Shi Xing Hong: so what is up with trying to standardize shaolin... (Ego)

[arhat]

seriously what language is that...

[LeiYunFat]

I wasn't getting any directions but I donated 6 g's to you [Beelzebub] anyway.

[tetsumaru]

I was flopping around the web looking for CMA schools in Ontario, Canada when I came across Xing Hong's school (btw canada has way better CMA schools than the US does or so it seems I haven't visited many yet.) So, I came back to russbo to see what anyone had to say. Mostly nothing of course! There are about 6 useless pages of you all dry humping your computers over BL and rubbing yourselves out to your own posts. Things dont change...anyway, the few bits of info that were here (Mostly just Doc and Arhat's Posts) discussed how Xing Hong is trying to organize his "Chan wu" schools. I don't think this is a bad idea IF you can get everyone on board. It will become XH Chan wu shaolin.

If you think about all the retardedness out there these days with people saying "I know shaolin blah" "shaolin-do is sweet!" "I went to shaolin and trained for 4 months and now I am opening a school and Im official because I paid them some green paper to get this other paper that says I-am-stupid-for-paying this-much-money-for-a-certificate-that means nothing." He's trying to organize it just the same way the Japanese Martial art Associations have that came previous to him. Good if he can do it...but look at his students.

Canada also has way too many "Shaolin" schools.

Just curious to know what else is going on with Xing Hong and all of his schools.

[doc]

Well, let's go back a few years. Back to 1997, when I was training with him.

At that time, he had this concept in his head that he was going to go to Europe and America and organize a world wide system of Shaolin, that controlled the quality of, and organization of, teaching, in each and every school. It was an interesting thought, especially since XH, as I had noticed, had a tendency to change traditional forms so that he could get more speed out of them. Well, no problem, whatever.

He ended up in Hungary, because at the time, that was the easiest country for a Chinese citizen to get a visa to. Getting one for America was virtually impossible, unless you had some idiot doctor from Las Vegas with money and political pull helping you. So, he ended up in Hungary. It was a smart move; he made a lot of friends over there, some of them in high places. I've met some of them, and still stay in touch with them.

He opened a school there, which was a very good school. (The one he had started in China eventually went under the control of other people and moved). He had a significant number of students, and eventually, those students went and opened their own schools around Hungary. The main original one, from what I've heard, shut down. He spends a lot of time traveling around teaching police and such. The police over there kind of like it; I doubt he'd have the same success here in the US.

As time went on, he changed. The school in Ontario is run by two of his students. Technically, it's not "his school". The guys up there are good, and dedicated to what they are doing. I have not heard from them in a while. But they do follow some of the guidelines that XH was pushing. The same "guidelines" that XH was tryng to push on me and my school out here with Xingwei before XW listened to too many Chinese people, and broke his contract, with the subsequent destruction of all that we had spent years building.

XH pushes the Japanese concept of belts. And fancy uniforms. And strict militaristic discipline. (I've been told that XW has taken this direction with his new school). Quite honestly, when XH tried pushing that on my students, they rebelled. They were used to the gentle, and very professional, teaching of Decheng.

XH changed. In 97 he was this very fun loving and talented individual. In 2004, he was still fun loving, though, with me. With the students, it was strict discipline, "speak only when spoken to", ridiculous nazi like control. I put an end to it in my school. He didn't seem to understand that Americans who work 40 plus hours per week don't want to be treated like that. Eastern Europeans, I guess, with their history, seem to tolerate it, and, maybe, are attracted to it. Everybody's looking for some sort of martial arts god to revere, and XH (and Xw, in my opinion), lost control of their ego's and went with it.

XH "has" many schools, though I'm not sure if he "has" them in a financial sort of way. I know that he wanted to see some sort of Shaolin empire, where everything taught was controlled, but, he also wanted to see that empire, with him on top of it. Interesting idea; now Yongxin is doing the same thing. No doubt YX's efforts will be more successful, as he has far more money behind him.

You know Tetty, in the world of martial arts, it's a rarity when you find someone who is humble and not driven by money and power. Unfortunately, the world of Shaolin has become tainted. Tremendously so.

And, in my opinion, as it gains in power, it continues to lose its essence.

[tetsumaru]

Thanks for all that info. Interesting to know that he thought he was going to create an empire. He obviously spread himself too fast not thinking of the socio-cultural differences of the countries he was trying to imperialize with Chan Wu Shaolin. Perhaps other can learn from his mistake.

...it's a rarity when you find someone who is humble and not driven by money and power. Unfortunately, the world of Shaolin has become tainted. Tremendously so.

And, in my opinion, as it gains in power, it continues to lose its essence.

This is what scares me. I am seeing some of the ones who were once put off by all the BS starting to realize the $ that can be made from teaching "Shaolin". Everything dies...

[wall]

A update on Xing Hong, who I have been collaborating with in various demos and other things in the past 2 years, and who is now my Shifu here in Europe.

XingHong has understood that quality rather than quantity is the key to long-term quality AND quantity. Furthermore he has matured and become far more introspective and focused on the Chan teachings.

This has affected him as a person and his organization.

He has linked closely with Shi De Yang (who is now president of XingHong's organization) and is becoming far more traditional in his teaching program and far more selective in the annexion of schools to his organization.

The ones already in the organization but with low standards are "stalled" and forced to rapidly progress (teachers have to attend regular seminars with Xing Hong and train hard when on their own) to remain in. The new ones are sternly assessed and only good quality experienced teachers are welcomed in without some "stand-by" training years.

This strategy seems to be paying off with steadily increasing quality and quantity of schools in this group.

The school in downtown Budapest (Hungary) has shrunk (not closed) because there is now a big Shaolin village in the hills, a truly fantastic place with bungalows, restaurant, training hall, plenty of outdoor training grounds, etc.
Shi Xing Hong teaches there from June to September, then pretty much travels to his various affiliated schools in Hungary, Germany, Italy, etc, during the rest of the year, to bring the teachers up to standard and to give seminars to the students.

His teaching style is very "militaristic", very chinese, and has adapted little to western pupils. I've spoken to him about it, and he understands, but chooses to follow teaching methods he feels will instill the most martial spirit in those who participate: he is prepared to lose some students because of it, but to change it would be to change what he believes in.

The different color belts and uniforms, and some other "organizational" things, now I believe they were not his ideas but perhaps came from his early european business partners. Let's say that since he welcomed me as a direct student and my school entered his organization he didn't even mention the uniforms and he could not care less that our students wear the school tshirts for training and standard Shaolin uniforms (which we buy directly from China and not through his organization) for demos and other events. All he cares about is what and how well we teach, and if we do a good job of presenting Shaolin martial arts in our public appearances.

Wall