bald orange monks and me.

[jkddragon2007]

hey that sound really kool send as much info as possible; dont try to leave no matter how simple it is you have a once in a lifetime deal going stay as long as possible.

[jmd161]

Hey Henry,

 

Good luck with your training it should be a great experience.

 

I've thought about it myself in the past.Then by a chance meeting with a Choy Lay Fut master i met my current sifu.It's great to learn kung fu in a traditional manner.It's going to be real tough so stick with it don't give up it's well worth the pain.I've found out through my sifu most of the schools that call themselves traditional are nowhere near what a traditional school is.My sifu teaches me for free his only desire is to pass on Black Tiger style to good students.the training is very tough it's free and yet there's only two of us training under him. So think how tough the training must be that no one wants to learn for free?

 

The Black Tiger school in Hong Kong does the samething they teach for free.They only want good students.

 

Anyway good luck in your training.

 

jmdhttp://www.geocities.com/jmd161/img0007a.gif

[omnifinite]

I believe Henry South is still around but I'll post the first part of his newsletter for him anyway...

 

If you'd like to receive this letter yourself request it at henrysouth@hotmail.com

 

Newsletter #1 -- 1/26/2003

 

Dear... everyone,

 

you are the first people to recive my newsletter, this letter will follow my progress in the lead up and all the way though my training in the Ji Lin Province shaolin temple. first to tell you a bit about myself. im 18 and in my final year at henley college. deadlines comming up and my training is getting much harder. my first martial arts were started when i was about 10 i started shotokan karate and still practice it to this day. however i have also had a keen interest in chinese martial arts wing chun, kung fu, etc. recently i was offered a place as a deciple of the grandmaster Shi De Qian in china. as only 5 westerners have been offered positions i accepted not realising what i was in for. my training so far in the build up to going has been gruling to the point that i nearly didnt want to go. forced streching, holding stances and 4hours of kata practice whenever i can.

 

i have recently recived my training schedule in the post. and it goes as follows: -

 

Summer:

 

5:30 a.m. - All students wake up

 

5:45 a.m. - Running

 

6:00 a.m. - Qi gong training and review

 

7:30 a.m. - Breakfast

 

8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. - Morning training

 

12:00 noon - Lunch

 

3:00 p.m. - Afternoon training

 

4:00 p.m. - Tai chi class

 

5:00 p.m. - Dinner

 

6:00 p.m. - Additional Training of your choice

 

9:00 p.m. - All students to go to bed

 

Winter:

 

5:30 a.m. - All students wake up

 

5:45 a.m. - Running

 

6:00 a.m. - Qi gong training and review

 

7:30 a.m. - Breakfast

 

8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. - Morning training

 

12:00 noon - Lunch

 

2:00 p.m. - Afternoon training

 

3:00 p.m. - Tai chi class

 

4:00 p.m. - Dinner

 

5:00 p.m. - Additional Training of your choice

 

8:00 p.m. - All students to go to bed

 

i will be going for 18 months. looks like my jorney starts here.

 

Regards Henry South

 

p.s. to all my friends, even tho im not out just yet. i just want you to know that i love you and will miss you all more than you will know.

 

p.p.s. send me gossip

[jkddragon2007]

i was wondering how did u get this chance to train in the temple?? did ur grand master reccomend you or did u have to write a letter to the monks??

 

i am really interested in training in a temple to improve my martial arts status but not yet (i still have to earn my black belt in Jeet Kune Do) but i am really interested in doing this.

[Stold]

https://www.shaolins.com

 

There it is right there.

 

If you have the money and the time, or just want to see china, you can attend. I contemplated going for a while...But the idea of memorizing countless forms and learning a little bit of San Shou isn't that appealing after all.

[Iron Arahat]

https://www.shaolins.com

 

There it is right there.

 

If you have the money and the time, or just want to see china, you can attend. I contemplated going for a while...But the idea of memorizing countless forms and learning a little bit of San Shou isn't that appealing after all.

 

That is a satellite school, not the actual temple. While Henry South will be learning kung fu, he will be learning from likely a monks disciple or lay disciple.

 

From the site metioned above:

 

Che wen long

 

Manager

 

Northern China Shao Lin Martial Arts Academy

 

Ye He Ancient castle, Siping city, Jilin Province

 

P R China

 

This is not the Temple itself (far from it). Sorry if I offend, but truth be known people fanatasize about training at the Temple, like a bad Hollywood movie, and will pay large dollars to train at satellites that have little to do with the temple. One of my Jr's is going to embark on a trip this summer, and we are doing our best to ensure that he is not being taken in a "tourist trap". Shi De Qian has visited our school, and contact is being made to ensure the training is authentic, but we know that either way he will not be training within the inner Temple.

[Stold]

If you find yourself paying any sum of money to be trained by authentic monks then you are indeed going to be ripped off. Even the Honan is mostly actors.

 

Of course it's not the temple. You don't train in a temple unless you are a monk or you're being ripped off. It's pretty simple for us Gwai Lao.

 

You think it's a coincidence that the schedule he posted is the EXACT SAME SCHEDULE THAT'S ON THE SITE?

[Henry South]

just to clear the air about this. i do not pretend to be a monk or to be learning in the actual temple. all im sharing is an adventure. that im sure will be life changing for me.

 

regards Henry

[omnifinite]

If you'd like to receive this letter yourself request it at henrysouth@hotmail.com

 

Newsletter #2 -- 2/12/2003

 

Dear readers,

 

ive been getting loads of responses and replys to my news letter and i welcome all the new commers to the forum. anyway my training is going well, and getting easier to keep up with. in fact i swear i can feel myself getting fitter. im using the gym a lot more than i was. but the big news is that ive been hired as security staff (a bouncer) in pubs and clubs in Berkshire.

 

ive heard a lot of horror stories about being on the door, but im quietly confident. and i need a lot more money before i can get all that i need for the trip. £7000 to be exact. but dont worrie im not going to switch on u and start asking for money. my kicking speed is up to 2.5kicks per sec. give or take a couple of microseconds. my punches are up to. (will give u the results of the punching times in my next letter) there should be another letter from me in about a week with some funny pics of me being beaten by my sifu and the before and after henry security makeover party

 

but apart from that ive been training my wrists and fingers... ok its not that kind of training. basicly getting a jar and fill it with water and sand and hold it in an "eagle claw" (picture of eagle claw fist in attachment)sounds easy enough but trust me after 6mins of that ur wondering why u do it.

 

and that is exactly what im wondering now. but i do it for the love of the art form, the poetry in motion that ur body can achive with practice. i think thats why most of us do it. that or to beat up the school bully karate kid style.

 

regards henry

 

p.s. any questions regarding the newsletter or martial arts can be sent to me at this address.

[omnifinite]

This whole thing is interesting to me, and I've been contemplating it too. But like everyone is saying, I'd rather not be pandered to like a tourist either.

 

Though even if it isn't in the actual temple, when being taught by a monk's disciple in close to the same ways they were taught, knowledge-wise would it really be a rip off? Does it really matter if it's the actual temple or not?

 

I'm looking for more people who have hands-on experience with it.