Interesting Shaolin Monk show

[Songshan]

heh, yeah I kind of call the "shows" more like demonstrations. The UK production Wheel of Life was a show because it was mixed with acting and kung fu. At any rate The blind fold thing I am sure is instinct. Training several hours a day for years at a time makes it all instinct. If anyone trains that much you could probably do just about any form with your eyes closed!

[Shaolinlueb]

when i first started trianing i was like "WOW shaolin monks" they're awesome. and was very impressed.

skip ahead 6 years
now im like "ok monks, are they from the temple or surrounding schools?" and they are all still pretty good, but im just not as impressed now.

but the shows are always fun to watch.
tell you the truth, i found wheel of life boring and i hated it. i found the documentary that came with the disc that showed auditions a better show.

[GeneChing]

In fact, I think live theater is the greatest expanding venue for martial arts now. These shows are selling well and exposing the general public to more CMA. Sure, it's showboating, but Shaolin showboating goes back to the days of the jianghu. Some criticize it for being too much 'wushu' but that's just silly talk. Only martial artists can understand authentic, traditional stuff - it's like pearls before swine with the general public. Besides, given that many of our traditions descend from the jianghu, to showboat for the general public, even with wushu, is actually a longstanding tradition. I've really enjoyed watching the evolution of Shaolin shows. It's pushing an envelope and forwarding CMA. If only one person sees a show, gets inspired, and joins a school, that show was a success in my mind.

For this show, the popping-up-the-staircase-in-headstand was outstanding. But I still don't believe the blindfold one. The timing of the reactions just looked to me like they could see. You'd have to break it down via slow motion to see if their reacting to the motion of their partner. I've seen blindfolded stuff - it can be done - you can key off the music for the timing - but I have this gut feeling that this particular example was faked.

[Shaolinlueb]

i do enjoy the show gene. its just some of the stuff im not impressed by anymore. some of it i still am. and yes it does get cma out there to everyone.

[GeneChing]

I'm so tired of the bowl-stuck-to-the-belly schtick. It's cool when some little kid does it and they can pick him up out of a back bend, but the whole pull-the-line-of-people-trying-to-pull-the-bowl-off-the-monk is pretty tired. That's an easy one. There's no purchase on the bottom of the bowl, so the whole line of pulling people just wind up breaking the fingernails of the poor sap in the front.

After seeing the mass demo at the The First World Traditional Wushu Festival in 2004, well, that was hard for any Shaolin show to top. Literally armies of choreographed demonstrations. I've heard the demo wasn't as big this year and that most of the energy went into the opening ceremonies at the new auditorium. That show was supposed to be fabulous.

[GeneChing]

...I'm hijacking this thread for random Shaolin-related shows that don't look they will become major national/international tours, like this one below:

Shaolin master shares seafarer’s tale at Mid-Autumn fest
Mid-Autumn fest this weekend at Chinese Cultural Center


Shaolin Master Junming Zhao will stars in the Chinese Cultural Center’s original dance piece, “Zheng He in the Desert.”
8 hours ago • By Kathy Allen

Treasure ships, stormy seas, a giraffe, warriors, sailors and a Ming Dynasty sea captain will be an integral part of this weekend’s Mid-Autumn Festival 2014 at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center.

You’ll find all that and more in the festival’s “Zheng He in the Desert,” an original dance piece starring Shaolin Master Junming Zhao. The dance drama was created in collaboration with the Barbea Willliams Performing Company. The company will join Junming Zhao in performing the dance, as will members of Tucson Sino Martial Arts.

Zhao, a martial arts resident at the Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona, takes on the role of Zheng He, who was an admiral in charge of the massive fleet that led expeditions to Southeast Asia, Arabia and Africa, among other places. His feats expanded Chinese power and made him China’s greatest seafarer.

The dance, which incorporates story telling, fantasy, puppets and spectacle, includes pirate attacks, sea storms, and even a stop in the Sonoran desert. It will culminate in a procession in which the audience is invited to participate. The script of the dance piece is based on research by Tucson historian and educator Gloria Smith.

The festival begins at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and ends with the dance, which start at 7:30 each night. Admission for the fest — which includes the dance — is $10 for adults, $5 for students, and there will Chinese and African food for sale.

The center is at 1288 W. River Road. Call 292-6900 for tickets.