. I have the same opinion about the first American popper. He was incredibly talented, but that's not really dancing when all you do is pop the whole time.
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  4. #19
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    The reason the cozack (sp?) dancers got low scores is because the judges thought they should be dancing in unison when they were not soloing. Which they weren't doing. While the majority of the dancers rotated clockwise on their spins, some rotated counterclockwise. As for the popper, when he came out I was like c'mon, out of all the dancers and styles in the U.S. we use this guy to represent us. I thought he looked kinda silly. From here on out I don't think the monks will do very well with the judges unless the judges can get their minds around what I said in a previous post about forms and dancing being similar, if not one in the same.

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Anyone across the pond know Matthew Ahmet?
    Matthew Ahmet buddhist name is Shi Yan Wu. Matthew Ahmet trained and lived at Shaolin for 4 years. He was also a part of the Shaolin Wheel of life tour. I have heard nothing but good about him and his skills are exceptional. I don't know which school he is affiliated with at Shaolin but here his a video about him on you tube and my space page:

    Shi Yan Wu

    My Space
    Last edited by Songshan; 01-10-2009 at 04:40 PM. Reason: fixed the link

  6. #21
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    It's on again tonight

    ...but I have practice. Besides two hours of tv time is a lot to invest for me. I still haven't watched the pilot on the web. It would be really cool if someone could post the time codes for the Shaolin portion of the webcast here.
    Gene Ching
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  7. #22
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    Alright, I did catch the last half hour or so...

    ..it was odd. The styles of dance are so different that it's difficult to judge against each other. And the competitors are going more for stunt dancing than smooth choreography. They do some fabulous stunts, but their pretty rough on the edges. It's not nearly as effortless as competitive ballroom dancing. I didn't see any of the monks dancing. Does China have any other competitors other than the monks? China is getting its ass kicked in this show. I think it's because they sent a lame judge.

    The monk judge is very, very odd. Contrary to what one member of this forum told me (who will remain unnamed) it's not the abbot. I don't know who it is. I phished around on the official site for a I couldn't find any info on the judges and decided it was a waste of my time. You'd think they'd be able to find someone in China that could don a monk robe and speak just a smattering of English.

    I thought all the judges were a little odd. Who are these people who get to judge on TV reality competition shows like this? I'd love to see the judges for SSoD in a Clue-like mystery where they all had to solve a murder or something. Given the SSoD judges panel, I think that would be a very entertaining show.

    I found the timing of the program to be really irritating. A dance, then commercials, then judging that dance, then commercials, then another dance, lather, rinse, repeat. It made for a lot of commercials and not enough dance.

    What is it about Michael Flatley? Did he get a clause in his contract to assure that every time the camera is on him, it is lit so his eyes have extra twinkle?

    Next week, there's supposed to be some face off between the U.S. street dancers and the monks. That might be amusing, but it'll probably happen early, before I get home from practice.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  8. #23
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    Hey Gene,

    Xing Ying says the judge was a monk, he used to know him, but he left the temple a long time ago. He says that once you leave it is very hard to come back so he is not sure why he is there. Over X-mas he was out in Cali and he met some of the monks that were on the show.

    Michael Flatley is really a Leprechaun, that is why he has that twinkle in his eye.

    Susie Castillo is hot though, I wish she were running the show. I missed Monday's episode because I was teaching class and my wife somehow screwed up my recording, what did the monks do?

  9. #24
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    I missed any monks apart from the judge

    But next week should be good - some sort of throw down between the U.S. hip hop dancers and the monks. If the monks are smart, they'll just hand the hip hoppers 3-section staffs and chain whips and let them knock themselves silly ala the Italian mobster in Return of the Dragon. Either that, or challenge them to a real breaking contest - Shaolin style - with bricks and sticks.

    And I must have been blind when I went looking for that judge's name.
    The judge for Team China is Master Haiyang Wang. Master Wang is the natural successor to become abbott of his Shaolin temple.
    I'm questioning his claim to be the next natural successor. I've heard that before.
    Gene Ching
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  10. #25
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    i liked this show. but idk what the hell shaolin is doing there. but the american group is good. but not that good. **** any crew from americas best dance crew would slaughter them.

  11. #26
    Mm...agreed.

    They should just bring in Yuri Tag from Kabba and let her stand on stage for a couple minutes brushing her hair.

    That'd be enough for my vote.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    But next week should be good - some sort of throw down between the U.S. hip hop dancers and the monks. If the monks are smart, they'll just hand the hip hoppers 3-section staffs and chain whips and let them knock themselves silly ala the Italian mobster in Return of the Dragon. Either that, or challenge them to a real breaking contest - Shaolin style - with bricks and sticks.

    And I must have been blind when I went looking for that judge's name.

    I'm questioning his claim to be the next natural successor. I've heard that before.
    Yeah Gene, I don't think they mean the Shaolin Temple....the way it was written they have it as "his" shaolin temple. Maybe they are referring to his school or something?

    Gene, have you ever spoken with Matthew Ahmet before?

  13. #28
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    I've never met Ahmet...

    ...there are so many disciples now. It's hard to keep track.

    Tonight's the Shaolin vs. Groovaloo showdown, but I'm going to blow it off. I got practice and Papa's got some new shoes.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  14. #29
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    I wound up watching it anyway

    The Shaolin vs. Groovaloo was silly. They filmed it like an old scratchy kung fu flick and it was just the two groups busting moves, but not really interacting. There was no improvisational interaction - no real dialog - between the troupes, so it was really pointless. It was also really short. I was very disappointed.
    Gene Ching
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  15. #30
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    Yeah, what a waste of film, when they said they were gonna do it, I thought they would do it live. Totally stupid.

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