Is Shaolin-Do for real?

[kwaichang]

Baqualin I Am Going To Hit You For This
Kcwho Told You This Anyway /??????

[Flaca]

Baqualin I Am Going To Hit You For This
Kcwho Told You This Anyway /??????

It's on main forum page, listed with all the birthdays.

[kwaichang]

Thats like saying Michael Jordan is the greatest American athlete of the past 100 years he// he aint even american KC

[sean_stonehart]

Thats like saying Michael Jordan is the greatest American athlete of the past 100 years he// he aint even american KC

I'm sorry what?? Michael Jordan isn't American? Was he born abroad to non resident aliens or immigrants?

Seriously... I have never heard this.

[brucereiter]

Bruce,

I saw a few posts back that you're in Atlanta. Is your school on Highland? I'm just curious. I was in Atlanta last weekend for the Family Values Tour. I was walking down Highland and saw a kung-fu school. The sign looked similar to a Shaolin-Do school signs I see around KY.

Just wondered if that was you.

Shane

Hi shane,

Yes it is one of the schools I am part of.

I am traveling right now so i have not been to the school all summer.

How was family values tour?

Best,

Bruce

[brucereiter]

shaolindoiscool,
no problemo, I always enjoy hooking up with other Martial Artists. If you are ever in the NY area, mi casa,su casa.
As far as my backround, I have been studying various systems for the past thirty years,aquiring several Black Belts along the way-some people collect stamps...
but my maiin focus, for the past twenty years or so has been Siu Lum Hung Kuen (Hung-Ga) and recently (going on three years) KwongSi Jook Lum Ji Nam Tong Long P'ai (Jook Lum Southern Mantis). Studying numerous styles has been both a blessing and a curse however. A blessing, because I was exposed to alot, and can speak with (relative) authority on several systems, and also have an open mind to others' technique and concepts;. The downside is, having met people such as my present Mantis teacher, I realize the difference between studying many different styles, and focusing on one style and training it for many years. My teacher has been training in SPM for over 38 years, and his skill level is awe inspiring.
"Do not mistake the person who claims twenty years of experience, when he actually has two years, ten times."
TT

Thanks for the background info.

Best

Bruce

[Lucas]

I'm sorry what?? Michael Jordan isn't American? Was he born abroad to non resident aliens or immigrants?

Seriously... I have never heard this.

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina

http://www.ewsonline.com/sports/jordan/bio.html

[brucereiter]

Cool. I walked right past the training hall of some forum members from faraway lands and didn't know it. I would have left a note or something.

Yeah, I was wondering about the parking when I saw it myself. I was trying to imagine twenty or thirty people showing up for class and looking for a spot. I actually stayed at the Highland Inn down the street. I saw it on the internet and it looked like my kind of area. That idea was reinforced when I walked past a kung fu school my first night there.

And Family Values rocked. Well, Korn and Evanescence did anyway. The other bands were decent. $10 for a 24 oz. beer, though? I left broke.

I was there for four days, first time in Atlanta. Saw a play at Fox Theater, went to the Underground, Lenox Square, and Little Five Points. Also stopped by the aquarium on the way out of town. I had a good time, seemed like a nice place. The only thing that freaked me out was the extremely small number of red lights that had left hand turning lanes. Not used to heading for a light at 50 mph and then having the guy in front of me come to a dead stop and hit his turn signal.

Shane

Hi shane,

Glad you had a good time in atlanta. Next time look me up ...

I live a mile from the school. It is a great area to live in.

Korn rocks! I have seen them many times ...

In the last year they for a reason not known by me they keep getting rid of the left turn lanes ... Rrrrgh!

[sunfist]

Im thinking its because they claim to teach a massive array of highly disparate arts very quickly, arts with contradicting body mechanics and training methods. This leaves only 2 possibilities:

-They are a hell of a lot better at kung fu than everyone else.

-They have absolutely no idea what they are talking about and have actually found a more efficient way of systematically defecating on the traditional arts than modern wushu, which is an achievment for all the wrong reasons.

Most in shaolin do will say its the former, most outside will say its the latter. In the end, I can do little more than to advise new martial artists making this choice to do so very carefully.

[BlueTravesty]

First off, nothing about SD (or just about any other style that claims Shaolin lineage) is "obviously" Shaolin. You don't get to define your own standards of Shaolin and then tell people they're missing something that's RIGHT THERE based on your own homegrown standards and biases.

Let's keep in mind too that other than hearsay, fiction, general consensus and "common sense" there's really nothing that points to animal styles as being a distinctive part of Shaolin Martial arts of the pre-Communist era. It's LIKELY that they might have practiced Animal forms, but nothing I've come across has pointed to them as being emphasized over more "mundane" fighting methods (such as HongQuan)

So using those forms and saying "See, SD is OBVIOUSLY true shaolin because we do ANIMAL FORMS" is kind of like saying "I'm Norwegian because I'm wearing a horned helmet."

I think the most concise, neutral, objective definition of "real Shaolin" is whatever is being practiced at a historically verifiable Shaolin Temple right now (hint: so far there's only one!) Which means if the monks suddenly decide to drop Wushu and Traditional Sets and start doing Krav Maga, Krav Maga is now "real" Shaolin by virtue of it being practiced at Shaolin Temple.

If you find the current Shaolin curriculum disappointing, no problem. Just say "Shaolin sucks, what they might have been practicing before was better." I hated Chrono Cross and Matrix: Revolutions too, but unfortunately those are legitimate sequels to franchises I like. No amount of fanboy ranting and fanfiction would change that.

G'night!

PS- fwiw I think Shaolin's current curriculum- Traditional Longfist, Wushu, and San Da- is pretty respectable. I could do without the Wushu, but since they spend more time on the Longfist alone than most MAists do in their entire tenure, I'll give them a pass.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Why would anyone wanna be associated with Shaolin anyways?
They've gotten slapped around more than a redhead step child on his birthday.
Even a dude with white eyebrows punked them.

[Baqualin]

It's on main forum page, listed with all the birthdays.

SSSSSSH....don't give up my secrets
BQ

[Judge Pen]

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina

http://www.ewsonline.com/sports/jordan/bio.html

He's not Native American?

[sha0lin1]

Here are my thoughts on the subject. There are many schools out there that claim to teach Shaolin that claim some historic connection to this temple or that one. We will wait and see what becomes of all of them as more and more monks and disciples emigrate to other countries to spread Shaolin and the sangha. There are quite a few monks here in the U.S. and there are more coming and this is a direct connection to Shaolin Temple. As I have posted before my Shifu has a vision to have a Shaolin school in every major city in Texas and he is actively recruiting other masters to come to Texas. So true Shaolin is becoming more and more accessable to the general populace with every monk that comes.

As for SD, I have done SD and many of my best friends are SD'ers. I have to say that the training is good and the techniques are effective. What can be said whether you like them or not is that it is a martial art. Whether it is Shaolin is questionable. When people go to check into a school they have the responsibility to make the best choice for themselves that they can. They should do the research and check out similar schools before they decide. That is why this site and these threads are so valuable. Anyone can check out the postings and decide whether they believe a lineage before they make a decision.

[Judge Pen]

Anyone can check out the postings and decide whether they believe a lineage before they make a decision.

Or whether lineage is important to them.