Hard work, pain way to perfection in kung fu

By Pandaya

JAKARTA (JP): Chen Liang was only 8 years old when his father sent him to learn kung fu at the renowned Shaolin Temple in Shong Shan Valley in the Chinese central province of Henan.

Now, at 22, Chen (as well as his father) has seen his dream come true. He is a kung fu master and has the honor of representing the monastery in a worldwide road show, together with 33 other top disciples from his school.

The kung fu artists have won huge commendations, especially in Indonesia, where Chinese martial arts enthusiasts enjoy kung fu from Hong Kong and Hollywood movies. They have performed in Semarang, Surabaya, Jakarta, Bandung and now in Medan until Sunday before they fly out of the country.

"I want to stay at Shaolin until my kung fu skills are at par with my masters," Chen told The Jakarta Post through an interpreter. "My skills are peanuts compared to theirs."

His team mate, Chin Peng Wei, 25, said he was only proud of walking the road to perfection in the art of kung fu, at the 1,500 year-old Shaolin temple.

"I have no idea about the limit but I will dedicate my life to kung fu at the monastery," he said.

The road show, called The Real Shaolin Kung Fu Show, which is bringing the kung fu artists to Indonesia -- the 39th country they have visited so far, aims to raise funds to renovate the Shaolin monastery.

The shaved-headed kung fu masters have performed in stadiums packed by fans who pay between Rp 75,000 and Rp 250,000. Besides, they also enjoy an extremely good accompanying publication.

The youngsters, the youngest is nine years old, fascinate the audience with their flipping, jumping, rolling and fighting skills -- with weapons or bare hands. Their stances are strong like mountains, their bodies light like feathers and their fists and feet hard like iron, the promotional blurb goes.

They spellbind people with their speed, accuracy and grace of every movement, perfected by chi, or spiritual energy. Fighting styles that mimic the behavior of animals are especially entertaining. A teenager comically jumps, spins and perches on a bamboo stick, mimicking a monkey.

Uncompromised discipline and dedication were the keys to success, said Cheng and Chin.

As pertaining to kung fu, the Shaolin philosophy is to respect teaching and guidance and learn kindness, loyalty and kung fu.

Chinese parents send their sons as early as 6 years to the monastery, where they live in a dormitory learning anything from reading, writing and literature to kung fu.

Sex, alcohol and meat are taboo. They are considered "unclean" and, therefore, hamper their physical and spiritual development.

The training schedule is tight. Disciples wake up at 5 a.m. to run up and down a hill before they start the routine activities of meditation, studying and practicing kung fu until the lanterns go off at 10 p.m. and everybody has to sleep.

Kung fu is strictly aimed at self-defense. Street fighting and breaches of taboos are punishable by expulsion from the monastery.

Shaolin Temple has become synonymous with kung fu and draws people from all over the world to learn the ancient martial art, which has numerous styles in different parts of the world.

Some 20,000 people of various races from all over the world are currently learning kung fu at about 40 schools in Shaolin, according to Shi De Yu (Shi is an honorific Buddhist title that means teacher or master), who leads the visiting kung fu troupe.

He said it was not the power of the fist and feet that the boys fist learn to defend virtue but how to focus the power of discipline, self-control and respect that will change life forever.

The skills the troupe have shown are the results of enduring physical, mental and spiritual training.

In its July 17 issue, Newsweek magazine said that "kung fu capitalism" has hit the Shaolin Temple since the revival of the Chinese martial art in 1982 after falling into obscurity for centuries. Then, Hong Kong produced a classical kung fu movie, Shaolin Temple, staring Jet Li, which became a blockbuster in Asia and the West.

Millions of tourists from China and other countries have since been flooding Shaolin. Many go there to learn kung fu in its birthplace. Now Shaolin boasts about 40 schools with the fastest growing being the Shaolin Kung Fu school and the TV/film school.

Sending kung fu masters abroad for circus-like shows have become a lucrative business for both the temple and local government but the business has become a source of conflict among Shaolin school leaders over profits, too, according to Newsweek.

The masters' road show in Indonesia has received enthusiastic welcomes not only from the capitalists that rake in profits from it but also from the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association, which plays host.

The association hopes the kung fu show will help popularize the indigenous pencak silat in the world, which is also demonstrated during the "real kung fu" shows.

"We are happy with their visit here. We can exchange our experiences. We also plan to open a school of pencak silat in China," said Roestadi Effendi, the chairman of the association.

Chances are that kung fu, which is gaining popularity through wushu in Indonesia, will become even more popular. Haiyaah!