Lazy Dragon Stretches Its Spine
by Gene Ching - Head Shaolin and Tai Chi Chuan Instructor

One of history's greatest warriors and strategists, Napoleon Bonaparte, warned the world not to wake the "sleeping dragon" that is China. He never considered what might happen if China was to rise up on its own. As the Pacific Rim becomes the new economic frontier, the slumber of that dragon called China is being disturbed by its noisy neighbors.

Art reflects culture, and the martial arts are no exception. As martial artists in the Western world, we all have a unique window into the latest developments in Asia. However, it seems that only a few of us are concerned enough to look through that window carefully. Unfortunately, martial arts outside of Asia can be very myopic. Last year was the 1500th anniversary of the founding of the original Shaolin Temple in Henan, which was probably the biggest birthday in the entire history of martial arts so far. Three separate massive celebrations were held around the temple, and martial pilgrims from all over the world travelled to the temple to pay their respects. The coverage of this international and historic event in the West was shamefully small.
For regular readers of my column, exclusive to this publication, I have shared some of my experiences as one of those martial pilgrims at the Temple in Henan last summer. The response to these articles have been overwhelming. There is so little information about the real Shaolin Temple available in the West that the martial community is ravenous for the facts. Many of the responses demonstrate an overwhelming misconception about what the Shaolin Temple is, was, and might be. We are all more willing to believe simple romantic legends than complex truths. This lack of information weakens western martial arts, making us like trees without roots, waiting to be blown down by the next gust of wind.

The truth is that trying to describe China to someone who has never been there is very difficult. Describing the magnitude of martial arts in China to someone who has never experienced it first hand is even more challenging. With a huge percentage of the world's largest population practicing Kung Fu, China is an overwhelming martial arts leviathan. China's Kung Fu is the sleeping dragon in the martial arts world, and the Shaolin Temple is one of the many prize jewels in that Dragon's horde of treasures.

It is important to point out that there are many other places to go for martial arts excellence in China. Beijing is brimming with martial arts, although most of it is modern competitive Wushu. Jinan, the birthplace of mantis style, in the heart of Shandong, has a long reputation for great martial arts as demonstrated on our new video from the Jinan Traditonal Wushu Tournament (see page ??). There are also many other martial monasteries on holy mountains. Wudangshan, Maoshan, Ermeishan, Kunlunshan, are all sacred places known for their legendary martial arts ("shan" means mountain).
Furthermore, there is more than one Shaolin Temple. The Henan Shaolin Temple that I visited was the first one and the most famous one, however, all of the legends about Shaolin cannot be generalized to this singular place. According the senior Shaolin Monk, Shi Yan Ming, there are about 24 Shaolin Temples currently in operation, with about 82 people who can earnestly claim the title of being a Shaolin Monk. Only six of those monks are living outside of China, three in the United States (including Shi Yan Ming, see page ??).

In short, the Henan Shaolin Temple is only one of many places in China to go to study martial arts. If you go there with the expectation of finding the lonely mystic temple we have seen depicted in the movies, you will be sorely disappointed. The Shaolin Temple is more like the "Disneyland" of the martial arts world. Most of the economy of Shaolin village is tourist, and if you go there, you will be one of a million tourists that visit the temple each year. Now you don't have to sit outside of the temple gates in the snow for days to gain entrance, you can just buy a ticket and spend the whole day there. You don't have to spy on the monks training yard to see demonstrations or steal techniques, you can just arrange a demonstration in the demonstration hall and even receive private lessons at your hotel courtyard. Most of these demonstrations are modern Wushu instead of traditional Shaolin, since it is more entertaining for tourists. There are even gift shops inside the temple!

Now before you get thouroughly disgusted with the concept of the Shaolin Temple as a tourist trap, almost every temple in China that is open to the public has gift shops inside. This actually has some historical precendence, since many temples would support themselves through the sale of incense, beads, and good luck trinkets. It is just a little shocking at first, but you get used to it. According to our new title The Spring and Autumn of Chinese Martial Arts - 5000 years (B216), Shaolin Temple monks often performed martial arts for tourists as far back as 1573 CE (The Spring and Autumn of Chinese Martial Arts - 5000 years).
So why go to Shaolin? It seems so overrated. Well, one might just as well ask why go to Disneyland. Imagine a place where everyone wears training uniforms all the time because everyone is training all the time. Imagine everyone carrying martial arts weapons casually down the streets or up in the mountains on their way to practice. Imagine thousands of students, dozens of schools and martial arts equipment stores residing on about two miles of road. It is like "Valhalla", the warrior's "heaven", where you can fight and train every day and party every night with drinking contests, martial arts movies and karaoke (!). You can hike stunningly beautiful mount Song, or play the latest bootlegged martial arts videogame with some of the local young students. You can meditate at the very spot where Ta Mo spent his nine years, or you can hustle the tourists who speak your language. If you are a martial artist who likes really intense training, the Shaolin Temple is constant and relentless fun. It's the never-never land of the martial arts world.

I enjoyed my journey to Shaolin Temple so much that I am endevouring to return soon. I think about what's happening in the Western martial arts world all the time since this is where I live. And yet, I am continually drawn back to the East, back to the land of the sleeping dragon.