Official Shaolin Temple Cultural Centers

[Siu Lum Fighter]

I dropped by the new Shaolin Temple USA school

Well, I've come a long way since my bold proposal that Bei Shaolin should be considered the "only truly authentic Shaolin System". Though I still believe it to be a truly authentic Shaolin system that did, indeed, leave the temple in the 1700's, I would no longer say with any confidence that the styles being propagated at the current Shaolin Temple are wholly "unauthentic". Perhaps my visit to the new Shaolin Temple USA school on Geary St. in San Francisco has had something to do with my slight change of heart. After talking with Shi Yanran briefly and watching a class, I suppose I got sort of swept up the in whole experience. I've since gone there again just to watch an adult class and, I have to say, I was impressed with the monks and their over-all demeanor. After all, it was the whole mystique and image of Shaolin Temple and it's monks, that made me want to practice Shaolin kung fu in the first place.

Originally, one of the reasons I felt a need to be critical of Shaolin Temple was because there's this theory going around (and it was told to me by the woman at the front desk) that Bak Siu Lum was created by Kuo Yu Chang out of numerous northern and southern temple-related styles. That this was being spread as the "official" history of the style seemed completely outrageous to me. It goes against all the written and orally transmitted history of Bak Siu Lum. To me, stating this is sort of like saying, "sorry, all of the previous masters of your style were just plain wrong, and you are wrong for believing in them."

The fact that this is still believed is disturbing to me, but I've sort of been more willing to brush these feelings aside after seeing them teaching at their school. I must say, I greatly admired their skill, speed, and accuracy. They're also really nice guys. I've come to realize that if you meditate every day and live the sort of lifestyle they do, you're going to be a sensilble, nice person. It's almost hard for me to believe that people who practice getting kicked in the crotch and bludgeoned over the head with wooden poles and sledghammers could be such nice, even-tempered folks.

Who knows, there might come a day when I'll find myself saying, "Oh, whatever, it's all Shaolin anyway. My style is just another branch of the tree." Though in order for that to happen, there would have to be some recognition of Kuo Yu Chang's lineage. His master Yim Chi Wen was a real flesh and blood master who taught NORTHERN Shaolin which, according to him, originated in the NORTH at the Honan Shaolin Monastary. Just because there isn't some 300 year old book that lays out our lineage master by master all the way to monk Chih Yuan doesn't mean there's no truth to what these masters claimed.

That being said though, I still enjoy watching the monks training and performing. They're dedicated martial artists with lifetimes worth of training.