NY Times Story on Marketing Shaolin Kung Fu in China.

arnisador

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Guandu Journal
Town Asks Kung Fu Monks for Tourism Blessings


Mr. Dou found a savior 1,200 miles away, in the Song Mountains of central China, where the warrior monks of Shaolin have mastered the art of monastery marketing. Since the early 1990s, the chief abbot, Shi Yongxin, has turned Shaolin into a lucrative draw for kung fu enthusiasts and has transformed his lithe disciples into global emissaries for the temple’s crowd-pleasing mix of Zen Buddhism and fly-kick combat.



In November, the two parties struck a straightforward deal. In exchange for managing the Guandu temples for 30 years, the monks will keep all proceeds from the donation boxes and gift shops. In a news release announcing the arrangement, Shaolin said its primary goals were to carry out charitable activities, maintain the temples and “spread the faith.”
A few days after their arrival, the monks taped a handwritten poster at the temple entrance advertising kung fu lessons. The cost: $44 for a month of instruction, nearly a full month’s wage for some Chinese workers.



The security guard at the front gate said the classes were selling well, with more than 100 people already signed up. He showed off the student roster, most of them children and teenagers. “Everyone loves the Shaolin monks,” he said with a smile.
 

exile

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...Groan... and they make a hefty profit selling 'ancient scrolls' containing timeless unbeatable KF secrets, and the Jade-Emperor-in-Heaven knows what else. There was some stuff about those scrolls in some posts from late 2006 or early 2007, I think... Love 'em or not, the authenticity of those 'monks', as I recall, was pretty dubious, according to various different sources.
 
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arnisador

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You should know better than anyone that if it's written in ancient language on ancient scroll, it necessarily contains great wisdom! But yes, their unbroken lineage has been called into question...but not by their marketing gurus.
 

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Did anyone watch the World Dance crap on NBC last night? In it, of 8 countries represented, it had the same Monk Abbot you mentioned as a judge, who I know speaks fluent English, pretending to only be able to say Chinese numbers in English during the scoring. The "monks" who competed in this dance contest were quite bad and obviously a lower level Shaolin "wushu" team, but still impressed the judger who do not know better. For those of us who have spent years trying to show the "Open" martial arts world we can fight, this was an embarassment and drawback of magnitude.

Yucccckkkkkkk!!!! Whew, I feel better now, back to "marketing Shaolin KungFu," which says it all!
 

Xue Sheng

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Where is Sun Wukong when you need him?

apkung-314-78-318.jpg
 

Brian R. VanCise

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Did anyone watch the World Dance crap on NBC last night? In it, of 8 countries represented, it had the same Monk Abbot you mentioned as a judge, who I know speaks fluent English, pretending to only be able to say Chinese numbers in English during the scoring. The "monks" who competed in this dance contest were quite bad and obviously a lower level Shaolin "wushu" team, but still impressed the judger who do not know better. For those of us who have spent years trying to show the "Open" martial arts world we can fight, this was an embarassment and drawback of magnitude.

Yucccckkkkkkk!!!! Whew, I feel better now, back to "marketing Shaolin KungFu," which says it all!

All I can say is Shaolin Martial Arts is dance now? :idunno:
 

Nebuchadnezzar

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Did anyone watch the World Dance crap on NBC last night? In it, of 8 countries represented, it had the same Monk Abbot you mentioned as a judge, who I know speaks fluent English, pretending to only be able to say Chinese numbers in English during the scoring. The "monks" who competed in this dance contest were quite bad and obviously a lower level Shaolin "wushu" team, but still impressed the judger who do not know better. For those of us who have spent years trying to show the "Open" martial arts world we can fight, this was an embarassment and drawback of magnitude.

Yucccckkkkkkk!!!! Whew, I feel better now, back to "marketing Shaolin KungFu," which says it all!

Why, oh why did you torture yourself like that? Masochist, you. :angel:
 

Xue Sheng

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All I can say is Shaolin Martial Arts is dance now? :idunno:

I agree

However there is one that claims to still teach Shaolin as a martial art and he is here

He has, or had, a lot of videos on YouTube at one time.

Shaolin Wugulun is in the Songshan Mountains about 6 miles from Dengfeng. It is in the same province as the main Shaolin monastery. But to be honest I am not sure if the claim is true or not.
 

Ninebird8

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My Shaolin master is a direct disciple of Wang Fui Yen, the Abbot of the Wudan temple in Cashewa Bay, Hong Kong. I have felt his "realness" for 20 years, ouch! On the other hand Neb, I am actually a Sadist, which is an optimistic Masochist!! They were pretty, but hard to claw someone with the "eagle" and "tiger" claws they were using. But their flips were pretty. Looked more like a rejected Wushu team with shaved heads.
 

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