The Documentary That Shook My Faith In Kungfu

[@FightCommentary]

Everyone, thank you so much for watching this one! It took me *eight years* to find the right moment to make this video! I wanted it to be constructive and not angry, because believe me when i first saw the documentary in middle school, I was so disappointed. I think this video that I waited eight years to make is better than anything I could have made in 2017! I look forward to your thoughts. Im asking Chen and David right now if they remember me showing them respectively! Also, since I mentioned Sarah Chang, I promised a viewer I'll feature another former classmate of mine Matt Stampe. So next video on Matt Stampe to come! Matt's done some great stuff with his kungfu training! Matt, I hope to send some viewers your way soon! Update: the video on Matt Stampe is up! Also, I see that Lucas Geller, another classmate of mine, got into Kyokushin, so I will potentially feature Lucas again.

[@AbdulGhani-vm6oq]

Forms, the ridiculous and unrealistic attacks and defences that you will 'never' use in a real fight are the downfall of kung fu. I practiced kung fu for many years, until I realized the forms were a way to keep the student coming in and paying tuition fees to the so called master. Without actually learning anything of value. Kung Fu is a scam.

[@AbdulGhani-vm6oq]

@@FightCommentary Forms are the downfall of Kung Fu. The RIDICULOUS attacks and defences taught in forms..You would never face in a real fight. Teaching Kung Fu forms and not real fighting, is a scam to make students keep coming in and paying money.

[@Dark-Light_Ascendin]

[@FightCommentary]

A viewer asked me to translate and do some research on another part of this documentary, so I'm leaving a comment here to remind myself (and respond to him because I can't find his comment anymore. KZbin, please improve your comment filters. I keep losing viewer comments. Great viewers who follow the rules too). The historical army (Bing Jia) kungfu was taught by Ling Yao Hua. The viewer asked for the name of the Master. I'll do some research on him (凌耀華) and see if I can find more footage! Stay tuned! Update, I think I found his name.

[@Midwinter2]

For me, the worst part of these clips is that some one decided to add cheesy kung fu movie sound effects to their movements. Clearly, the editor realised that the demonstrations were not very exciting and needed a little help from the sound effects. But the result is even more embarrassing.

[@FightCommentary]

Yes! Another viewer mentioned that too!

[@boilabum]

It's promotional material for Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies!

[@M_K-Bomb]

They didn't even do the syncing right. 4:02 Was just terrible.

[@antwango]

dude its the 70s / 80s no one had editing and computer software..... it was the done thing in HK and Chinese movies... mst probably some of this is dubbed into cantonese and on VCDs! know what VCDs are lol ive got a few

[@cyborgchicken3502]

​@@boilabum no it wasn't it was promotional material for the Shaolin Temple, I watched this documentary when I was in high school... Jet Li is featured yes, but this was filmed before he became an actor, he was still a member of the Beijing Wushu Team at this point, you can see how young he is in the footage.... The CCP only really started to put effort into promoting and reconstructing the Shaolin Temple in the mid 80s after they saw how successful Jet Li's movie Shaolin Temple was, and how successful all the Hong Kong Shaolin Temple movies like the 36th Chamber of Shaolin was... So they figured that Chinese martial arts and Shaolin Temple would be a good way to promote tourism in China as well as build a sense of national and cultural pride....remember that prior to this martial arts had been banned for a while and the Shaolin Temple had been in ruins thanks to the Japanese invasion, the Chinese Civil War and the cultural revolution which only ended officially after Mao's death in 1975...so for many years Chinese martial arts and Shaolin Temple were on the decline thanks to Mao's destructive anti "old culture" policies

[@gnos1s171]

As someone who practices a form of shaolin kung fu that's not from the temple and from the villages around it in the cui xiqi lineage and learns how to use it through sparring, this is COMPLETELY different from the version of the style I studied, and it isn't really acrobatic or 'wushuified' we have some high kicks but no backflips or anything like that, we mainly use a lot of deep stances and steps to generate power for kicks and handstrikes, this is especially true if you look at schools in dengfeng like hu zhensheng's school and his style of shaolin xinyiba, What the chinese government did to bring back the style to the temple was take the styles from these villages, bring some of their masters to the temple, have them teach the monks, make them more acrobatic and aesthetically pleasing, and get rid of pretty much all of the combative applications for the taolu, if you want to see what shaolin kung fu looks like without all of these modifications look at some of the more regional schools in the surrounding area of Henan province around the temple especially in counties like dengfeng, It isn't really that unique or special, and looks like a lot of other northern changquan or longfist styles with some of the same ways of moving your body, power generation, and concepts of xing yi quan

[@FightCommentary]

I hope we get a documentary on how this process was done to recover what was lost and the process of bringing it back to shaolin temple after the movie Shaolin Temple. It would be a fascinating documentary!

[@AbdulGhani-vm6oq]

​@@FightCommentaryForms are the downfall of Kung Fu. The RIDICULOUS attacks and defences taught in forms..You would never face in a real fight. Teaching Kung Fu forms and not real fighting, is a scam to make students keep coming in and paying money.

[@gnos1s171]

@@FightCommentary the mushin martial culture channel which is run by byron jacobs, a xing yi quan and bagua zhang practitioner has a documentary about the shaolin temple and its history but it's very dense in information it doesn't just talk about its martial arts history, but a lot of it is also the absolutely massive amount of history the temple has going back to buddhabhadra and bodhidharma, and also the influence of the temple on the religious and philosophical landscape of China with chan buddhism as well as how daoism's interactions with chan buddhism affected the religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of the shaolin temple, again, it does explain very well its martial arts history but Byron does a really good job showing the temple as an institution was MUCH more than just that

[@leonlee8524]

Always a pleasant surprise to find myself having fun learning in the comment section, too. There's a great Community here

[@AbdulGhani-vm6oq]

@leonlee8524 Forms are the downfall of Kung Fu. The RIDICULOUS attacks and defences taught in forms..You would never face in a real fight. Teaching Kung Fu forms and not real fighting, is a scam to make students keep coming in and paying money.

[@jm7578]

When I was in China, I studied praying, mantis kung fu for a man who taught a traditional style that was not modern day wushu. I knew the difference because before going to China, I had lived in Taiwan and it was the exact same material. Traditional kung fu exist in China yet it is very hard to find. I was fortunate enough to find it in the Shandong province.

[@FightCommentary]

Did you get any footage?

[@andrewoliver7095]

Would you be willing to provide more information? I'm actually living in Shandong province right now and am desperately looking for something exactly like this.

[@taylorbee4010]

“You will not find it in the temple. You will not find it in the school. Go to the old man drinking in the alleyway. That’s where you will find it and he won’t want to teach you it.”

[@DannyRedCheeks]

I trained with shi yan Ming privately in NYC in the early 2000s He would be shaking his head at these guys

[@FightCommentary]

You got any footage? Would love to feature you guys!

[@leekelley4701]

Wow, hes truly amazing. I had his book 30 day shaolin workout, just meeting him is on my bucket list. I'm super jealous, lol

[@kristhomas4039]

@@FightCommentary would love to see you interview shi heng yi and talk about authentic shaolin kung fu

[@thai-cheese]

I have studied in a Wudang lineage with similar stories. Our grand master was invited back to reintroduce knowledge lost during the cultural revolution, but it was replaced by an esthetically flashy taolu within a few years. Goes to show that this is all really about people and cultural heritages and not idols in the form of landmarks.

[@FightCommentary]

Where is the Wudang lineage most concentrated these days?

[@thai-cheese]

@@FightCommentary It's hard to answer because Wudang had always been dozens of lineages sharing the same space without a central leader. The people that survived the cultural revolution were also people that didn't live on the mountain.

[@FightCommentary]

@@thai-cheese I see! Where is your specific lineage based mostly nowadays?

[@thai-cheese]

@FightCommentary 武当玄门丹派 was lead by 马杰 in 天津 until his passing a decade ago. My teacher is in the US.

[@TianVtCH]

The way I see it based on what I've been taught and what I've heard from my elders, is that Shaolin isn't some mystical "originator of all Kung Fu", despite the legend of Bodhidharma. Rather, Buddhist monasteries tend to end up full of old soldiers, mercenaries and bandits after chaotic periods throughout Chinese history, seeking to atone for their violent pasts and searching for redemption or a new life. The Temples became a common ground for all these war veterans to share their skills and experience, and the sharing and testing of their techniques and experience against their fellows became the foundation of Shaolin's reputation for having fierce and skilled martial artists. But with the advent of modern firearms, martial arts became irrelevant in warfare and so the relevance of the Shaolin Temple just fizzled out, and the custodians of Kung Fu really just ended up in the hands of various old masters across China who preserve their various styles for the sake of tradition rather than function. I've never heard any old Masters who grew up during the Post World War period, and taught during the 80s and 90s say anything about Kung Fu being 'functional'. They always say if you want "functional", get a gun. Their mindset always seem to be that Kung Fu was meant for war, and war having changed, Kung Fu is irrelevant. I think Shaolin in the 80s and 90s was a very low point, but a starting point where the folks there were really trying to reconstruct to the best of their ability primarily with assistance from the Wushu Academy in Beijing. That influence from Beijing definitely lead to the focus on Taolu over functional fighting. The missing secret sauce is veterans of actual fighting continues to be an issue. Maybe one day, with more Chinese fighters winning glory overseas, Chinese Fighting Champions like Boxer Zhang Zhilei and UFC Champ Zhang WeiLi may teach at Shaolin and the old cycle of fighting veterans sharing their skills on the Temple grounds may properly bring the legend of the fighting monks of Shaolin back.

[@FightCommentary]

Fascinating what you said about how the temple prior to firearms would collect people on the violent side who were wishing to atone for their past actions. That would be quite an interesting history to explore. Which figures went to the temple and did any of the outside kungfu styles blend into Shaolin? Fascinating what you planted into my mind. Great comment!

[@Michael-yr5oq]

There was lots of hand to hand combat after the invention of modern firearms, and many modern armies continued to train in martial arts afterwards. Swords, bayonets, clubs, and other hand weapons were used a lot in WW1 for example. How useful would kung fu even be in a pre-firearm battlefield anyway? Wasn't it all about drill, large formations etc...? And in close range in engagements like seiges, naval boardings, etc... where it would be useful, it was useful after the invention of modern firearms.

[@NotHeitu]

I speculated that too, I would assume many “masters” now are just walking libraries for the techniques of their style. Whether or not they can apply it or understand what they have learned, they are still able to teach these techniques and preserve the style that way. Perhaps along the line, someone may have better insight on the techniques and properly revive the style or differing interpretations leads to different branches of the style.

[@TianVtCH]

@ Between the Opium Wars and the end of the Cultural Revolution, Buddhism was the last thing on people's minds. The morale of old veterans and faith in traditional Chinese institutions were at an all time low. The Temple couldn't offer sanctuary with the Shaolin themselves struggling to survive the turmoil. There wasn't enough time, resource, or sponsors for the Shaolin to consolidate during the Civil War, and if it did (that I am not aware of), the Cultural Revolution smashed them back into the dirt. So we kinda never got that revival until recently. The center of Kung Fu were the Military Academy in Nanjing during the Republican era, and then the Wushu Academy in Beijing during the Communist era. Meanwhile everyone else simply scattered across the Chinese diaspora, to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and America. My great grandfather supposedly fought in the Boxer's Rebellion. Instead of fleeing to Shaolin, his people instead chose to flee to British Malaya because they figured they would be safer in British territories than at Shaolin. I think people underestimate the need for sponsors. The times when Shaolin really flourished were when the Temple and Buddhism had the favour of the Imperial Court. The Temple had the resource and enough influence with Buddhist Court Officials or the Imperial family to offer sanctuary.

[@MaaveMaave]

@@TianVtCH thank you for the history

[@mattpatterson9128]

I Love Chinese Kung Fu, And Will Continue to Train in it, Even Though Lots of Y T Channels Bash it. Thanks Much.

[@FightCommentary]

Lots of great stuff in it for sure!

[@tusharbhalla5336]

Exactly ,and most of these people are not even 25 years old . If you know ,you know. There is a lot of BS ,there is a KZbinr from my country who comes up when you search ' Wing Chun ' on YT . He is a Karate guy and acts as if he were a pro at Wing Chun

[@ArslanMagomedov286]

I love practicing kung fu as well and will continue to practice it, no matter what anyone says. A lot of styles, such as kyokushin, Goju ryu, sanda come from traditional Chinese arts

[@tusharbhalla5336]

Indeed​@@ArslanMagomedov286

[@buck9668]

I trained in Kenpo in the early 70s and kept up on martial arts thru magazines and the UFC, and eventually youtube. All I can say is Jerry's commentary is CRAZY good! So much respect for him! Considering his depth of knowledge, he's extremely unpretentious. (On the other hand, I can't help hating anyone who can speak two languages with perfect accents. Not fair!)

[@FightCommentary]

I’m glad you enjoy the commentary. We’re going to be covering more topics like this in the future so stay tuned! How was your Kenpo training in the 70s?

[@buck9668]

@@FightCommentary Trained for 2 years till a back issue forced me to quit. Despite being completely uncoordinated, did okay just from practice. They eventually made me an instructor for beginners. More interesting was my one fist fight, which happened during that period. I lived in Palo Alto. The other guy was from the East Palo Alto ghetto. He was much shorter but much stronger than I was. I was scared of what might happen if he hit me w his power, so I just let fly w arm punches to his face. Couldn't take the time to get set and throw properly. The punches didn't seem to hurt him, but they kept him from hitting me. (I later found one bruise on my ribs.) After a couple dozen, he broke away and grabbed a long-handled shovel. I kept advancing, never thinking he'd actually swing on me. He kept telling me to "back off," but I kept advancing. Finally he swung like a batter and hit me full on the side of the head. I didn't react with a block cz, coming from my mild suburban upbringing, I didn't expect him to do anything that dangerous. We both stopped and I remember thinking, "That didn't hurt!" That was even more shocking than his swinging. I resumed stalking and he swung again, but I easily handled it with an extended outward block. He finally stopped backing up and said, "You should have killed me." I grabbed the shovel and threw it away. Despite his superior strength, he didn't try to hold onto it. We both knew I'd defeated him psychologically. The police pulled up. At one point, a half-dozen White officers stood around me, not saying anything. I was still revved up, nervous, breathing hard. I finally said, "I've never been in a fight before." One of them said, "You did good." I'd been in the right cz the Black guy was trespassing, but I can't help wondering to what extent racism affected their thinking.

[@1individeo]

Crazy back in the days we used magazines, books and some vhs tapes to train martial arts. By the way I speak, english, french, portuguese, kinyarwanda fluently and can communicate in Spanish, italian and Swahili... you are american, right?

[@buck9668]

@@1individeo Hi 1indie, I didn't train from magazines, but kept abreast of what was happening in the martial arts community that way. The different styles, the different claims, the advent of full contact, etc. I learned about Gene LeBell and BJJ long before the UFC, for example. And I drank the Koolaid about the "internal power" of chi (qi), and so was shocked when the Taiwanese national kung fu team went to Thailand twice in two years in the mid-1970s and was easily destroyed both times by Thai kickboxers. I've forgotten most of the Spanish I once knew. But despite long hours of study and practice, over years, I was never capable of an extended conversation. And I had to give up my goal of authentic Mexican pronunciation / accent. Unless you hear a language a lot growing up, I don't think you'll be able even to hear some of the nuances of pronunciation. It was a lost cause for me. Cheers!

[@buck9668]

​@@1individeo Hi 1indie, KZbin disappeared my first posting of this, so I'm trying a second time. I didn't train from magazines, but kept abreast of what was happening in the martial arts community that way. The different styles, the different claims, the advent of full contact, etc. I learned about Gene LeBell and BJJ long before the UFC, for example. And I drank the Koolaid about the "internal power" of chi (qi), and so was shocked when the Taiwanese national kung fu team went to Thailand twice in two years in the mid-1970s and was easily destroyed both times by Thai kickboxers. I've forgotten most of the Spanish I once knew. But despite long hours of study and practice, over years, I was never capable of an extended conversation. And I had to give up my goal of authentic Mexican pronunciation / accent. Unless you hear a language a lot growing up, I don't think you'll be able even to hear some of the nuances of pronunciation. It was a lost cause for me. Cheers!

[@jamestan4165]

Great clip Jerry. Reminds me a lot of a good friend - taiji teacher - who went to Wudang in the early 90s and found a few farmers, a couple of Taoist monks and zero martial arts. Every time he hears of people going to Wudang to learn 'traditional' neijiaquan now, he has to reach for his blood pressure meds.

[@p-medical3012]

Big lol...

[@FightCommentary]

Does your friend still teach?

[@jamestan4165]

@ not any more - he lost a leg two years ago.

[@nobodyreally834]

Woody Allen explains Kungfu movie

[@001hamish]

Sound effects were on point 😂

[@mr.q337]

Watch Ranton (a former Shaolin "monk")'s video he explained the history of Shaolin Temple. It used to act as a martial art library of sorts. Martial Artist across the world came and share their knowledge and practice together to build this massive Hub for all martial art practitioners. So in a sense we can say Shaolin has come back to its root, although the "original" forms might have lost through time. But people have collectively come back because their love for the temple and contribute to it. It's kinna beautiful actually.

[@johndough8115]

Ranton only knows what his Commie teachers taught him. Hes clearly butthurt about it, too. But I believe he blames "Shaolin Kung Fu" for his Combat Failures... Instead of the Commies, that created a FAKE version of the Shaolin artform, which is devoid of Key Ancient Combat Knowledge. Shaolin was no Library. It was a daily way of Life... where Men sought Spiritual Enlightenment, as well as Trained Hardcore in Martial Arts (To stay in shape + to protect the Temple / Religious Artifacts). Shaolin knowledge would eventually spread all over China... Due to Monks either Leaving the Temple early.. and Or, when the Temple was burned down (which happened like Three other times in China's History). You couldnt just be a standard Citizen... Walk into the Shaolin Temple.. and ask for Lessons / Knowledge. It was Never like that. Also, Id say that Shaolin was less like a Library... and Far more, like an Innovative FACTORY. Its practitioners spent every day of their lives.. trying to create new methods, counter methods, superior training methods... and much more. Then, its practitioners would Master and TEST each of these things. Each day... their skills and knowledge, grew, as a result of their Passion, and non-stop hardcore efforts... within that large group of Monks... and over the course of Thousands of Years of Evolution. No other Country in the World... Could really compare to China's martial arts "Factory-Like" development, of the Combat arts. Not just in Shaolin, but all of the Chinese combined (as countless Chinese men outside of Shaolin, were training equally as intensely.. as the Shaolin Monks, at the Temple).

[@slothmaster101]

I trained Pai Lum Kung Fu, and even though the kicks, knees, and elbows were effective. I had to take up Western Boxing to make myself a more complete striker.

[@FightCommentary]

Do you have any footage of the pai lam you trained?

[@slothmaster101]

@FightCommentary No. But we did do sparring

[@ArslanMagomedov286]

Don Wilson, famous kick-boxer, also used the same style

[@slothmaster101]

@ArslanMagomedov286 Wilson gets a lot of criticism, and i don't know why?

[@dedydet6646]

Does pai lum have weapon techniques?

[@KevinHuangPhasorQuantaG]

Dude I can’t believe you were Wushu classmates with Sarah Chang!

[@FightCommentary]

Yeah. She was one of the only kind classmates without any ego. She and Lucas Geller were my favorites. Almost everyone else had issues and made class so toxic. There were other people like Matt Stampe that i wish i got to know better but i think Matt would usually come at times i wasnt there. I featured Matt back when thedojo was around. Maybe I’ll feature him here soon!

[@martialgeeks]

Fascinating to see these "eureka" moments from other people, reminds me of how I began to get disillusioned with Bruce Lee's "demigod" status 😂, great video!

[@ubcroel4022]

Don't let golden barbell training hear you say that... lol.

[@roebloxy9986]

Chinese Martial Arts is not fancy (contemporary wushu is), their forms provide great methods to the practicioners that seeks to understand the postures and the reason behind its poetic names. You are building strong grappling fundamentals when practicing. You get more knowledge about what you are doing when you look outside of Chinese Martial Arts to make bonds between what you've seen outside of it and what's in it.

[@ProtomanButCallMeBlues]

My best guess is they grabbed a lot students from around the temple, not explicit Shaolin students. I think the biggest difference is the snap that you would see in kung fu movies isn't really there. I'm guessing it had not yet crossed over into the performance variants, so these guys are just doing the movements and the sound effects are added for flare. And the idea is that this is the 80's and even though it isn't as flashy, it's still as authentic as it can get for the era.

[@tniiler]

You want to really shake your faith, read "Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals" by historians Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo. This covers, among other things, the *lack* of kung fu history at Shaolin Temple, and the fact that most kung fu histories were created to say "my style is older and therefore better than yours." I've seen far too many bad or ripoff schools that promise the world but deliver bupkas. And in some of the better schools, the atmosphere is cult like. I say this as a long term kung fu teacher who enjoys the forms, but teaches sanshou for application, understanding the limitations of the forms as effective teaching tools, and also the fact that no one has 30 years to spend to get to basic fight competency. Thanks for your videos.

[@FightCommentary]

That book sounds fascinating! Thanks for the recommendation!

[@johndough8115]

lul. If you are teaching Sanshou as application, then you must be an absolute Sh*T teacher. Sanshou fails instantly, with a simple Oblique Kick to the Knee. An actual Chinese COMBAT technique.. that Isnt taught / allowed in Saushou

[@joshuajtm7202]

This was dope thank you

[@ones_flow5652]

For me, it was "The 36 chambers of the Shaolin" which brought the real interest in this kind of art and sport. Later, they changed the title or the "enemy" from "Manshu" or however that's written to no idea... I liked the movie very much. 🙂

[@theultimatek.i.m.m1504]

Heyyyy, I remember this one! I had this on vhs like, 20 years ago, lol! Fun find, man! Loved that military style that kept the hands in front of the body, but they never said the name of the style.

[@FightCommentary]

I remember that!! I will look to see if I can find the name for you!

[@AidanJianfa]

As a Wudang guy, the people training in temples (both Shaolin and Wudang mountain) in the Modern day are just grifters and generally don't have any real skills. But it didn't really shake my foundations of kungfu, because I knew that everyone had fled China before I saw the current state of things. All the legit lineages either hid in villages, or fled the country. But as someone who thinks they're pretty good at their style. I won't be winning any Wushu tournaments with my taolu. Wushu has a very particular aesthetic that doesn't really map to proper fighting.

[@DeSmoSmusic]

because of this documentary i view kung fu so differently to the point im thinking of trying it out

[@DBSpeakers]

Nah you're right. The current residents and monks of shaolin are descendant from Wushu practitioners from the 80s. It's now a media and tourist experience, where they've pulled in some modern sanda and outside training techniques, rediscovered some of the old forms, and mixed it with wushu. Modern Shaolin is not some long lineage kung fu from a thousand years ago, it's only 40 years old. Sadly, the cultural revolution eliminated a lot of traditional kung fu, but teachers that left China were able to keep their lineage alive. The only reason any traditional kung fu still exists (i.e. not wushu) is because of teachers that went to Hong Kong or neighboring countries. Some of them went to Europe or America. Some of them moved back, but some of them created new kung fu traditions in new countries that have a much deeper and authentic lineage than modern wushu.

[@michaelbirch5270]

the way I look at it is like basketball in the NBA and basketball played on the street. you can go to Rucker Park or Venice Beach and fully appreciate the skill level of the players on those courts while acknowledging they would get destroyed on an NBA court against NBA players.

[@FightCommentary]

I like your analogy, but the Venice Beach basketball players still play with unique flair and ability. Imagine if the Venice Beach basketball players looked like middle school basketball players while claiming to have some unique flair. That's where the disconnect is. Does that addition to your analogy make sense?

[@jonatho85]

Bro. I go to a school, and they started visiting China like as soon as they opened it up to Americans. When they first went, it was dark runways, and manual searches. China was still opening up. But they would ask to see the grave of Dong Haichuan, and they would have to get permission to go there from a government official. And they ask the translator guide, and the guid would discuss it with the government rep. And the rep had no idea who Dong Haichuan was. So they’re all nervous about things. No photography allowed. Made sense, some random Americans wanting to see some randomness. But as time went on, they go every year, and every year when they went back to areas there would be more development or emphasis on the area. Like, the country slowly started to remember itself, and had the martial arts reintroduced. But it was interesting to hear those stories about China back then. Just the timeline of how martial arts got to where we are now man, the stories are crazy interesting. Nice video man.

[@FightCommentary]

Is there a memorial now for Dong Haichuan?

[@jonatho85]

@ you know I’m not sure. They mentioned that the grave has enough space for some students names in regards to lineages. But I’ve never gone. I don’t travel as well as others. Too grouchy lol

[@tAtarit0]

I guess thats why many schools fled to hong kong back in those days

[@skipsch]

The Shaolin and the Wu Tang could be dangerous

[@bengee0ne]

You're bringing da ruckus to this comment section!

[@tusharbhalla5336]

Do you mean Shaolin vs WuTang ?

[@ShaolinLT]

The spear form is a Shaolin form, the name of the form is: Shaolin 13 qiang

[@voncarstain183]

third to comment those added sound effect is so fake

[@FightCommentary]

Yeah. I forgot to mention that. The sound effects just added to how mediocre the wushu was at shaolin in the documentary!

[@drkaufman]

Sound effects were my favorite part.

[@jcmick8430]

i love how this east coast accent guy says shaolin

[@judosailor610]

I've heard from various China experts (not necessarily martial arts) that the martial arts you get in Shaolin Temple in China is basically state sponsored wushu. I'm not sure that's true or that it's still true or that it's true everywhere. But from my knowledge of Chinese history, including things like the cultural revolution where a lot of traditional Chinese culture was suppressed and lost, I do findit believable.

[@Nameless2k6]

This takes me back so much to when I didn't have to adult and train all day. I never judged these ppl negatively cause I already knew that some of the masters had to pose for the govt. But everything kung Fu was good kung Fu ' because even a blade of grass is deadly in the hands of a master'

[@JSRLPadre]

Just out of curiosity, what are the 2-finger points from straight sword indicative of? Are those open palm gestures in broad sword similar to the "live hand checks" in Filipino martial arts?

[@FightCommentary]

Good question. Let me get back to you on that!

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

It's kind of a long answer to give, really. And as i see that FightCommentary wishes to answer, all i'll say for now is that it really isn't about hand checking like in Filipino martial arts. Yes it can be used for that, but that was most likely not what was being attempted

[@brunod8578]

A Chinese documentary from the 80s that, among other things, showed an old man balancing on a box of matches. Has anyone seen this too?

[@FightCommentary]

Do you remember any other scenes from it? I’ll take a look if I get more cues!

[@ubcroel4022]

There's no 'killing intent' behind those form movements in the documentary; they're definitely just going through the motions.

[@FightCommentary]

Yeah, that was another thing that upset me too when I watched it as a kid. They didn't even have any "intent" in general. Some of them had no power either!

[@DerWuwu]

Hey, I would be super interested if you could show some more three section staff videos here! :)

[@soluna2252]

The sound effects are CRAZY.

[@KeyserSoze23]

ehT dnuos stceffe era YZARC

[@FightCommentary]

So funny watching the documentary again many years later and noticing that. I never noticed those sounds when i was a kid.

[@airbourne35]

I have to say watching the old school kung fu documentary was great. Even myself growing up watching kung fu films including Jackie Chan got me into training Kung fu (Specifically both Northern and Southern systems and non traditional). I also when I tried Wushu, it's fun, but it not fitted for fighting unless you decide to go to Sanda.

[@FightCommentary]

So you eventually switched to sanda or other arts?

[@airbourne35]

@@FightCommentary yeah, because wushu is more focusing on freestyle forms similar to martial arts tricking which they don't train them how to fight, only performing, competitions forms, and movies doing flips. Me personally I do practice forms, but learning how to apply those moves into sparring and self defense applications. separately from kung fu, I do practice Kali, because it does have practical fighting applications similar to what I've learn from kung fu, translate from weaponry to empty hand.

[@airbourne35]

Sanda does have good takedowns just like other arts do.

[@FightCommentary]

@@airbourne35 That's great you got into sanda!

[@ArmyK9]

That's why they needed to add in all those sound effects to make it look cool. lol.

[@deltonlomatai2309]

What is the difference between wudang mountain and shaolin temple?

[@FightCommentary]

Wudang is know for Daoism and shaolin is buddhism. However, whether there was authentic kungfu in wudang is another can of worms.

[@MSHNKTRL]

Teacher: You're going to perform some forms for a documentary today. Student: What forms shall I perform, master? Teacher: Any old bullshit, nothing real.

[@tule8669]

Jujutsu came from shsolin kung fu

[@DionKhnumdeuce]

Bruce Lee promoted kung Fu. The movie Shoilin vs Kana. A character said you continue to learn kung fu always

[@Tama-zephyrwindlass]

What shook my faith was being more efficient at sparring using african dancing movements than the kungfu students in Chinatown in NYC

[@FightCommentary]

Please tell me more! Also, if you have footage, please send me!

[@johndough8115]

Being a Practitioner / Student... isnt the same as being a Master. That would be like Competing in a Cooking Competition... Against a Burger Flipper... vs... against a French Chef. Its a whole world of Difference in Combat abilities. Also, make no mistake... being a TEACHER, does not automatically make him a "Master". Ive had 3 different teachers, and I would not call any of them, Masters. They had "OK" technique... but I could spot various issues in their Movements / Actions, and Interactions. Also, I doubt that any of them had much sparring experience. They were decent at teaching the arts methods... BUT... they were not even close to being Masterclass level fighters. I, however, trained anywhere from 4 to +8hrs a day, 365 days a year. I reached Masterclass level output (repeatably flawless movements, with Lethal level impact potentials), by my 5th year, at that Pace and Intensity. I was able to learn, and fully master something one of my newer teachers taught us... in 3 weeks time... and I was performing it Better than he could, despite him having like 15 more years of time, to train and master it. The simple fact, is that Most people today, dont ever push themselves to fully Master ANYTHING that they have learned. Guess what happens, when you go into a real fight, with non-mastered techniques? Thats right. You end up failing... as your Weak and Inaccurate techniques, crumble under the stresses. But hey.. Would you expect to be able to be hired as a Pro Chef... if you barely ever cooked? And when you did cook... your dishes always had some problems / issues? Do you really think you could survive / thrive a full 8 hour shift.. in one of the Top busiest and strictest Restaurants Kitchens? Sorry... but your "Dance" movements... wouldnt stand a Snowballs Chance in Hades, against my Fully Tested, and Fully Mastered... Chinese Combat skills Even if I limited myself to only using a Single Arm against your Two.

[@M_K-Bomb]

1:11 Jerry: It's just one guy, and then it gets worse. Me: No, it can't be that bad. Me: Sees, the video in shock. God damn, that was bad! 2:01 It got even worse. Great to get a better review of the documentary.

[@jeffbrinkerhoff5121]

Good stuff.

[@GuyMaxfield]

I feel you....I feel you.

[@soric18]

im always surprised how everyone is worried how its going to make them look bad but dont focus on the actions that are actually bad. i mean when the temple has been burned down so many times...what do they expect to find there

[@VernCrisler]

For me Shaolin will always be whatever David Carradine did. What shook my faith in kung fu? It's when Xu Xiaodong beat supposed masters of martial arts.

[@FightCommentary]

Yep. That was most people’s moments Im sure! Mine had to happen way earlier because i was so involved in kungfu as a kid.

[@leonardovegaolmedo5483]

Fortunatelu for me, my teacher learned kung fu in a time where federations and strict style linings where not that well defined, thus he had a chance to frequently spar with boxers and wrestlers, and ocasionally kyokushin fighters, so he had the chance to pressure test and adapt his style for sparring

[@brianwhite1087]

It was a TV show

[@VernCrisler]

@@brianwhite1087 Nah, ya think?

[@tule8669]

Xu xiao bet nobody. A few fake kung fu guys doesnt mean anything

[@SeymoreSparda]

At first I was confused. What you are really talking about is Performance Art/Wushu vs. practical/traditional, right? I mean, aside from dispersing martial arts to the public, they too absorbed outside arts into their curriculum, right? As a sanctuary for even criminals and revolutionaries? Even as hyped up as the core integral thing that permeates inside all other shaolin forms that Xinyiba is known to be, it is still generally theorized as actually being founded by farmers first, with its raking movements whatnot. I think it's hard, no? To tell whether a style is pure shaolin or not? Is Qixing Tanglang pure shaolin? I mean, Hei Hu Quan, a substyle in that style, may be the hardest most physical style in Shaolin, but the tale that it was founded as a reaction to Tong Bei Quan makes me doubt that. Not to mention, it got lots of soft an internal elements like grappling, throws, takedowns and pressure points manipulations, things that are more known amongst Daoist/internal styles.

[@joemccallister4883]

They didn't want grandmasters training private armies with no loyalty to the party.

[@ShaolinLT]

Actually first one is Shaolin Tai Zu Chang quan. It is a Shaolin form.

[@johnlechago8109]

Thank you for this video. You have some great questions. Personally, I would not criticize the monks in the video so harshly. Standards in the 80s were not very high for regular practice. I watched old Chuck Norris films and realize that his form was visually very sloppy when he was at his physical peak. If these are indeed real Shaolin monks I think that they would occupy most of their time studying Chan Buddhism and the teachings of Bodhidharma and Batuo, not to mention they probably do sitting meditation for over 4 hours a day. If the monks in the old film do their regular monk duties like, study, meditation, running the temple, and public service, then I think their demonstration of martial arts is GREAT. Give these guys a break; they probably don't even eat meat. They may not look super tight in their martial arts forms, but I bet they can lecture me on Buddhism for days. So, are they Buddhist monks that practice martial arts, or are they martial artists that practice Buddhism?

[@deetrixreed8961]

I can tell those first few examples were people doing warmups or practicing their form for the movement, they were not demonstrating or trying hard on purpose. Yes one might assume they would try harder for a movie, but you admitted it seemed like they used existing footage they had already to piece this together. So it makes sense to me they might throw in some people doing their forms lazy/warming up.

[@MisterKisk]

What shook my faith in Kung Fu was the early UFCs, back when it was basically "Style vs Style" format.

[@fazares]

ur faith in sport fighting..kung fu isnt for sport

[@mr.q337]

Martial Art have 2 or even 3 main applications. Performing ART, Olympic Point System SPORT, and actual COMBAT sport. Kung Fu or Wushu to be precise is purely performance art, and they excel at that, nothing wrong with it.

[@manuelsanchezdeinigo3959]

@@MisterKisk you do know that UFC was designed to make BJJ win right

[@MisterKisk]

@ You do know the kung fu guys who got their asses handed to them at the early UFCs weren't beat by the Gracies and BJJ, right? They got beat up by Karatekas, and Kickboxers.

[@joh_kun5530]

@@fazares Oh you know, "sport fighting" where the only rules then were: no weapons, no eye gouging, no groin strikes, and no killing. As for the no eye gouging or groin strikes bits you guys love so much, I ask this: who can deliver an eye gouge better? A kung Fu guy who specifically trains it while forgetting how to actually jab? Or a kickboxer who can make people's heads bounce back with a jab.

[@kamenriderman]

According what I Heard from ranton videos, Shaolin temple is the place where kungfu people from any school came to study budhism and share their kungfu knowledge. So if Shaolin temple destroyed, many monks died, when it built again, when martial artist come again, it Will become Shaolin again and kungfu that derived from Its new monks become authentic new kungfu Shaolin CMIIW

[@deltonlomatai2309]

I wouldn’t know the difference like many people around the world. I wonder how much influence Hong Kong movies have on expectation on what is king fu?

[@malotonga4957]

if you ever get into doing impression my guy you can do a great mathew Mcconahay or owen wilson or christopher walkens, great video im a kung fu films fan and even i thought they look kinda slow.

[@DrTzeus]

In the early 1970's there was a Shaolin movie in China. Over 100,000 boys saw this movie and ran away from home to find the temple and ended up in the valley near the real temple. The Communist government could not send them all home, so they created a modern temple in the valley and a few of the real monks trained them. The survivors became the new head masters and continued the "public" Shaolin temple and the real monks remained hidden on the other side of the mountain. It is now 50 years later, so the headmaster has a wealth of experience at this, but it has become a tourist attraction people visit and we see it on KZbin all the time. Since the Mao Revolution killed most of the masters who did not flee China to Hong Kong or Taiwan, it is not reasonable to expect the Chinese government to have created something from nothing. It is entirely made up. Leung Ting was invited to China in the late 1990's to a different temple facility and he said he could tell which movies they had watched to re-invent the stuff the students did there. A legit MMA facility in the USA has equal or even better fighter training. I have seen some tourist Wing Chun locations on KZbin now too, which look like material from DVDs I watched myself. Too me, this is like the American cowboy vacation camps, which imitate Western fiction and movies, what people expect, but are not exactly accurate to true western history. This is not to say modern Shaolin is not talented, as it still takes hard work and still produces some exceptional people.

[@FightCommentary]

So interesting!

[@ProtomanButCallMeBlues]

That's actually very interesting. I just looked it up, and you're right, it turns out that only some of the monks survived because they had become farmers, and the temple itself was used to help with agriculture. The temple was virtually gone

[@DrTzeus]

I will add a little more on Shaolin and the burnt temple, five elders and such. Thousands of Buddhist temples got destroied over the centuries in China. The rich would donate treasure seeks blessings and as education centers they became powerful competition with rulers and eventually temples would be attacked and eliminated and the gold stolen back. The legend is that a Shaolin temple rescued an Emperor from bandits and was given special permission to exist(and drink beer too!) So any relgious society after that might claim to be "shaolin" in order to get some protection. The story of the burning of the Southern Shaolin Temple and escaping five elders might be one of these, which might be why nobody can find a real temple in the south. It was something else hiding with this legend. The Triad society adopted this story for example, and they had a strong connection to martial arts and anti-government activity. In the 1920's and 30's some newspapers ran fictional adventure stories and an entire Shaolin myth was created with these and the Chinese public eventually confused facts with legends. This has made it difficult to point at something in the 1800's and say "That is the real Shaolin." More important for an honest approach, Buddhism allows women equal opertunity and equal status as leaders. This is in direct conflict with the male patriarchy of Confusianism, and it seems the story of the Nun and little girl is connected to a ecret society following a matriarchial system. There was a Whiite Crane Temple school in the late 1800's that became an education center, raised many women teachers and it was destroied by the locals for it, the fighting female monks scattered to other villages and cities. Any of these buddihist fighting monk refugees would not tell their real story in the late 1800's if they began to teach kung fu in the South. They would try to remain secret and private, and call themselves Shaolin as a cover story. Finally, Foshan was a shared temple site and not a proper village or city. It had no walls.THis created a market and population center but not a city and it defended itself several times, and created a special Temple of Heros. This was a "hall" leaned on the outside wall of a family clan temple, a real "Hall of Heros." I believe that this Hall of Heros in Foshan was the source of the Southern Shaolin myth.

[@fredrichardson9761]

I'm slightly ashamed that David Carradine and the "Kung Fu" TV show of the 70's (I was 10 I think at the time). Really captured my imagination. It was sad to learn that the Shaolin temple was no more (shutdown by the gov?). I'd be really interested to see any videos of people practicing Shaolin in exodus - both the martial art and the spiritual side (neither of which do I know anything about).

[@deltonlomatai2309]

I like how the sound is off from the movement.

[@FightCommentary]

Yes! Beyond the cheesy sound effects, they aren’t even synced!

[@dedydet6646]

​@@FightCommentaryit's like kung pow lol

[@gnomikon7836]

The first form is from Shaolin. There are other Tai zu Chang quan forms around China, but only the name is the same. This one is typically the Shaolin Tai zu.

[@dinhlien980]

I don't know why people came up with the "Authentic Shaolin Kung Fu" thing, that's just bs. The Shaolin temple has never been a place for just martial artists to gather there. Not to mention, a lot of historical documents have been burned. You have to actually know the Chinese history in the whole, to know it.

[@juelz713]

You did Kungfu in 1988?

[@FightCommentary]

I got this documentary as part of a collection in 2002 or 2003. Forgot which year.

[@juelz713]

@@FightCommentary Ok

[@EvilWeiRamirez]

I really wonder if they were showing off the best guys, or just whoever would perform for the camera.

[@FightCommentary]

That would be such an interesting revelation if the true masters didn’t want to be on camera, so only the beginner students with dunning Kruger effect actually bothered to show their skills 😜

[@adcaptandumvulgus4252]

Well probably the real schools are somewhere in the middle of nowhere where you have to take a path up a mountain with a pack animal

[@jonybaker]

Whilst a lot of what you say here is true (the general standard in the video is pretty poor & Shaolin's "rebirth" after the Jet Li movie was messy), it's missing some key context. First, not all of the forms shown in the video are modern Wushu. You can see traditional Shaolin forms like Taizu Chang Quan at 0:46, although done with a modern wushu flavour. Second, I think it's important to consider that throughout history, Shaolin has been a melting pot for different martial arts from around China. A lot of the most famous historical Shaolin Kung Fu forms were created by outsiders who came to the temple and integrated their knowledge with existing practice at the temple. Kung Fu at Shaolin Temple has also always followed the times, e.g. during the Ming dynasty, Shaolin monks took place in several large-scale armed conflicts and had more "militarised" training, whilst during much of the Qing dynasty, the monks focused on more internal empty-hand practices as seen in the famous floor dents in Qian Fo Dian at the back of the temple from Xinyiba training. Today, money and interest are focused around performance, so the temple has integrated a lot from modern wushu and acrobatics. We can complain about it, but it's also natural that the martial arts practiced there will follow the times, and for a lot of kids growing up there, learning more flashy performance styles can lead to being part of performance tours, appearing on TV and making money from Douyin videos, whilst training traditional Shaolin Kung Fu is more "boring" and has fewer opportunities by comparison.

[@fallingleaveskungfu]

The only real Kung Fu at Shaolin is the small group of students taking under Shi De Jian and they train privately on the backside of the mountain away from all the tourists.

[@FightCommentary]

I’ll have to check that out. Do you have the Chinese characters for the name?

[@fallingleaveskungfu]

@FightCommentary I don't. I'm not fluent in Chinese. I can only read a little bit. 😩

[@secutor0972]

I see many people interpreting this same technique/form, differently. So what i do is watch as many as possible, and choose witch i think is the correct one. Am I right, or am I wrong, i do not know.

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

That one guy was alright. You can see the lack of power & control in the others just by watching the way they move. My background is mostly in European, Japanese & Filipino systems but I am familiar with how wushu ought look & just about anyone who trains long enough will learn to see these things. Just like one can tell a weapon on forged in fire is heavy &/or balanced incorrectly just based on how they swing it.

[@FightCommentary]

Is forged in fire a history channel show?

[@mahtix1]

Maybe the guys in the documentary were trying to get in to the temple to learn the real Shaolin kung-fu, and the 2 monks said show us what you got. guys show their basic form, and the monks say: DO IT AGAIN, and then again, and again... When the film crew arrived these dudes had been doing their moves for 2weeks with out sleep, food and water.😁

[@FightCommentary]

Its funny how these martial arts troupes get spread by all these movies. Its like, “if they do this over and over again they will magically get better.” But we know that’s the case only when there’s proper practice and feedback.

[@Hydrosized]

They are like the “Rayguns” 🇦🇺 of Kung-fu!😂

[@freaker126]

there are so many shaolin temple maybe the one they showed is the bad one. recent videos of shaolin demo seems much better than this. anyway, have you ever heard the story of a general who visited the shaolin temple and nobody can beat him. the reason being they aren't battle proof. so they send some monks to follow the general into the battlefield and when they return they taught the new battle-proof kung fu to the others. It also goes to show that any martial arts need to adapt to the times and new way of fighting and not be stagnant. also, some might be trained but the teacher aren't good or bad students. lol

[@FightCommentary]

Another viewer was talking about either this general or a different general! Do you know his name?

[@gbormann71]

They might students from the schools around the temple.

[@bruno1653]

If You want to know same real old shaolin marital arts You can find Master Hu Zheng sheng, he teach XIN YI BA.

[@FightCommentary]

Definitely will take a look!

[@alexiachimciuc3199]

I'm confused....the person doing the video is: happy, sad, upset, outrage, disappointed or glad seeing the old video footage with people doing martial arts????

[@messiaspereira6232]

what annoys me is the sound effects in what it supposed to be a documentary

[@baptistegaussen4784]

The first "broadsword" 刀 form looks like a straight sword 剑 form to me... except it's done with a 刀. Maybe they didn't have a 剑 ? As for the forms, yes, they are not impressive, but they look closer to actual traditionnal kung-fu more than modern wushu forms. I do understand your disappointement back then, but I personnaly prefer that. Traditional forms are not meant to be particulary impressive, but develop some abilities in the practitioner. Also, it is common knowledge that "shaolin temple kung-fu " is a recreation. Nothing wrong with that (we have HEMA in Europe...) except when you pretend it is something else...

[@戰國春秋]

This should be viewed within context: 1980s was just after Cultural Revolution, of course there weren't many good stuffs back then. The salvaging was only just began, China was dirt poor, and nobody's sure which direction is the correct way forward. Heck even Sanda was still in its formation years in the 1980s. Not to mention, 1980s was the time when "qigong“ pseudoscience was all the craze in China which created far too many charlatans to count. The infamous Falun Gong cult was exactly a product of this era, and the damage can still be felt even today with so many "kungfu masters". These demonstrators in the documentary were more "whoever we can find and scourge together at the moment" than even half-serious practitioners. Many masters and lineage holders went into hiding during the CR and while countryside of China was largely unaffected by CR, it was probably beyond the budget of a documentary to seek and film them out one by one in a country as large as China (and the film crew probably didn't even know where to look for them).

[@FightCommentary]

Yeah. It sucks that the whole qigong craze further distorted some of the great stuff from Chinese culture. As someone that has practiced stuff like the microcosmic orbit from Daoism, I really wish that stuff was brought out, but I dont see any Chinese master ever mention stuff like that. But instead, it was all this bullshido stuff that was created by shysters. It’s always a dangerous time like in the 80s and 90s when there’s suddenly a marketplace of ideas. Its so easy to want quick results. We all can fall into that trap.

[@戰國春秋]

​@@FightCommentary As far as "Shaolin martial arts" is concerned, we know quite a lot about how it was like in the monastery during Ming period, because a fair amount of manuals survived and in widespread circulations, and thankfully they are not written in classical mumbojumbo. Ironically I don't think these are taught in modern Shaolin AFAIK, although there are a few Bingji (Chinese HEMA) guys trying to reconstruct the Shaolin staff form.

[@buck9668]

​ @1individeo Hi 1indie, KZbin twice disappeared my postings of this reply, so I'm forced to post it as an original comment but addressed to you. I didn't train from magazines, but kept abreast of what was happening in the martial arts community that way. The different styles, the different claims, the advent of full contact, etc. I learned about Gene LeBell and BJJ long before the UFC, for example. And I drank the Koolaid about the "internal power" of chi (qi), and so was shocked when the Taiwanese national kung fu team went to Thailand twice in two years in the mid-1970s and was easily destroyed both times by Thai kickboxers. I've forgotten most of the Spanish I once knew. But despite long hours of study and practice, over years, I was never capable of an extended conversation. And I had to give up my goal of authentic Mexican pronunciation / accent. Unless you hear a language a lot growing up, I don't think you'll be able even to hear some of the nuances of pronunciation. It was a lost cause for me. Cheers!

[@WhoThisMonkey]

The sound effects 😂

[@jakefarrell4184]

He should've done Jianshu instead of Daoshu.

[@joedrock2]

Since I do wing chun, take ur pick lol but one comes to mind, wc vs muy Thai and the guy stands there like a wet rag, gets super man jabbed then super man punched niceness hard!😢 it really just made me think he had a bad teacher tho!

[@ShaolinLT]

You are not right, in some old dao forms there are planty of 2 thingers.

[@CarlosRDumont]

The sound!!!!

[@FightCommentary]

It’s so funny because growing up watching kungfu movies I always heard these sounds but viewers not used to these movies are especially noticing the bad sound effects! It’s so funny how many viewers talk about that!

[@wizrom3046]

Next video; "MMA guy easily beats up Shaolin master, and Shaolin master even had a sword"

[@FightCommentary]

That would be hilarious.

[@francosalinas4459]

lol bro this is from like the 80’s. Shaolin Kung Fu has changed to adhere to more self defense situations thanks to the popularity of MMA

[@inregionecaecorum]

Yeah but the sound effects were impressive, just have to hear that and you will fall over :)

[@Joel-xt5yz]

these people made a basic logical and historical mistake. If the founder of Shaolin and Shaolin kungfu is an Indian guy, then why don't they just go to India to learn authentic Shaolin kungfu?

[@kevingray4980]

From what I've learned of people who have studied at Shaolin more recently, it's a good place to train and meet martial artists from all over the world. But it's not historically authentic. You're getting a hodgepodge of modern Chinese martial arts designed by the CCP to meet tourist expectations.

[@FightCommentary]

Yep. That’s what I heard too.

[@grounddragonmartialarts]

Look up Shaolin Xinyiba. That is the real Shaolin Gongfu.

[@furquan2792]

Bring back kyokushin reactions

[@dimitardonev9349]

Even as a kid I never found kung fu as anything more than cool entertaining movie effects.

[@saltygravy86]

Kung-Fu is legit.

[@GhostVanakin]

Hey I'm a northern shaolin practioner and not being rude but that doesn't look like the temple

[@AxeGaijin]

But...but... what about David Carradine my little grasshopper?!

[@FightCommentary]

I should react to some Carradine stuff!

[@gailvalleymartialarts]

How is this a documentary when they add sound effects and voice overs as if it was some kung fu movie for kids

[@FightCommentary]

Apparently there was another documentary around that time too that took similar stock footage and added similar sound effects. I will find that one and compare and contrast!

[@brammetjebramv6280]

Jerry , there are much better Shaolin documentaries that are for enthousiasts. This is for the broader audience , made by amateurs who do not know anything about wushu / kungfu. I have seen a few good ones but even there we can see that Shaolin is not at its highest peak anymore. Only logical. People do not have to fight against swords and spears too often anymore. People are lazy , like me. We will have to overcome that lazy feel good i want to chill mantality , if we want to achieve anything special... Grts

[@FightCommentary]

What are the other documentaries called?