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  • Training with Shi Yong Xin

    A worthy addition to the famed email of the month, though, for some bizarre reason, I don't know why. It's a legitimate question. The answer, well, I'm going to need help with this..... LOL

    Hi Richard

    I have been learning karate for the past 6 years now. I want to go to china and learn gong fu... learn it their way.

    Is it possible for a foreigner to get it to the shaolin temple or the monastry (led by abbot yongxin), where all these great masters have come from. I plan to train for a year.

    Or pls could you provide me details of some temple where i can get the same level of training.


    Regards
    xxxxx
    Well, for one, the guy calls me Richard.

    Only Blooming Lotus does that. No problem.

    For two, the assumption can be, that YongXin has trained all of these great masters, and is responsible for the quality of training at the temple.

    We'll tread on thin ice here. Now, for my opinion, based upon recent inquiries to people from Shaolin, who shall remain nameless. And from my experiences in the past.

    At present there really is no good training at Shaolin temple. Some Europeans have gone there, paid the temple a lot of money, and were horribly disappointed with the experience. Demanding your money back just doesn't work, so, a lot of hard feelings erupt. But, who ever said the Chinese cared about repeat customers. They got your money, get lost. There's always another sucker who wants to go to Shaolin and train like a "monk". The temple at present is mainly a tourist attraction; it now costs about fifteen dollars to enter the Disneyworld like grounds, and if you want to pay Yongxin's minions lots of money for the wonderful experience of training in Shaolin, from what I've heard, prepare to be sorely disappointed. Training in Shaolin temple proper really ended, legitimately, back in the nineties for the most part, with some exceptions. The last of that breed, Decheng, Deyang, Hengjun, etc, moved on from Shaolin when Yongxin ascended and "pushed them out". I wrote about this in one of my many journals years ago, on the site.

    Yongxin is not known for his martial arts prowess. He allegedly knows little gong fu, if any at this time, as I've been told. Many individuals have told me that his training years ago when he was younger, was limited; one reason being his health. Buddhism was more his forte; politics another. I've also written before that years ago, after he ascended to power (another story) many of the monks and "monks" who left Shaolin and the Wushu Guan, opened their own schools to survive in Dengfeng, and agreed to change their names so that YongXin could be their "master". A lot of this happened in the early 2000's. So, let's not be too overwhelmed by the fact that Yongxin is now the godfather of gong fu masters. Read the site; you'll find the history buried within.

    The "monks" at Shaolin that are on the performance team are talented individuals; but as I mentioned before, as with the wushu guan, their experiences tend to lean more towards performances, and performing their three wushu forms perfectly, than with understanding the traditional stuff, and lots of it. Also, and this is variable, their knowledge, and their level of vow taking, is highly variable. You'll find some monks there that know nothing of Buddhism. You'll find some that are very religious individuals. The place has changed a lot over the past twenty years; people want the myth, go there to find it, and usually walk away disappointed.

    As I've been told, Yongxin has many gong fu schools in China, almost as many as he allegedly has houses, villas and cars (and as told by some miscreants in a mean spirited way, allegedly mistresses and children. But, don't believe everything people tell you). He had three in Dengfeng at one time, one in Anhui, and from what I've heard, a few more scattered here and there. He's really doing an awesome job of capturing the gong fu market, along with everything else shaolin. He's a smart puppy. I don't agree with him all the time, but I do respect his abilities.

    Many of the older school monks left Shaolin years ago, and opened their own schools. Many of these individuals are having trouble surviving economically. The draw of local domestic students have dropped with the drop in China's economy; Chinese parents are leaning towards a more traditional western education; the desire to spend one's life in a gong fu school to become a policeman in Beijing is proving to not be a desirable educational experience, and Yongxin is apparently, as I've said before, capturing the gong fu training market. Real, legitimate, old school traditional masters such as Decheng and Deyang are having trouble maintaining their Chinese schools now. It's sad; they're good teachers, and they know a lot of real traditional gong fu. The real masters are being shoveled off to the side of the road as the process of capitalism takes control of shaolin and its traditions.

    You have a lot of reading to do. Read the site. Shaolin FAQ, Suggested Readings, FAQ, Journals, this forum, etc, etc. Basically, you don't want to go to the temple to train. You want to find another good teacher in Dengfeng, which is near Shaolin. There are literally thousands of schools in China; they erupt and die like the pimples on an adolescent's ass. Their teachers come and go, the quality goes up and down, and it's a nightmare just trying to keep it all under some sort of control. And what makes it even more complicated is the plethora of bullshit websites that tout real shaolin training. Caveat Emptor. Buyer beware.

    I usually just send people to Decheng's school in Dengfeng. He's good, he has good teachers, I trust him, he's honest, and I know what he teaches. The problem is, he's rarely at his school now. He travels all over the world to teach now, in order to support his school in China which at present loses money.

    (Just a footnote, he was here in Thailand with me last week. His interest in moving here and joining my school seems to be on the wheels of his mind.... )

    OK, so here's the answer to your question. After a lot of dribble and rambling nonsense, here we go.

    No. You can't, and shouldn't, train at Shaolin Temple with Yongxin.

    There are other, better, options in the area. The problem is, other than Decheng's and Deyang's school, and the Shaolin Wushu Guan, I'm not quite sure what they are.
    Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

    "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

    (more comments in my User Profile)
    russbo.com



  • #2
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    • #3
      Yongxin's lack of skill in martial arts is not well acknowledged. From what I've heard, he doesn't know a whole lot about gong fu right now. Many people have informed me that when he was younger, his training was restricted, among other things, due to health concerns. He was better at Buddhism than he was at politics. Many of the monks and "monks" who had previously abandoned Shaolin and the Wushu Guan, and who had started their own schools to survive in Dengfeng, had consented to alter their names so that YongXin could be their "master," as I've described before (another tale). Much of this occurred during the turn of the millennium. To that end, let's not get too excited about Yongxin being the new patriarch of all gong fu teachers. You'll have to read the site to unearth the history, but it's there.


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        • #5
          I've heard from many sources that his training was limited, among other things, because of health difficulties when he was younger. In contrast to his political abilities, he excelled as a Buddhist teacher. As I've said before, many of the "monks" and "monks" who had previously abandoned Shaolin and the Wushu Guan and who had created their own schools to survive in Dengfeng agreed to change their identities so that YongXin could be their "master" (another tale). The turn of the century was a crucial time for many of these events. That being said, let's not rush to proclaim Yongxin the next gong fu grand master.

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