Shaolin Showdown

For our 4 day weekend vacation, some of the IES students went to Shaolinsi, arranged by IES of course.  It took an overnight train to get us there, which I must say is always an adventure.  Upon arrival, we met up with our daoyou (tour guide) in a Shaolin Monastery/Temple.  It was really amazing.  Mountains surrounded us on all sides as we explored this hidden city.  Everything you could imagine in a the kungfu capital of the world was there: wall paintings of ancient kung fu moves, real life Shaolin monks walking around the streets and ancient temples featuring Buddha.  However, our daoyou shed light to the less glamorous aspects of kungfu and Shaolin.

As a former kungfu student himself, he mentioned with bitterness the commercialization of kungfu.  The monks, he said, were more of custodians and souvenier venders than actual monks devoted to Buddhism.  And what he said was right; on every corner was a stand selling toy swords, prayer beads, cheap jade, and Buddhist paraphernalia… all manned by a Shaolin monk.  Our daoyou said that he himself could work there as long as he gave the monastery a sizeable bribe.  From there, many monks lead dual lives, he said.  Monks aren’t supposed to “marry” but still maintain relationships with women when not spending time in the temples.  They own cars, homes, luxuries.  Most of the mysterious, bald, monks featured in the Shaolin Temple were facades of actual living conditions.  In a typically hierarchical form, the lowest monks stayed in the monastery in poor living conditions while the higher ups travel the world giving kungfu seminars and reaping royalties from official kungfu schools all over the United States and all over the world. 

Outside the temple, he entire city was devoid of most industries but rather relied solely on kungfu as the driver of economy.  Hundreds of kungfu boarding schools were within the city, with nearly all the students being children under 18.  Parents of children with disciplinary problems would send their kids to kungfu boarding schools, our daoyou explained.  In order to better learn discipline and get their act together, many would be sent to these grueling schools.  Rigorous exercise, academic studies, endless practicing of kungfu forms six days a week all take tolls on these children’s lives.  So stressful are these kungfu programs that the daoyou said that one kid, maybe around 10 years old, tried to kill himself by jumping off a 4^th story balcony.  Its really quite sad.  Our daoyou turned out okay, and most of the children at the kungfu school we visited were very polite and seemed okay.

There, we learned some kungfu.  Greg and I were paired up with a young kung fu student as he taught us some forms.  Apparently, all the flowery moves shown in Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies aren’t really typical of real Shaolin Kungfu, which takes a more pragmatic approach.  Sharp movements and specific body motions rule this type of kungfu, as Greg and I painstakingly attempted to learn.  Later we learned that the downward hand spear followed by a quickly executed retracting horse stance was actually used to castrate the opponent by grabbing their testes and yanking it out of their pelvic region.  Ouch.

Food was good.  We had a traditional Shaolin noodle dish.  This one gives you la (spiciness), this one gives you numb, our daoyou said as he pointed to two different sauces.  I tried mine with both.  The la was as expected.  The numb threw me off guard.  My tongue felt like it was fuzzy, which tingled uncomfortable with anything hot, carbonated, or cold.  The numbing sauce was not my cup of tea. 

Also, one cool thing I learned about Chinese culture as a whole was the idea of “hai keyi”.  This means its okay, or its so-so.  The dayou asked if we ever asked a Chinese person what they thought of something, whether its politics or particular ice cream flavors, only to be replied to with a “hai keyi”.  Only too often, I thought to myself.  He said the reason for this is the same reason why a kungfu practioner does not commit fully to a punch nor jab shallowly.  The idea of moderation, at least in range of motion for punches and kicks, is essential to not be thrown off guard.  If one needs to adjust, one can.  And at no time is one ever in a completely vulnerable position.  The same thing applies to Chinese people.  Ask a Chinese person, “Hey what do you think of my jacket”, and they say “Sure, its okay”.  If I say “what do you mean ok?  This jacket sucks” they can quickly adjust their opinion to side with yours, in order to make you feel comfortable and to please you.  On the other hand, if you say “what do you mean ok?  I love this jacket”, they can quickly change it to “yes you’re right after all!  Its awesome!”. 

How was the trip?

“Hai keyi” 

Location: Henan, China