Hello From Shaolin Temple

[sha0lin1]

Hi all,

I have not been very active in the forums in a while but since I have had some free time between training sessions thought I would drop in and say hello. In some ways this has been the best trip to Shaolin yet. I had lunch with the monks in the temple dining hall today. That was quite an honor and an experience. Training has been very much harder on this trip then on my previous ones. I will be off to Chen Village tomorrow for a couple of days of training then back to Shaolin to finish out training before heading home. The tourist load has not been as heavy here lately which is nice. It also seems like the commercialism has been somewhat better controlled, they have moved the vendors away from the Temple gate and set up some new booths that look nice. There is now a fence around Tallin which is sad to see but probably necessary due to people defacing the pagodas with graffiti. Most importantly, the food has been much improved in Wangzhigou, it is actually good, which is a huge improvement. Keep training and I will check back in a few days since I probably will not have wifi at Chen village.

Peace

[GeneChing]

I'm remembering when the best way to get a message out of Shaolin was fax because to use the land-line public phone was too intermittent and more expensive.

[Kymus]

I'm remembering when the best way to get a message out of Shaolin was fax because to use the land-line public phone was too intermittent and more expensive.

Did you have to go up hill both ways on your hands as well?

[sha0lin1]

Well Gene,

I guess Shaolin had to come out of the stone age. Most of the monks have Iphones which they are very proud of. The shami's can also figure out how to use an Ipad very quickly if there is a game involved. In fact it is quite fun to watch them play on it, they all gather around and laugh and smile. It is really cool to watch them get to be kids, as you know they are very mature for their ages. The training for them is pure torture and if they get in trouble they do things to them that would be considered child abuse by Western standards. Today it was hot, about 95, this little kid, probably about 6 got in trouble so they made him do laps wearing his winter coat with his hood on. Even as he went past me he smiled this big smile despite the torture he was enduring. I felt sorry for him, but that is they way it is for them. My legs are burnt, I am tired as hell, so I think I will take a little nap now before the next training session.

[ngokfei]

wow, traditional training = heat exhaustion and possible death. idiots

Explains alot though about the types of monks they are producing these days.

[LFJ]

wow, traditional training = heat exhaustion and possible death. idiots

Explains alot though about the types of monks they are producing these days.

Absolutely. Unfortunately, they're also too stubborn to be educated. Sad thing is, I don't think that would be the first time that has happened, if I recall, yet still...

[sha0lin1]

Yeah, it is unfortunate but you have to admire the fortitude of this kid. And the fact that despite what he was enduring, he still had it within himself to smile at me. It was a very touching moment. I do have to say that most kids don't get in trouble very often because they know that punishment can be harsh depending on what they did. Hence the maturity level of the kids here. I mean training methods are harsh and exhausting enough. I could not imagine screwing up and getting punished for it. It does tend to have the intended effect though.

[LFJ]

I once met a kid who was one of the best in the class. Real beefy legs for a pre-teen. Very strong, very skilled. He was also always smiling and doing his best through the grueling training.

During a rest period we got to talking and he confided in me how miserable he was there. He actually hated the training, wasn't interested in kung fu and was bored with the lifestyle. He just wanted to go home more than anything. Next training session he was physically forced into over-splits by the coach until he was crying. He was back to smiling after class though, but it masked his real feelings.

I always found their stretching methods the most idiotic. They just think the harder and more painful it is, the better. A student I took there was held down by several kids on one leg while the coach wrapped his other leg in his jacket and yanked his legs apart until it tore the crap out of his muscles. His entire inner thigh turned purple, and now years later he still has problems with that leg. I was not present or I would have told him to opt out. He didn't think it was a choice, since all the students had to do it...

[GeneChing]

The training I saw at Shaolin was brutal, pure and simple. I'm amazed there aren't more fatalities. I'm impressed by anyone who not only survived it, but excelled through it. Most of the monks, even the fake ones, were raised up eating that level of bitter. Knowing that brutality, it puts them in better perspective. It also puts the movie Four Little Shaolin Kung Fu Stars in a clearer perspective.

[ngokfei]

so this could explain the mind set of the Shaolin guy in spain.

[breeze]

Sha0lin1, which masters are you learning from?

[sha0lin1]

My Master in the U.S. is Shi Xingying, here at Shaolin it is his kung fu brother Shi Yanwen.

[sha0lin1]

I once met a kid who was one of the best in the class. Real beefy legs for a pre-teen. Very strong, very skilled. He was also always smiling and doing his best through the grueling training.

During a rest period we got to talking and he confided in me how miserable he was there. He actually hated the training, wasn't interested in kung fu and was bored with the lifestyle. He just wanted to go home more than anything. Next training session he was physically forced into over-splits by the coach until he was crying. He was back to smiling after class though, but it masked his real feelings.

I always found their stretching methods the most idiotic. They just think the harder and more painful it is, the better. A student I took there was held down by several kids on one leg while the coach wrapped his other leg in his jacket and yanked his legs apart until it tore the crap out of his muscles. His entire inner thigh turned purple, and now years later he still has problems with that leg. I was not present or I would have told him to opt out. He didn't think it was a choice, since all the students had to do it...

With your question in mind I decided to ask the four friendliest kids I have met. They all said that they loved being here, they agreed the training was hard but they liked it. They felt that it made their kung fu better. They did say that they sometimes missed their families though. They did not feel like they had been abused, but said that sometimes the punishment is harsh. However, that is the way it is here so I can see why they feel like that. They understand that there are consequences for their actions. As for the kid you spoke to, no doubt some of them are in that situation, you can see it on their faces. It is usually their families that decide to send them here for various reasons. Some of these kids spend their entire childhoods here. For most of them it works like this. Parents drop them off, if they are lucky they get visited once in a while, they get to go home for about two weeks during the Chinese New Year, they train 6 to 9 hours per day, and that is about it. One of the kids I spoke with is 18, he has been here since he was 10 and absolutely loves it. The power this kid can generate is incredible, he does a mean Rou Quan which was totally beast. The funny thing is they all wanted to come to the U.S. Unfortunately, unless they make one of the touring teams, that is probably not in their future. And coming here to live is just not reality for them. It really makes you appreciate that you were lucky enough to be born in our country despite all of the problems we have.

[Blacktiger]

Wow - have a fantastic time.

Last time I was there was 2007, intend to get back one day.

Hearing Gene talking about the kids eating bitter.

We stayed in the Wushu Guan - and every morning while we were in bed you could hear the kids being stretched down in the side lane - full on.

Its a special place!

[GeneChing]

so this could explain the mind set of the Shaolin guy in spain.

I don't think anything can explain that.