Dear Doc.
First off, thanks for a great site and invaluable resource for all those committed to learning more about Shaolin culture.
I hope that this isn't one of those questions that you get asked all the time (how many emails start like that I wonder).
First off, a bit of history (wake up at the back). I started Shaolin training in the xxxxxx of the Shaolin Temple under xxxxxxx. Trained there for nearly 2 years and decided to move to China to study the language. While there, I met and continued my training under Shifu xxxxxxx (heard of him? He says he is one of Abbot Shi Yongxin's disciples and very good friends with his gongfu 'brother' xxxxxxx?). Anyway, now I'm getting ready to move to America to start a new (married) life. I'm interested in the possibility of getting xxxxxx to America (xxxxx more exactly) to start a gongfu school there since there's a severe lack of any Shaolin monks there. xxxxxx is also very positive about heading Stateside if at all possible.
So my question is how to do it? Reading through various archives and forums on your site I get the feeling it's something of a real headache and involves a lot of time and money but right now I'm totally clueless as to where to even start so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
With many thanks in advance for any words of wisdom you can throw my way.
xxxx
The beginning.....
They're all disciples of Yongxin now. But, that's another story. And, they all want to come to the US.
I've been putting this discussion off for quite a while. For one, it's a nightmare of a discussion. How does one put two years of ridiculous time, effort and expense into a few paragraphs? And, because I've been ill, I've just been unable to put my thoughts together.
It all started, a long, long time ago.
It was back in August of 1995. It was my first trip to Shaolin, and one hot, miserable, muggy afternoon, I found myself sitting on this incredibly filthy and dusty large green rug, one that, if you moved in any direction, would give up a slew of dust and dirt. Shi De Cheng was sitting next to me; we were taking a break from our gong fu training, and I was starting to teach him English. It was quite comical actually, I had this electronic translator that we tried to communicate through. But mainly, we communicated through the time old method; a pen and paper. And, ridiculous little drawings.
I had drawn a picture of the world on this yellow pad, showing him where I had lived, and where China was. Had this stupid little drawing of an airplane too. Somehow, I had explained to him that I lived on the other side of the world, in America. He explained to me, that he had traveled throughout a good part of Europe, but that he had never been to the US. He had always wanted to go there.
For some strange reason, a bond had started between us during that first trip, one which was to end up in a master-disciple relationship sometime thereafter. And it was at that time that he had made it clear to me that he would love to go to the US. It was also at that time, that I made it clear to him, that one day, I would try to invite him, and bring him, to the United States.
That was the beginning of a process. A lengthy, expensive, frustrating, process.
One that I don't think I'd ever do again.
Doc returns, quite a mess....
It was May of 1996, and I was scheduled to return to Shaolin to train with Shi De Cheng the first week of June. But, the last week of May found me in a serious car accident, the details, and the reasoning behind, I shall not delve into. Needless to say, a head injury, with some pretty serious complications afterward, cancelled my trip. It also cancelled my career, and put my life into a spin like I've never experienced before.
Things changed.
And they got worse. From month to month.
It was September of 1997, three strokes later, and a myriad of other neurological complications, that brought me to the brink. It was at that time, that I decided to risk another trip to Shaolin. My health was not the best, my neurological condition was tenuous at best; in fact, I said goodbye to my family, thinking that I wouldn't make it back. And then, I left for Shaolin. For what, I wasn't sure. But I had to heal, and I had to get better. I was a highly trained medical specialist, and I had given up on modern western medicine.
I had thought that spending time in Shaolin, attempting to train with Shi De Cheng, would be beneficial. Why, I wasn't sure. But, at that point in my life, I felt I had no other options.
It turned out to be a very beneficial trip. Decheng saw that I had some serious problems, and he helped me work through my physical disabilities. The bond grew, the devotion to Shaolin and all that it had stood for got stronger.
It was at that time, that I invited Shi De Cheng back to the US. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it, nor was I sure what I was going to do with him there, but, in the back of my mind, I felt that, for what he had done for me, he had deserved his much longed for trip to America.
I hadn't the slightest idea how I was going to do it. But, I was.
Things change. And, they get worse.
Upon my return to the US, I gradually developed more health problems secondary to my initial injury. Four blown cervical discs in my neck resulted in a paralysis of my left arm, and, constant pain. The next year was pure hell, but I got through it. The whole process of getting Shi De Cheng to the US had stopped. For a while.
It was again in October of 1998 that I had returned to Shaolin. But this time, Decheng was no longer in China, he was somewhere in Europe teaching students. I had spent a little over a month training one on one with Shi Xing Hong and Shi Xing Xi, during which time, we became good friends. I was not to see Decheng for yet another year.
But, at this time, the whole concept of starting a school in America started to rear its ugly head. Both Xinghong and Xingxi expressed a desire to go to America to open a school with me. Actually, Xinghong was more interested in going Hollywood at that time more than anything else. But, he had just started some sort of relationship with the people in Hungary, a relationship which prevented him from following his Hollywood movie star dream. Xingxi kept more realistic desires; he kept in touch with me over the years, in an effort to somehow, and sometime, get to the US.
Doc meets the boys...
It was sometime during the Christmas season of 1998, late on a Friday night, that I received a phone call at home. Some guy was talking Chinese to me.
I hadn't the slightest idea what he was talking about. But, I did recognize two things. The words "Shi De Cheng" and "MGM". I put it together; there was a Shaolin monk tour in Las Vegas at the MGM hotel, and no doubt, Shi De Cheng had given some of the guys on the tour my phone number. So, I headed down to the MGM, and found Shi Xing Wei and Shi Xing Qi, two of Shi De Cheng's disciples. Met the rest of the gang too, including Shi Xing Xi, and others.
I spent some time with the whole troupe, but especially spent some time with Decheng's disciples. I showed them Las Vegas, and some of the sights. It soon became obvious that both had wanted to come back to Las Vegas to live. And teach. But, it wasn't to be, at that time. I hardly knew these guys, and an invitation from me was not to be forthcoming.
It was during one of my many, many returns to Shaolin, in the subsequent two years, that I eventually ran into Shi De Cheng. I think it was winter time; February in Shaolin is not only cold, but it's deserted. Not exactly a great time to go, but go I went. It was during that time that Decheng and I sat down and set the groundwork for a school in Las Vegas. It was also the time that we had decided to start some sort of invitation process for Shi De Cheng, Shi Xing Wei, and Shi Yong Qiang. Shi Xing Xi and Shi Xing Qi agreed to come over to the US during the second phase, after we had gotten the first bunch over, and got the school running.
Problem was, I hadn't the slightest idea what to do. So, I started asking around.
It was the spring of 2000. I started to ask some of my attorney friends how to get Chinese people over to the US. Legally, of course.
Illegally would have been much easier. And much cheaper. Had I gotten advice from one of our local Chinese restaurants, I probably would have saved a lot of time and money.
I first started, by sending a simple invitation letter to Decheng, Xingxi, and Yongqiang. They went to the US Embassy in Beijing, sat through a simple two minute interview, and were rejected. Answer one question in a wrong fashion, and it's over. Get an Embassy official in a bad mood or with an itchy hemorrhoid, and it's over.
It's a ridiculous process.
I then learned, that out of a thousand Chinese that might go to the US Embassy with a visa application, on any given day, that the US Embassy might give out two or three visitor visas.
The odds were most definitely against us.
You see, the US Embassy wants to see evidence that the guy they're giving the visa to, will return to China when his visa expires. Plain and simple.
So, they want to see applicants with home ownership. Wives. Children. Families. Good high paying jobs. And, lots of money in the bank, which, of course, will stay in the Chinese bank until they return.
Shaolin monks have none of that. So, it just wasn't going to work that way.
And, trying again, would only be detrimental. For, they stamp the failed visa attempt in the passport. A previously failed attempt at getting a visa usually guarantees another failed attempt.
I had to find another method to get Shi De Cheng to the US.
There had to be another way....
to be continued....
First off, thanks for a great site and invaluable resource for all those committed to learning more about Shaolin culture.
I hope that this isn't one of those questions that you get asked all the time (how many emails start like that I wonder).
First off, a bit of history (wake up at the back). I started Shaolin training in the xxxxxx of the Shaolin Temple under xxxxxxx. Trained there for nearly 2 years and decided to move to China to study the language. While there, I met and continued my training under Shifu xxxxxxx (heard of him? He says he is one of Abbot Shi Yongxin's disciples and very good friends with his gongfu 'brother' xxxxxxx?). Anyway, now I'm getting ready to move to America to start a new (married) life. I'm interested in the possibility of getting xxxxxx to America (xxxxx more exactly) to start a gongfu school there since there's a severe lack of any Shaolin monks there. xxxxxx is also very positive about heading Stateside if at all possible.
So my question is how to do it? Reading through various archives and forums on your site I get the feeling it's something of a real headache and involves a lot of time and money but right now I'm totally clueless as to where to even start so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
With many thanks in advance for any words of wisdom you can throw my way.
xxxx
The beginning.....
They're all disciples of Yongxin now. But, that's another story. And, they all want to come to the US.
I've been putting this discussion off for quite a while. For one, it's a nightmare of a discussion. How does one put two years of ridiculous time, effort and expense into a few paragraphs? And, because I've been ill, I've just been unable to put my thoughts together.
It all started, a long, long time ago.
It was back in August of 1995. It was my first trip to Shaolin, and one hot, miserable, muggy afternoon, I found myself sitting on this incredibly filthy and dusty large green rug, one that, if you moved in any direction, would give up a slew of dust and dirt. Shi De Cheng was sitting next to me; we were taking a break from our gong fu training, and I was starting to teach him English. It was quite comical actually, I had this electronic translator that we tried to communicate through. But mainly, we communicated through the time old method; a pen and paper. And, ridiculous little drawings.
I had drawn a picture of the world on this yellow pad, showing him where I had lived, and where China was. Had this stupid little drawing of an airplane too. Somehow, I had explained to him that I lived on the other side of the world, in America. He explained to me, that he had traveled throughout a good part of Europe, but that he had never been to the US. He had always wanted to go there.
For some strange reason, a bond had started between us during that first trip, one which was to end up in a master-disciple relationship sometime thereafter. And it was at that time that he had made it clear to me that he would love to go to the US. It was also at that time, that I made it clear to him, that one day, I would try to invite him, and bring him, to the United States.
That was the beginning of a process. A lengthy, expensive, frustrating, process.
One that I don't think I'd ever do again.
Doc returns, quite a mess....
It was May of 1996, and I was scheduled to return to Shaolin to train with Shi De Cheng the first week of June. But, the last week of May found me in a serious car accident, the details, and the reasoning behind, I shall not delve into. Needless to say, a head injury, with some pretty serious complications afterward, cancelled my trip. It also cancelled my career, and put my life into a spin like I've never experienced before.
Things changed.
And they got worse. From month to month.
It was September of 1997, three strokes later, and a myriad of other neurological complications, that brought me to the brink. It was at that time, that I decided to risk another trip to Shaolin. My health was not the best, my neurological condition was tenuous at best; in fact, I said goodbye to my family, thinking that I wouldn't make it back. And then, I left for Shaolin. For what, I wasn't sure. But I had to heal, and I had to get better. I was a highly trained medical specialist, and I had given up on modern western medicine.
I had thought that spending time in Shaolin, attempting to train with Shi De Cheng, would be beneficial. Why, I wasn't sure. But, at that point in my life, I felt I had no other options.
It turned out to be a very beneficial trip. Decheng saw that I had some serious problems, and he helped me work through my physical disabilities. The bond grew, the devotion to Shaolin and all that it had stood for got stronger.
It was at that time, that I invited Shi De Cheng back to the US. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it, nor was I sure what I was going to do with him there, but, in the back of my mind, I felt that, for what he had done for me, he had deserved his much longed for trip to America.
I hadn't the slightest idea how I was going to do it. But, I was.
Things change. And, they get worse.
Upon my return to the US, I gradually developed more health problems secondary to my initial injury. Four blown cervical discs in my neck resulted in a paralysis of my left arm, and, constant pain. The next year was pure hell, but I got through it. The whole process of getting Shi De Cheng to the US had stopped. For a while.
It was again in October of 1998 that I had returned to Shaolin. But this time, Decheng was no longer in China, he was somewhere in Europe teaching students. I had spent a little over a month training one on one with Shi Xing Hong and Shi Xing Xi, during which time, we became good friends. I was not to see Decheng for yet another year.
But, at this time, the whole concept of starting a school in America started to rear its ugly head. Both Xinghong and Xingxi expressed a desire to go to America to open a school with me. Actually, Xinghong was more interested in going Hollywood at that time more than anything else. But, he had just started some sort of relationship with the people in Hungary, a relationship which prevented him from following his Hollywood movie star dream. Xingxi kept more realistic desires; he kept in touch with me over the years, in an effort to somehow, and sometime, get to the US.
Doc meets the boys...
It was sometime during the Christmas season of 1998, late on a Friday night, that I received a phone call at home. Some guy was talking Chinese to me.
I hadn't the slightest idea what he was talking about. But, I did recognize two things. The words "Shi De Cheng" and "MGM". I put it together; there was a Shaolin monk tour in Las Vegas at the MGM hotel, and no doubt, Shi De Cheng had given some of the guys on the tour my phone number. So, I headed down to the MGM, and found Shi Xing Wei and Shi Xing Qi, two of Shi De Cheng's disciples. Met the rest of the gang too, including Shi Xing Xi, and others.
I spent some time with the whole troupe, but especially spent some time with Decheng's disciples. I showed them Las Vegas, and some of the sights. It soon became obvious that both had wanted to come back to Las Vegas to live. And teach. But, it wasn't to be, at that time. I hardly knew these guys, and an invitation from me was not to be forthcoming.
It was during one of my many, many returns to Shaolin, in the subsequent two years, that I eventually ran into Shi De Cheng. I think it was winter time; February in Shaolin is not only cold, but it's deserted. Not exactly a great time to go, but go I went. It was during that time that Decheng and I sat down and set the groundwork for a school in Las Vegas. It was also the time that we had decided to start some sort of invitation process for Shi De Cheng, Shi Xing Wei, and Shi Yong Qiang. Shi Xing Xi and Shi Xing Qi agreed to come over to the US during the second phase, after we had gotten the first bunch over, and got the school running.
Problem was, I hadn't the slightest idea what to do. So, I started asking around.
It was the spring of 2000. I started to ask some of my attorney friends how to get Chinese people over to the US. Legally, of course.
Illegally would have been much easier. And much cheaper. Had I gotten advice from one of our local Chinese restaurants, I probably would have saved a lot of time and money.
I first started, by sending a simple invitation letter to Decheng, Xingxi, and Yongqiang. They went to the US Embassy in Beijing, sat through a simple two minute interview, and were rejected. Answer one question in a wrong fashion, and it's over. Get an Embassy official in a bad mood or with an itchy hemorrhoid, and it's over.
It's a ridiculous process.
I then learned, that out of a thousand Chinese that might go to the US Embassy with a visa application, on any given day, that the US Embassy might give out two or three visitor visas.
The odds were most definitely against us.
You see, the US Embassy wants to see evidence that the guy they're giving the visa to, will return to China when his visa expires. Plain and simple.
So, they want to see applicants with home ownership. Wives. Children. Families. Good high paying jobs. And, lots of money in the bank, which, of course, will stay in the Chinese bank until they return.
Shaolin monks have none of that. So, it just wasn't going to work that way.
And, trying again, would only be detrimental. For, they stamp the failed visa attempt in the passport. A previously failed attempt at getting a visa usually guarantees another failed attempt.
I had to find another method to get Shi De Cheng to the US.
There had to be another way....
to be continued....
Comment