All I'm saying I hear this 1,500 years of blah blah from a lot of SD guys (and lots of other kung fu people as well, but mostly these days from SD folks), but Tang Hao claims that as late as 1560, Yú Dàyóu went to Shaolin because he heard of their great staff techniques, but was so disappointed in what he found that he had to teach the monks how to use a staff.
It's like you guys watched 36 Chambers of Shaolin and thought it was documentary. :-O