Going to Shaolin next month

[Eddie]

Can you just show up at the Shaolin Temple and train?

Usually you’d have to wait outside in the snow in a meditation position for days. Eventually, when they think you’ve shown enough determination, they will allow you in.

That’s standard protocol. Every one knows that!

[sk girl]

Can you just show up at the Shaolin Temple and train?

I am sure you could but I would pay for a tour guide the first time you go there then make friends with some of the monks then go back on your own.

[sun dragon]

I am sure you could but I would pay for a tour guide the first time you go there then make friends with some of the monks then go back on your own.

Thanks not a bad idea. I was hoping there was a tour guide that actually goes to the shaolin temple for more then an hour a day and wont rip me off for thousands of dollars or take me to some school thats right next door and tell me I'm going to train at the temple.

[Eddie]

why dont you try travel without using a tour guide. thats usually the best way to travel anywhere, and obviously much cheaper.

[GeneChing]

You can train at the temple now although I've heard that the lessons are tourist driven and expensive. There are so many fine masters there that the temple is not the first choice amongst the bulk of the Shaolin laowai club. Most tour guides won't rip you off four thousands of dollars. They may rip you off for a few hundred, but not thousands. That's true in any tourist area anywhere in the world.

[Blacktiger]

Im going Thursday this week......so pumped!

We are staying at the Wushu Guan which is meant to be pretty good...like a hotel so I hear.

My master's ex student runs the place or something so we should not have to much trouble.

Wooooo Hoooooooooo (in best Steve Irwin impression)

[GeneChing]

The nice thing about the wushuguan is that it's still in Shaolin Valley, so if you get up at daybreak, you can jog up to Tamo's cave and sit at the peak for an enlightening meditation. There's a trail that leads up the mountain from the side of the wushuguan opposite the temple side, the side closer to the valley's entrance gate. Take that trail up over the ridge and you can get up to the big Tamo statue from the back side, then go up to the peak where there's a small roofed structure, and then go down to the cave. It's a wonderful morning jog or hike. From there, at daybreak, you can get a glimpse of true Shaolin.

[LFJ]

Beijing reminded me of L.A., where I'm from. It was packed, rude, and full of people who were aggressively trying to rip me off. It was the one part of the trip where we didn't have family around, and virtually every transaction turned out to be a struggle not to get punked. Lesson re-learned: the ignorant get screwed. If you don't know the language or the city, people are going to do you.

You mentioned smog.....boy, people in the US have NO idea how bad it is in China.

thats totally true of any large city i've been to anywhere in the world. "aggressively" trying to rip you off. yes, you've been to china. lol- i very much disliked guangzhou for that very reason- among others. but things we much nicer only 30 minutes away in a smaller (yet still large) city.

the smog issue is so true. walking in dengfeng on the sidewalk there was a giant mountain on the other side of the street and i didnt even notice it. couldnt see through the smog!

the link here says it all: http://tedlee.cn/2007/09/08/10-citie...lity-in-china/

you went to luoyang. that made the top 10 list!

[LFJ]

Can you just show up at the Shaolin Temple and train?

i did. didnt cost me a cent.

[Shaolin68]

thats totally true of any large city i've been to anywhere in the world. "aggressively" trying to rip you off. yes, you've been to china. lol- i very much disliked guangzhou for that very reason- among others. but things we much nicer only 30 minutes away in a smaller (yet still large) city.

the smog issue is so true. walking in dengfeng on the sidewalk there was a giant mountain on the other side of the street and i didnt even notice it. couldnt see through the smog!

the link here says it all: http://tedlee.cn/2007/09/08/10-citie...lity-in-china/

you went to luoyang. that made the top 10 list!

China was my first overseas trip, I've traveled all over the US and a little bit of Mexico. In a way I'm not mad at people who don't have much, and can get a little more by doing an ignorant (and comparatively wealthy) tourist. At the same time, it got to the point where I simply didn't want to interact with people anymore because virtually everyone was running a game.

The one good thing about Beijing was a hotel we stayed at. The bar was run by a Chinese guy who was also an American citizen. He was a retired teacher from the suburbs of L.A. and his bar stocked things like bagels, sandwiches, cheesecake, stuff like that. He also had several cute girls working for him; young, little English, and no real idea how to mix a drink so they just overpoured everything. Time spent there was time well spent.

The rest of the city I could do without.

[Blacktiger]

The nice thing about the wushuguan is that it's still in Shaolin Valley, so if you get up at daybreak, you can jog up to Tamo's cave and sit at the peak for an enlightening meditation. There's a trail that leads up the mountain from the side of the wushuguan opposite the temple side, the side closer to the valley's entrance gate. Take that trail up over the ridge and you can get up to the big Tamo statue from the back side, then go up to the peak where there's a small roofed structure, and then go down to the cave. It's a wonderful morning jog or hike. From there, at daybreak, you can get a glimpse of true Shaolin.

Thanks Gene.

Replying to you from the Wushu Guan on location in Shaolin.

My Cherry has been popped. Got film crews up here at the moment for the K-Star TV show. Could not go and train where we wanted yesterday as Jel Li and his enterouge where here negotinating with officials for a possible movie here.

Our master came here and taught in 1982 from Beijing Uni so alot of the masters now running the place have been dropping in to catch up -oh so much chinese death wine.

Went up Songshan mountain yesterday and was blown away....oh my legs...
Our school came here previously 2 years ago and went on the walk which scared the sh*t out of them all..they warned us -they have made the path a bit wider now but far out its high and narrow..but what a view.

Dont know if you know him but we have been looked after up here by Master Jow who is the principal of the school right next to the wushu guan, he and his brother run the place apparently. Been taught some cool old forms.

My master cant believe how much the place has changed since he was here 2 years ago.

Also went to this fantastic sound and light show set on the back drop of songshan mountain - mind blowing not sure if you have seen it...this place just fires you up to train big time.

Reading Mat's book and coming here all at the same time has been wicked- I keep wanting to ask if coach Cheng is still here

Talk soon

[GeneChing]

I'd love to be in Shaolin when Jet was in town. K-Star too? The place must be hopping.

Did you make it out to the hanging bridge on your hike? If not, ask on how to get there. That's an incredible death defying hike, but you'll be a better person for it.

If Master Jow is Jiao Hongbo (Deding), yes, I know him. He's very powerful. He's also the same generation as my master, Shi Decheng. They both trained under Shi Suyuan. I think he's mentioned in Matt's book too, but I'm not sure where. As for Coach Cheng, he's now teaching in one of the private schools in Dengfeng. He left the wushuguan a while ago. I haven't seen him since 2003. Unfortunately, I can't for the life of me, remember what his full name is. I always new him as Cheng Laoshi, but there's no way in hell you'd be able to find him at Shaolin using that name.

[Blacktiger]

I'd love to be in Shaolin when Jet was in town. K-Star too? The place must be hopping.

Did you make it out to the hanging bridge on your hike? If not, ask on how to get there. That's an incredible death defying hike, but you'll be a better person for it.

If Master Jow is Jiao Hongbo (Deding), yes, I know him. He's very powerful. He's also the same generation as my master, Shi Decheng. They both trained under Shi Suyuan. I think he's mentioned in Matt's book too, but I'm not sure where. As for Coach Cheng, he's now teaching in one of the private schools in Dengfeng. He left the wushuguan a while ago. I haven't seen him since 2003. Unfortunately, I can't for the life of me, remember what his full name is. I always new him as Cheng Laoshi, but there's no way in hell you'd be able to find him at Shaolin using that name.

Yep its been great

Yes made it over the hanging bridge -wow -great for trying to cure vertigo -not!

Must be the same Master Jiao -we went and met his master and son down in a little village yesterday as well which was special, cant remember his name but he and his son put on a cool demo for us.

Must run got to go sword shopping