Being Shaolin
by Mark Wasson

Recently I had the pleasure to watch the Shaolin monk Shi Yan-Ming conduct a seminar where he taught and demonstrated techniques from the Lohan Chuan style of Shaolin kung-fu. Later, when it was all over, I was invited to a small and informal, vegetarian dinner with the monk. Needless to say, Shi Shi proved to be everything one would imagine a master of Shaolin to be. He was extremely humble, while at the same time retaining a strong and dynamic personality. And his martial skill was ... well... unbelievable!

Perhaps it was coincidence, but meeting Sifu Shi reminded me of a conversation I had with Sifu Wing Lam just last month before. What we had been discussing at the time was what it really meant 'to be Shaolin'. 'To be Shaolin' was a phrase I had heard often from my own Sifu while learning kung-fu. I guess in the hopes that one day I would finally understand its meaning.

Unlike some kungfu styles Shaolin kungfu is nor a martial art; but a martial discipline. And that discipline encompasses and effects a whole range of things within us. My Sifu said that 'to be Shaolin' meant being more; more of who you are. The most, in fact. This means always striving to be your best at whatever you are engaged in at the moment, no matter what that is. Whether it is with your spouse or children, or at work, or simple mowing the lawn. Always give one hundred percent effort to do your best. When a person can achieve this kind of discipline, there is little that can prevent him from achieving any and all the goals he sets out on.

All too often, though, this is not the case. The motivation wavers, and that precious discipline that you have strived so hard for, that discipline that brings meaning and harmony into your life, simple fly's out the window.

As a teacher I see this happen all too often. I call it taking off your coat. On Monday, a man (or woman) puts on his coat and goes off to work. There he works hard all week. But when Friday comes he gets home, takes off his coat, and is ready for a weekend where he can let down his hair and do anything he likes. This, as we all know, is usually where one's discipline fly's out the window. This example applies to the kungfu student, too, but for the kungfu student is his uniform he takes off.

The mistake here, especially for a student of Shaolin, is that the uniform is only symbolic of who you are. Whether in class, or at home, or on the street, a Shaolin master is always a Shaolin master. The way he lives his life, the discipline he has achieved, is not something that can be taken off or put on. Instead, it is the person he has become through many years of practicing Shaolin kungfu and the philosophy that the Shaolin monastery teaches. And that is what separates Shaolin from other kungfu and karate styles; that to be truly Shaolin one must embrace the attitudes of humbleness and compassion, and to be always striving for greater understanding of oneself and the life around us.

This, of course, does not mean that you have to be serious and somber all the time. This fact that most Shaolin masters, the real ones like Sifu Shi Yan-Ming and Sifu Wing Lam, can be and are quite funny and light hearted. This is perhaps because they have gained the wisdom that others are still searching for. And too, because their discipline is such that they have become the masters of their own lives, unlike the rest of us that have no control over ourselves, and thus no control over our lives.

The choice then is yours. If you practice your kungfu, and this means the philosophy also, only when you are in class, the result will never be what you expected, nor what you wished for. but if you commit yourself one hundred percent you can and will reach your chosen goal and all that it has to offer.

And if you goal is 'to be Shaolin', then expect to work hard. But it will be worth it in the end. Of that, I can assure you!