I'm seriously considering a visit to China, possibly long-term, in order to learn their culture, language, and martial arts. But I don't know where to go, or who I should contact, to get quality training. I'm sure you've got more knowledge about this than almost anyone, so I'd really appreciate your insight.
I read through the forums, the site, and asked people who've trained in China what it's really like and if it's realistic to expect the ability to participate in serious training, and honestly it's still rather unclear. I hear some parts of their training were good, some parts were bad, but that ultimately it's not what people expected. And generally, it seems people didn't get the physical challenge and skilled instruction they sought.
About me: I'm 19, and currently in college in the U.S. I'm in good shape, pretty strong and athletic, and have a couple years martial arts experience in TKD. I joined the TaeKwonDo club at my college, too, so I hope to be somewhat prepared should I decide to go to China after school's over.
If I go, I want it to be serious and effective training. Not some fake. I'd be willing to spend the money in order to get quality training, too. For the length of time, I plan on anywhere between 1-3 years, depending on if I see value in the training.
I know I'm not gunna be some monk. I'm not going to be Jet Li, either. But what I expect is if I make the sacrifice of time, money, and effort, I should be in good shape and somewhat skilled.
If you could give me some advice as to how I might find quality training, I would be indebted to you.
Thanks,
Sincerely
xxxxxx
I read through the forums, the site, and asked people who've trained in China what it's really like and if it's realistic to expect the ability to participate in serious training, and honestly it's still rather unclear. I hear some parts of their training were good, some parts were bad, but that ultimately it's not what people expected. And generally, it seems people didn't get the physical challenge and skilled instruction they sought.
About me: I'm 19, and currently in college in the U.S. I'm in good shape, pretty strong and athletic, and have a couple years martial arts experience in TKD. I joined the TaeKwonDo club at my college, too, so I hope to be somewhat prepared should I decide to go to China after school's over.
If I go, I want it to be serious and effective training. Not some fake. I'd be willing to spend the money in order to get quality training, too. For the length of time, I plan on anywhere between 1-3 years, depending on if I see value in the training.
I know I'm not gunna be some monk. I'm not going to be Jet Li, either. But what I expect is if I make the sacrifice of time, money, and effort, I should be in good shape and somewhat skilled.
If you could give me some advice as to how I might find quality training, I would be indebted to you.
Thanks,
Sincerely
xxxxxx
We all have these images of what Shaolin Temple should be. Back in 1995, when I first went there, I had a certain image as to what the place would be like. Well, I was kind of wrong. What I had imagined from all those television shows and other media bullshit that had distorted my mind, was completely different than the reverent circus that I had experienced. Though, back then I had met martial monks that really did live in the temple. Martial monks who had sixty to eighty year old traditional masters. Martial monks who were genuinely interested in teaching the art as precisely as they had learned it from their masters, as their masters had learned it from their masters.
Things change. They always do. The current temple changed in 1999 when Yongxin took power. The "new sheriff in town" mentality caused almost all of the old real masters to take off. What was left, were students, some in Yongxin's schools, some from other schools. And a few Buddhist monks who had decided to pledge fealty and stay. The past seven years have been a bit of a Disney E ticket, but hopefully, some stability will eventually emerge. What this means to you, and to others who try to train there, is the following.
There are genuine, older masters, who still teach in the Shaolin area. You just have to find them. There are far more "monks", who have grown up in one of the hundreds of Shaolin based schools in the area, who occasionally wear orange robes, and have monk names. These guys most definitely have skills, martial arts wise. They may know nothing about Buddhism, but they're gong fu is good. Here in lies the problem; tourists go there to train with "monks" and generally find behavior that is not consistent with monks. Well, guess what, there's a reason for that. They're not monks. But, they are good martial artists, and you can learn one hell of a lot from them. Want good harsh training? You can get it. They may not be monks, but they're good.
Will you have the experience that I had in the late nineties? That depends upon who you train with. As I've said before, the older guys are still there, though they tend to keep their heads down a bit. There was a lot of political upheaval and "master reassigning" over the past seven years; a lot of these older, and more "real" guys just do their thing and try not to get involved. You'll also find many schools trying to capture the foreigner market; as I've said before, a website means nothing, but many, many foreigners are captivated by the concept of training with "Shaolin monks", even though most of the guys that teach at that school have never been to Dengfeng. You have to be careful with how you pick. Remember, caveat emptor. It most definitely applies to anything in China, the land of "smoke and mirrors", less politically correctly known as "bullshit".
I would not go for one to three years. I've said that many times before. Make your first journey an exploratory one. If you like it, go back or stay. If not, find other options. Don't give up the great years of your youth torturing yourself in that shithole. There's far too many other things a 19 year old guy should be doing. But, also, don't be disappointed by the negative stories that you've heard from other people. Training at Shaolin, even in wushu with some Chinese coach who smokes, drinks and bangs whores, can be a worthwhile experience. Personally, I hate the ****ing place. In the past twelve years, I've been there eighteen times, for a cumulative total of almost two years. I truly hate being there. I don't particularly care for the people, the infrastructure, the food, the environment, and the ladies. The training has been superb (I train with Shi De Cheng, have done so since 1995), and, sometimes I hate the training too. Have I mentioned I hate the ****ing place?
Yet, I may go back in a few weeks. I hate it. I always return.
Some of my most cherished memories have been from that ****ing place....
So, do go. Enjoy it for what it is, not for what you expect it to be. Don't push yourself to stay longer than you want to. Get the most that you can out of the wonderful culture, the shit stench filled beautiful environment, the training whatever it is you get when you get there. It's a "one bra size" country, one of the most unique, ugly, beautiful, horrible and lovable places on earth.
Let me know when you're going. I'll help you set things up. I have people in China that can take care of you.
Comment