Russia to get a Shaolin Kungfu Center
China and Russia have signed a letter of intent on the building of a Shaolin Kungfu center in Russia, which will be the first of its kind in Russia, and also the biggest overseas Kungfu center when completed.The Kungfu center will be built in the Republic of Kalmykija, and the president of Kalmykija promises that the land for the Kungfu center will be offered free of charge.
Kungfu is very popular in Russia nowadays, and many young people there have already joined various martial arts clubs. Putin, the Russian president, also contributed to the popularity of Kungfu.
Shi Xiao Guang, the young monk who once sat on Putin’s shoulders in a Kungfu demonstration, has become a famous pop idol in Russia. Last March, when he went to Russia to attend the opening ceremony of the Year of China, Shi was warmly welcomed by many Russian citizens, as well as the president himself.
Ancient kung-fu monk order turns rural property developer
This article was originally posted on Brisbane Times
“THE 1500-year-old Shaolin Temple, the home of kung-fu, lies in the Songshan mountains in central China, far from Shoalhaven, on the South Coast.
Under a plan that appears to have the NSW Government’s blessing, the famous Shaolin monks hope to build – at a cost of up to $800 million – a temple, martial arts and Chinese medicine complex, with a golf course, hotel and housing, seven kilometers from Jervis Bay.
The 1200-hectare development site is a former dairy and pine plantation owned by Shoalhaven City Council.
The plans have not been released, but include a three-tier temple with room for up to 100 resident monks, a kung-fu academy for 500 students, a 1500-seat exhibition hall and a Chinese herbal medicine centre. For those less spiritually inclined, there will also be a 27-hole golf course, a 500-room hotel and a 500-lot housing subdivision.
Bizarre as it sounds – and the proposal has already attracted opposition from local Christians – the NSW Tourism Minister, Matt Brown, who first suggested that NSW could be an ideal site for the temple, spent two days at the Shaolin Temple this week. He met the Abbot of Shaolin, Shi Yong Xin, to assure him the NSW Government will do whatever it can for the project.
“It will be the first time in 1500 years that another Shaolin temple will be built and to have it built in Australia is a huge coup,” Mr Brown said yesterday from Shanghai, where he is working on promoting tourism to Sydney.
Mr Brown said the next step was for the abbot to appoint a consultant in Sydney to act on the temple’s behalf and negotiate.
The Shaolin monks last year signed an option to buy the 1200 hectares from the council subject to planning and other approvals. The sale’s origin was a conversation between Mr Brown, whose Kiama electorate takes in about a third of Shoalhaven, and Shoalhaven’s Mayor, Greg Watson. Mr Brown told him the abbott was looking for land to build a temple complex.”
Kung Fu Cowboy Free
Filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee have spent their lives capturing the world in and around New York City. Last year, Michael Mann won acclaim for accurately depicting L.A. in his hitman drama Collateral. What about everywhere else? There’s no one out there showing the real Dallas. The place I call home is represented by grinning cowboy industrialists with huge belt buckles or spitting rednecks who sacrifice their children’s education for games of high school football. New York gets The 25th Hour, Dallas gets Serving Sara. What do we know about Baltimore, or Indianapolis? Does anyone care? The closest anyone’s gotten to capturing my town is Mike Judge with Office Space. Great movie, but a sad commentary on Hollywood’s bi-coastal bias. That’s the real Dallas, and it isn’t run by Larry Hagman. It’s time for filmmakers to broaden out. There’s nothing Hollywood loves more than making movies about itself, but give the rest of us a chance. Give folks a chance to see that Dallas is a shallow, rotting, festering boil of shallow consumerism and chronic eating out. While you’re at it, show the good things too… if you can find them. I’d start looking in the suburbs. Everything isn’t bigger and better in Texas and no Mr. Norris, our cowboys (what few there are) don’t know Karate.
China Kung fu temple switches on to reality TV
China’s ancient Shaolin Temple, made famous in the West by Grasshopper in the 1970s Kung Fu television series, is entering the age of reality TV with a show of its own.Chinese Kung Fu Star Search will invite viewers to vote for their favourite martial arts masters by text messages or through the Internet after each episode, due to hit living rooms across China in March, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.
“Regardless of nationality, skin colour or style, anyone who practises Chinese kung fu is welcome to take part,” Xinhua said. 
“But all contestants must be men and Shaolin monks are not allowed to participate.”
The eight-month contest is aiming to knock the “Inner Mongolian Cow Sour Yoghurt Supergirl” show from top spot in China’s ratings.
More than 400 million of China’s 1.3 billion people tuned in to August’s final round of the Supergirl competition, a Chinese version of the American Idol show.
In the Shaolin show, judges and viewers will rank contestants by virtue, kung fu and artistry until they settle on a final 108, the same number as the rebellious heroes from the classic Chinese novel, Outlaws of the Marsh.
The finalists would then get the chance to perform alongside “top international actors” in a big-budget movie and television series based on true stories from the 1,500-year-old temple in central Henan province, Xinhua said.
To read more check out Hindustan
The Most Essential Techniques Of Shaolin Kung Fu.
Shaolin Kung Fu is one of the most popular and respected martial arts because of its history and realistic applications. However, Shaolin Kung Fu is very complicated and has a lot of moves to learn. Using a Shaolin training DVD can help a practicing martial artist learn the moves and techniques in their own home and have the movements captured on video to be seen again and again. It is hard to pick up moves from only a few demonstrations, and a teacher rarely has enough free …
To read more check out Business Portal
Mangachapters: Kung Fu Klutz & Karate Cool
Mr. Charlie #114 takes a look at the latest title in TOKYOPOP’s “mangachapters” format:
TOKYOPOP
KUNG FU KLUTZ & KARATE COOL
WRITER: Mark Seidenberg
ARTIST: Erich Owen
CREATOR: D.J. Milky
ISBN: 978-1-59816-052-9; paperback
96 pp. B&W, $4.99
TOKYOPOP’s publishing format, the mangachapter, is a hybrid of the illustrated juvenile novel (such as The Chronicles of Narnia or Lemony Snicket) and Manga. This is essentially a prose novelette with both spot and full-page illustrations, but at certain moments in the story, the narrative morphs from prose into comics (or Manga). These moments of comix (sequential art) outburst can be as short as one page or as long as six pages. What the reader gets is an illustrated novel with some comic book sequences dropped in here and there.
The third title in this format is Kung Fu Klutz & Karate Cool, created by the prolific writer and musician D.J. Milky (one of the people behind the Princess Ai manga). Mark Seidenberg, a veteran writer and producer in the TV animation industry provides the text and comic script with comic book art and illustrations drawn by Erich Owen, the artist on the OEL manga, Mail Order Ninja (TOKYOPOP).
Marvin Klutzer is probably the clumsiest kid at William Clarke Elementary School. His only friend is fellow geek Ulysses Rodriguez, but Marvin has plenty of adversaries. The main problem comes in the form of Henry “Hank” Howell, a husky bully a year older than Marvin. Marvin has an active fantasy life, and in his mind he can take on Hank, but in reality, his tormentor wins every time.
When Marvin and Ulysses happen upon the grand opening of Master Wong’s Academy of Karate, Marvin realizes that learning karate may be the answer to put an end to Hank’s bullying. Marvin, however, has trouble following Master Wong’s doctrine of learning through patience. He wants to be good now, and believes that he is good… now. His active imagination even creates a new persona – Vin Dragon, a young martial arts hotshot who is “karate cool.” However, after his next confrontation with Hank, Marvin earns another derisive moniker, “Kung Fu Klutz.” Will Marvin finally take Master Wong’s advice and learn to use patience?
To read more check out:
The Buddha had lousy kung fu
The martial arts memoirs Bruce Lee and Me and American Shaolin are the stuff of glorious fantasy, writes Steven Poole .
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Mills’ Kung-Fu lessons to keep paparazzi at bay!
Washington, Apr 3: Heather Mills is planning to get tough with the paparazzi if they don’t stop hounding her, and she’s even taking Kung-Fu lessons to leave them in no doubt.
Sir Paul McCartney’s estranged wife learnt about protecting herself the hard way, especially after being grabbed by a paparazzo while pregnant with Macca’s daughter Beatrice.
“He came up to me and he grabbed me and I couldn’t knock him out… I said, ‘What are you doing?’ and he said, ‘Turn round love, just a bum and belly shot,’” Contactmusic quoted her, as saying.
Mills insists that it was that day when she made up her mind to learn martial arts so that she would never be manhandled by a persky photog ever again.
“I thought, ‘Ooh, I’m gonna learn martial arts, so next time I can whip your butt,’” she revealed.
To read more check out Daily India
The house comes down as kung-fu man gives up fight
In the end the “nail house” of Chongqing, so called because its proud owners refused to be hammered down by Chinese developers, went less with a bang and more of a whimper.
The isolated dwelling, perched on an island of earth surrounded by a moat at least 10 m (33ft) deep, had become a symbol of defiance in the face of the country’s breakneck modernisation, while the couple who lived there gained folk hero status in China for refusing to make way for a planned shopping centre.
Wu Ping, a kung-fu teacher, and his restaurateur wife Yang Wu had rejected compensation offers and instead demanded five million yuan (£327,000) and a house of the same size, height and exposure as their old one. Such a payment would represent a small fortune in China.
In the end, they packed up their belongings and shuffled away from their two-storey brick home after finally accepting the offer of a new home the same size as their old one. Moments later, with merciless accuracy, an excavator scaled the parapet on which the house stood and began to knock it down, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Last week a court ordered the couple to join the other 280 residents who had lived on their block and leave by next week or face forcible removal and in the end, they bowed to the excavators and bulldozers and settled for the offer of an apartment.
“I wanted to safeguard my dignity and lawful rights,” said Wu Ping.
Internet commentators and editorial writers had championed the couple and they were supported by 85 per cent of those surveyed on the issue by the Sina website. Local residents were sympathetic, but ultimately fatalistic.
“Common people can’t win against the developers. We shouldn’t make trouble for the government,” said Li Deshun.
The stand-off had a broader political significance because China passed a landmark property law last month which guaranteed the protection of private property. There are signs that the legacy of the Chongqing “nail house” may produce more defiance in the face of development.
Beijing authorities said yesterday they had demolished another “nail house” at the construction site of the new China Central Television (CCTV) Tower, which is half-finished.
The CCTV tower was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and is part of the city’s expansion plans for next year’s Olympics.
To read more check out The Independent
Good training equipment is hard to find.
not always though…and it does not have to be expensive:
First off I want to start by saying that I am always on the lookout for new and great workout equipment.
I have found a very interesting training partner.
The Martial Arm, and I tell you this much, It is great.
I first looked on the website and was thinking that maybe I should not get it because…well the photos…but I decided to spend the money anyway.
But when it arrived, low and behold, to my surprise…
It was well worth buying.
the backboard has been updated and it appears to be 3/4 inch plywood covered on one side by a hard foam, harder than seats but softer than shipping foam. It was very nice. Not to mention the fact that I was expecting this grey thing and what I got appears to be hand sewn black vinyl and the brackets….well lets say bracket…it comes with a 1 peice stainless steel bracket that fits between the backboard and the arm. It looks sweet with the black vinyl and stainless steel…almost like a peice of art work sitting on my wall that I can hit.
The arm is better than I ever though too. It is also the same black vinyl but it ilso looks hand sewn and also the foam is shaped like a real arm….It is my under standing that the arm is made of steel and has a spring for the shoulder where it bolts to the backboard and a spring where the elbow is. It just plainly looks great and works too… the arm can rotate but I just leave it in a blocking position and work on getting around it…Its great too because of the spring in the elbow it hits back.
It is a great work out tool because you can hit with full force and it does not complain. I remember using a friend to spar with and lets just say he complains all the time then on top of that I have to wait for him to be available…now with the Martial Arm…my sparing partner is bolted to my wall.
Now I am just going on and on but I will tell you this much, I am now glad that I bout the Martial Arm as it was definitely worth the money. I would say buy it. And if you run a dojo or gym, buy one too…you will like it and those that have memberships and your students will like it too. It helps with training those harder moves especially when you don’t want todo it out in the visibility of others.
I personaly love the Martial Arm and you can buy it on line at http://www.martialarm.com/
P.Mc Millon left this testimonial:
“I had given up on my karate training a few years ago, I was just too busy. I had always regretted it but when we began to use your training machine I really got excited. Now I am back in the Dojo and we have martialarms set up on the walls.”
T. Tabosa wrote:
“The martialarm is the ultimate martial arts training device, bar none ! This training partner will definitely change the way all attack based martial arts develop. Incredible machine for those who train hard.”
And if you want a 15% discount for the new design go here http://www.shop.martialarm.net/
This was taken from their site:
”
Your Own Personal Training Partner – Hangs Right on Your Wall!
The traditional wooden dummy is quite bulky and requires a big chunk of space to set it up properly for training. That’s fine if you have a big training hall, but you probably don’t have that much space to devote to your training.
The Martialarm fits into even the smallest training areas.
With its compact design, it’s easy to make space for it, even if you live in a tiny bachelor’s apartment! Or if you have a training hall, the Martialarm is small enough for you to put up a bunch of them so more students can benefit from training with them.
It’s very easy to set up and it hangs conveniently on your wall, ready and waiting for your next urge to train.”
And you can read their blog at http://martialarm.blogspot.com/
Well I hop this helps someone find the right gear.
Latter,
Nick
