The Shaolin Zone

[Drunk Monk]

Oh damnation…

[Greg]

China is here, Mr. Burton.

[Drunk Monk]

Right after I got home from the Monterey Jazz Festival, an old friend from MQ6, the award-winning photographer who got a blue ribbon for a pic of me last year, texts me about Sutra coming to Cal Performances. This is the longest running Shaolin show, a fusion with modern dance, that has been running for 17 years. I contacted Cal about press passes and secured them, along with an interview with the choreographer. Mind you, I've never seen this show. I've always wanted to see it. 

Had a great interview - my second choreographer this month (more on the other soon). Dancers can really talk about the art of movement. I finished it late last week and just hours after I turned it in, I got word that the show was cancelled. 

Damnation.

The official reason for cancellation is that one of the main players got injured. An inside monk source says none of the monks were granted visas because he was scheduled to host them too (so he claims). The choreographer said he had the blessing of the new abbot, but I'm thinking, well, perhaps not. 

We're still going with the interview with the blessings of Cal Performances. It'll drop today or tomorrow. You'll see it on my socials. 

Right now, I'm working through an article for our new magazine on Shaolin and what's happened since the pandemic. Unfortunately my previous coverage is all offline and I'm too lazy to dig through my submissions files so I'm trying to do it by memory and notes on the KFM forum, pix on facebook (mine & KFM's) and some notes here. I swear, huge chunks of my memory are now online. When the web goes down, so shall many of the finer points of my memory.

[Drunk Monk]

And we’re back.
Same group that put on the Houston event ( https://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFo...1#pid73661 ) is doing another next week in Denver. My master won’t be coming out, but others will. I’m told we’re all going to be housed in an AirB&B together. We shall see how that goes…

I just realized that I’ve been in the Shaolin zone for a week now. One of the great grandmasters passed away recently and I’ve been wrestling with his obit for KFM. I had to dive back into my handwritten journal to finish it last night. Made me reflect on my Shaolin 99 trip which was when I went for the festival and was traveling solo until I connected with RZA and headed to Wudang.

[thatguy]

I’ve been wrestling with his obit

Be water...

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

My handwritten ‘99 journal began with the essays that I had the cfs write about each other before I solemnized their wedding. It was a meditation akin to what the zen nun who married Stacy & me. I took a copy to Shaolin and burned it in one of their offering censures. Rediscovering that reminded me that I needed to check in with them today. Just came from there and am enjoying a quick bite at garden fresh before heading over hwy17…

[Drunk Monk]

I’ll be dropping that obit this morning.

Yesterday, I lead a photo shoot with Fong Sifu who recently returned from Wu Bin’s birthday which was a major affair. He enticed me with a potential interview with my master’s first ex-wife. He and another sibling (elder brother) are in contact with her in SF. She was actually the favorite of my grandmaster and allegedly the teacher of many of the leading Bak Sil Lum masters (Northern Shaolin) in the US. There are many stories - my memory of her is fleeting. I never saw her Kung Fu because it was when she was stepping down. She hasn’t taught for some 50 years, but many of my elder brothers still respect her and take her out to dim sum every month or so. I’ve been invited but it’s always like a weekday afternoon because they’re all retired. Besides I’m sure it’s all in canto, and my Buddhist dietary restrictions always becomes an issue. But man, what a story. She was there for so much Hong Kong KF history. I really hope to get her interview, to document it, because it’ll be lost if I don’t. 

Fong Sihing will be in Denver this weekend.