Hans Menck will study Xin Yi Ba under Wu Nanfang at the Shaolin Wugulun Gongfu school from end December 2008 till end February 2009. Hans hopes to meet the monk Shi Dejian personally and perhaps to train with him. Shaolin Xin Yi Ba is a high level internal skill of traditional shaolin gongfu.
Understanding Shaolin Gongfu
To understand Shaolin gongfu it is necessary to distinguish between traditional Shaolin gongfu, and contemporary Shaolin wushu. In order to make this distinction one must understand the historical context within which traditional Shaolin gongfu has developed over the last 1200 years, and contemporary wushu which has suddenly appeared during the last 30 years.
History
Master Wu Nanfang
Shaolin Buddhist culture started 1200 years ago with the Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, who came to China to teach Buddhism. Bodhidharma spent his first nine years in China meditating in a cave at the foot of Mount Song (Song Shan). After this nine year meditation period he emerged from his cave, returned to the Shaolin Temple, and started laying down the foundations of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and Shaolin gongfu.
Bodhidharma instructed his meditation students in a set of health exercises to improve their physical condition. These exercises formed the foundation of Shaolin gongfu and they were combined with various forms of folk martial arts. Through many generations of refinement Shaolin gongfu reached an exceptionally high level. Shaolin gongfu was developed by Buddhist monks for three reasons: for self defence, for health exercise, and as a form of Chan meditation. Traditional Shaolin gongfu was an integral part of Shaolin Buddhist culture.
Shaolin culture had many ups and downs through the centuries. At times it was supported by the Chinese emperors and warriors would be sent to the Shaolin temple from all over the country to exchange skills and to be trained. During these times Shaolin gongfu became very rich in techniques and strategies and it spread across the empire. At other times in history Shaolin gongfu was outlawed and the Shaolin temple was completely destroyed at least 3 times. But during the hard times there were always a few monks who left the temple and continued the Shaolin culture and the teachings in secret. When conditions became favourable they would emerge, rebuild the Shaolin temple and resume the teaching of the Shaolin culture.
Pangen- the twisted root form
The Cultural Revolution was a very difficult time for Shaolin culture. During this period the practice of martial arts was strictly forbidden all over China. The only martial art that was openly practised was Taiji Quan, because of its slow and peaceful appearance and health benefits. At the Shaolin temple the practice of Shaolin gongfu was outlawed and completely suppressed. But once again a handful of monks moved away from the temple and continued to practise their martial arts in secret. They lived humbly as farmers and maintained a low profile. One of these monks was Master Wu Gulun who was the last Shaolin monk to fight his way out of the Shaolin temple, past the eighteen temple guards. (Traditionally, if a monk wanted to leave the temple to join secular life he had to fight his way out of the temple.)
During the Cultural Revolution much of China’s cultural heritage was destroyed. After the Cultural Revolution the new Chinese government tried to resurrect what was left of China’s cultural assets. The martial arts (wushu) were seen as an important part of the people’s non-material cultural assets and much energy was put into reconstructing and popularising Shaolin gongfu. In an attempt to popularise wushu, new forms were created that were based on traditional Shaolin gongfu. The new forms were created to impress large audiences and the new emphasis was on aesthetics rather than combat effectiveness and health benefits. The movements were made bigger and more “beautiful” and many acrobatic movements were added. The movements of this new Shaolin wushu were also very suitable for cinema and in the early 80’s Shaolin gongfu movies became available in video stores world wide, making Shaolin gongfu world famous. Shaolin was further popularised by troops of modern Shaolin wushu performers who performed to large audiences all over the world under the banner of “Shaolin Monks”.
Wushu has since become one of China’s most popular competitive sports, with competitions for display routines (forms) and sanda (the Chinese equivalent of kickboxing). The rampant popularisation of Shaolin wushu also transformed the Shaolin temple. Today it is bustling with tourists, shops, stalls, fake monks who sell goods and prayers, hotels and hundreds of gongfu schools in and around the local city, Dengfeng.
Shaolin Today
Shaolin gongfu has become a giant industry. And this brings us to the latest and perhaps the greatest threat to traditional Shaolin culture in history: the rampant commercialisation of Shaolin wushu. It is a great pity that during the recent boom in Shaolin popularity, traditional Shaolin has been forced to take a back seat. It is not as spectacular to watch (to the untrained eye) and the techniques are too dangerous for competition fighting. It has limited spectator value, and for the practitioners there is no promise of fame, glory, medals, trophies or a job in the movies – which are the things most practitioners seem to be looking for these days.
Traditional Shaolin just does not mix well with this new commercialism. If the true traditionalists could have their way, the Shaolin temple would be a place of meditation and practice, not just a tourist attraction. And Shaolin gongfu would be practised for health, spiritual cultivation and self defence; not for entertainment, sport and money.
Hope for the tradition
Even though this is a hard time for traditional Shaolin culture there are few devoted people who are steadfast in their determination to preserve their heritage and to protect it from the commercial machine. The most prominent of these people is Shi Dejian, an ordained Shaolin monk, who lives in the Song mountains and maintains the disciplines of Chan Buddhism, traditional medicine and gongfu. Shi Dejian has devoted his life to the preservation of this culture and Xin Yi Ba, the highest skill in traditional Shaolin gongfu. In the Dengfeng area, Wu Nanfang, Shi Dijian’s gongfu brother and the great-grandson of Wu Gulun, runs a small school that specialises in traditional Shaolin culture, Wugulun gongfu and Xin Yi Ba. This school, called the Shaolin Wugulun Academy, was founded by Wu Nanfang in 1996.
There is a growing interest in traditional gongfu, especially from people outside of China. Many foreigners come to the Shaolin temple with pure hearts, seeking knowledge, and they come away from the place feeling dismayed and a bit empty. They may feel that there is something fake about the place -- the spirituality and the old wisdom is missing. Some come to China to learn gongfu and end up learning contemporary wushu, thinking it is the real thing. They may also get injured or ripped off by greedy businessmen. Basically, they don’t find what they were looking for.
For people like these it is good to know that there is still at least one true Shaolin monk out there in the mountains somewhere. And there is one small school where traditional Shaolin is taught by a direct descendent of Wu Gulun in the traditional way. For those seekers who are pure of heart it is good to know that there are still places where they can (still del) learn the true Shaolin culture and there are at least two people who continue to preserve the Shaolin culture at the highest level.
For more information: www.shaolinwugulun.org
http://www.chanwuyi.org/_eng/index_e.htm
For a BBC documentary featuring Shi Dejian and Wu Nanfang:
Shaolin Xin Yi Ba 
During the Cultural Revolution much of China’s cultural heritage was destroyed. After the Cultural Revolution the new Chinese government tried to resurrect what was left of China’s cultural assets. The martial arts (wushu) were seen as an important part of the people’s non-material cultural assets and much energy was put into reconstructing and popularising Shaolin gongfu. In an attempt to popularise wushu, new forms were created that were based on traditional Shaolin gongfu. The new forms were created to impress large audiences and the new emphasis was on aesthetics rather than combat effectiveness and health benefits. The movements were made bigger and more “beautiful” and many acrobatic movements were added. The movements of this new Shaolin wushu were also very suitable for cinema and in the early 80’s Shaolin gongfu movies became available in video stores world wide, making Shaolin gongfu world famous. Shaolin was further popularised by troops of modern Shaolin wushu performers who performed to large audiences all over the world under the banner of “Shaolin Monks”. 
Traditional Shaolin just does not mix well with this new commercialism. If the true traditionalists could have their way, the Shaolin temple would be a place of meditation and practice, not just a tourist attraction. And Shaolin gongfu would be practised for health, spiritual cultivation and self defence; not for entertainment, sport and money.
Even though this is a hard time for traditional Shaolin culture there are few devoted people who are steadfast in their determination to preserve their heritage and to protect it from the commercial machine. The most prominent of these people is Shi Dejian, an ordained Shaolin monk, who lives in the Song mountains and maintains the disciplines of Chan Buddhism, traditional medicine and gongfu. Shi Dejian has devoted his life to the preservation of this culture and Xin Yi Ba, the highest skill in traditional Shaolin gongfu. In the Dengfeng area, Wu Nanfang, Shi Dijian’s gongfu brother and the great-grandson of Wu Gulun, runs a small 
school that specialises in traditional Shaolin culture, Wugulun gongfu and Xin Yi Ba. This school, called the Shaolin Wugulun Academy, was founded by Wu Nanfang in 1996.
