Shaolin Abbot Shi Yongxin's visit to America

[GeneChing]

The Abbot of Shaolin Temple just completed his first trip to the USA. I beleive this was at the behest of Steve DeMasco. Are there any USSD guys on this forum that can fill us in on the details?

The whole tour was short and quiet. Yongxin apparently gave an interview to Black Belt and an interview to Chinese Cross Talk. Our publisher, Gigi, talked to him on the phone just before he left.

[ngokfei]

Bet it was short and quiet.

Hey Gene. Doe he still practice MA. Do you know if he had a particular stye?

Heard through the grapevine that DeMasco is buying a stone stella to be placed on the grounds. I wonder how much that costs. Hey didn't Chan Pui and the Shaolin Do groups also pay to put these stella at shaolin?

DeMasco is really milking this shaolin stuff but hey he's got the $$$ to show for it. I'm so jealous especially since I have the bald head and even the shaolin robe set I got from WLE.

[MasterKiller]

Too bad DeMasco doesn't teach kung fu.

[richard sloan]

next to a Mexican place I frequent. really good tacos.

I cruised in there after I ate to check it out, since I saw the poster of Yong Xin in their window.

That's about all I can say about this 3 ring circus and remain polite.

Besides, I hear they are sue happy.

[richard sloan]

http://www.ussd.com/monks.asp

Certificate of Grand Achievement.

[ngokfei]

richard

went to that website. Nice and professional.

readthe lineage.

How can it be that the teacher and the student can have at the same time the title of grandmaster?

Only intodays world, huh.

[TonyM.]

Opened own school with less than five years training. Recieved fifth degree black belt with less than ten years training. Danger! Danger, Will Robinson. Oh, if your going out for a black belt, could you pick me up one too?

[rubthebuddha]

i'll take one as well, but get me some fries and a shake.

now, does anyone care to comment on the fact that yong xin was making his first US tour with a kempo school? i know little about the ussd, but i know that there are many schools that are much more directly descended from the temple.

[MasterKiller]

RTB,

$$$$$

[norther practitioner]

I'll second that for an overall....

I wonder if anyone else has offered to bring him. I don't know what standing all of the U.S. monks have with him, but I know a few aren't all that good. I'm not so sure that it was all that big of a deal really in the long run of things, yeah, it'll go down as a first, however, I'm sure in the future there will be more, and hopefully more "influential" vists, where there is actually a lecture into chan or something.

[MasterKiller]

The real problem is that USSD will now use that visit as validation that they teach true Shaolin Kung Fu, which they don't.

[GeneChing]

Many people have tried to bring the abbot to the US, including some of the monks here. Tried and failed. Unfortunately the abbot travels with a large entourage and it's hard to get visas for all those people, especially now.

DeMasco suceeded at great expense - it was the second application and I have it on good authority that it was very expensive. I imagine USSD recouped much of the expense from the seminars, but it is to their credit that they managed to get Yongxin here and rent the Anaheim Convention Center just for the occasion. The whole group - the Abbot, 15 warrrior monks and some special entourage people - was here from the 22nd to the 27th. They did the seminars for USSD, which I hear was quite sucessful, then visited Disneyland and Universal Studios (man, talk about your fun photo op.) After that, the abbot stayed in SF with two other monks for 2 more days.

Probably the most interesting things came out of the cross talk interview, at least from what I have heard second hand. One very controversial answer to a caller from Houston (figures) certainly has created waves amongst the US Shaolin community. I'm still trying to find out more and will tell you more when I know a little more.

As for USSD, did I ever tell you that I was training at Shaolin when Sin The brought is Shaolin-Do tour group came through? The monks had a very interesting reaction. To them, it was all Shaolin Kung Fu, since to them Shaolin is the progenitor. Never mind the level of skill, the were flattered to see that many people in the tour group, bowing to the altars and such. So when DeMasco came through, with a huge tour bowing before the abbot, it left an impression. There are hundreds of small groups that visit Shaolin all the time, but the groups of 50-100 are more impressive, just for the sheer logistics.

Now, as mentioned earlier in this thread, Sin The (and Chan Pui) set a steles at Shaolin. That was in the early years when Shaolin really needed money for reconstruction. Now, it would be much harder to set a new stele. In fact, the only new one I've seen was set by Taguo a few years back. It will be very interesting to see if DeMasco manages to set a new one.

FWIW, the abbot gave DeMasco an extraordinary sword as a gift -a very unusual and unique dao - I would have loved to see it in person. I'm surprised that DeMasco hasn't done much with that yet.

[rubthebuddha]

thanks mk. i figured as much. same as sin the's peeps who, for some time, claimed that the SD stone tablet at shaolin meant validation for SD (until people piped up and said that TKD did the same thing, and all those tablets do is recognize those who gave money to the temple).

honestly, what's special enough that sets ussd apart from temple kung fu, both of which teach a derivative of kenpo and kempo, both of whom studied a bit from ed parker, both of whom label their stuff as kung fu?

or am i just baiting the dragon with this one?

[MasterKiller]

Gene,

What about the often quoted remarks from SD people that "The amount of respect the Abbot showed Sin The' was extraordinary"? I imigine they treat everyone about the same, especially when cash is involved, but did you witness any 'extraordinary' reverence showed toward Sin The' for his preservation of 'Shaolin' knowledge?

[GeneChing]

The Abbot is always as respectful as he can be - keep in mind that Yongxin has to be an extraordinary diplomat just to keep Shaolin functioning under the extraordinary pressures it's under in Communist China, not to mention other private forces. Now when I encountered Sin The, the abbot was not present. It was just me, some classmates and the warrior monks. However, they might have met with the Abbot later when I wasn't around. I'm sure they got descent treatment. They were well dressed and a lot of them, plus having set that stone, I'm sure it went well.

But hey, the abbot even showed me respect, even before I got this position here. So on the whole, I've had good experiences with him, but perhaps that's because I show him respect when I see him and mutual respect is a big part of CMA.