03-30-2009, 11:02 AM
Once again, I’ve traversed across the wormhole into Drunk Monk’s Martial Arts world. My wood butchery skills rarely translate into the realm of Shaolin Monks, but here I am with scribe in one one hand and camera in the other traipsing around after men in grey and brown robes.
The week started off auspiciously enough. I went to a Press Conference with venerable Abbot Shi Yon Xin. For unknown reasons, the people in charge of the visit here in the Southland thought I should have a one on one interview with the leader of 1500 years of martial arts tradition. I don’t speak Mandarin. He doesn’t speak English. It went well. I think he had more fun talking to the translator. Eventually, I got through the interview. I heard the Abbot speak at the Bowers Museum. I shot a ton of photographs of the demonstrations. I even got some videos, which I posted on line. I was a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Granted, I was a really big slow cat, but I was in there. What I’m trying to say is I was hopping.
![[Image: image.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image.jpg)
I went to my first Taking Refuge ceremony. I photographed the Abbot inaugurating the first Shaolin Temple here in Los Angeles. It’s all about branding, people. Use it or Lose it.
The thrill waned mid-week. The Abbot returned to China despite some events left on the Shaolin Tour dance card. The Director of the Shaolin Temple, Lee Li and two of the four traveling monks were left behind to do a lecture at the Pacific Asia Museum. For the Abbot, five hundred people attended, many including photographers, were standing in the aisles. The director got about fifty. Sit where you like.
I gamely made way to the Anaheim Convention center for the Shaolin demonstration that was to be held during the Disney Martial Arts tournament. I talked to the Disney rep, so I had a free pass. As a first aside, if you are going to have a tournament like this, does it really make sense to charge admission to spectators? You aren’t getting a lot of people off the streets coming to watch eleven and twelve year olds hit each other or do forms. You’re asking parents to shell out yet more money after they’ve paid tournament participation fees to watch their children perform.
The demo was the nadir of the week. It wasn’t really announced. I don’t think people were aware that it was actually occurring unless they walked by and happened to see Master Xu and a couple of his students. He had about nine people. I shot my shots, because I was there. It was nothing to write home. It looked like the grand Shaolin Tour, which had started so promisingly at the Bowers Museum whimpered to a sad death in the bowels of the Anaheim Convention center.
![[Image: image-2.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image-2.jpg)
At this point, I was done with the Shaolin experience. I was sick of driving down the 5 past Highway 91. It’s a twenty-mile journey that takes two hours. I had already done this joyful drive three times. I’d be happy never to go to Orange County again. Unfortunately, there was still one more item left: The demonstration and parade inside Disneyland.
When the PomDaddy first told me the Abbot of the Shaolin temple was going to go to Disneyland, I was frothing at the mouth to follow him around, snapping pictures. I dreamt of some candid shots of the Abbot on Splash Mountain or inside the Haunted Mansion. I couldn’t sleep I was so excited. As the week wore on and I saw the writing on the wall that Abbot would be gone before the planned trip to Disney, my excitement did cool. It was balanced by the fact that I had a press pass for the trip. I was going to get in the Mouse House gratis.
After the events at the Pacific Asia Museum and Convention Center, my enthusiasm had turned to ice. It approached Kelvin when Rick, the Disney rep, warned me I had to get there two hours early in order to get in the park. Crowds at Disney over the weekend were huge. Can you see where this is heading? Plus, there had only been Sifu Xu at the convention center. I was afraid he’d be the only one at Disney, too. My job was to get pictures of the visiting Shaolin monks in action, not the expatriates living here in the United States.
Sunday, the day of the event came and I pondered long and hard about actually going. It came down to the fact I had a free ticket. I’d never had a free ticket before. That kind of clinched it. I loaded up my camera. I left the video camera in the bag, despite the fact Rick had told me I couldn’t shoot video. He also said I couldn’t shoot any of the costumed characters. Old habits die hard. I brought the video camera.
The trip south only took an hour and half. It was going really well until the accident blocked the freeway near the 91. The lines at the parking structure weren’t horrendous, but the only spots were on the roof in the Minnie section. I left the video camera in the car. I didn’t want to wait for an hour and a half to get my ticket and then be turned away by security because of my camera.
I arrived at the park a little before three. I got into the park a little after three. The longest wait was for the tram at the parking garage. They only gave my camera bag a cursory glance as they ushered me through the security checkpoint. I walked right up to the guest services window where they gave me a park hopper pass. I could go to both California Adventure and Disneyland if I had the inkling. I wish I were sixteen so this ticket would not be such a waste.
One more aside. I think Orange County and Disneyland have formed a pack to drive Knott’s Berry Farm out of business. The worst section of road work on the Five is where you need to exit for Knott’s. It’s hard to tell even where to get off for that park. At that spot, there is a maze of concrete barricades and relined freeway lines and abrupt signs for the exits. Once you get passed there, it’s six lanes of smooth sailing concrete. You see hundreds of signs for the Disney resort and the off ramp takes you right into the Disney Parking structure. I’m just saying. One park has beautiful access. The other has the labyrinth. You make the call.
I’m in Disneyland with two hours to kill. I find the dumpy little spot near Sleeping Beauty’s Castle where they are going to hold the Martial Arts demonstration. Okay, it’s not dumpy but it is small and kind of off the beaten path. It’s on the short cut from Fantasy Land to Frontier Land. I keep hoping for a grander stage for the Kung Fu demonstrations. It’s Shaolin Temple! Shouldn’t they be front and center at Carnegie?
![[Image: image-3.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image-3.jpg)
In the two hours I had to kill, I wandered the park taking photographs. I was going to do photos of woman falling out of their tops, but I didn’t think I would have enough memory cards to do that photo survey justice. I read a magazine. I kept an eye on the theater in case a huge crowd suddenly appeared. Even with twenty minutes to go, I still had all the access I needed. I was ready to take a few snaps and beat my retreat. I had to get to the airport and pick up The Queen.
Then it changed. At 5, the crowd finally thickened. A group of Disney Handlers and photographers started their crowd massage.
The Shaolin group started the bill. Two of Shi Xu’s students started the show. Then the two remaining Monks from China. Shi Zo and Shi Kai did their performance. It ended with Shi Xu’s doing his Guan Do. They got a huge round of applause. They were far and away the best part of the performance. Second place went to a Wudang master. The rest was kids and groups from the Saturday’s Martial Arts tournament. It ended slow with a performance of a hip hop Martial Arts demonstration. I think it was just three guys jumping around without any rhyme or reason.
I found Director Lee and Beng from the Temple City Shaolin Temple. I floated the idea that it would be nice to get some shots of the monks around the park. Director Lee agreed. I went to excited on the enthusiasm scale. My dream of pictures of monks enjoying Disneyland was coming to fruition.
At this point, I sort of became part of the Martial Arts demonstration entourage. I went behind the scenes at Disneyland. How often do you get to do that? The next event for the evening was a parade down main street for the members of the demonstration teams and the kids from Saturday’s tournament..
I only got in trouble once when I took a picture of the monks in the holding area behind Main Street. The Disney people frown on pictures behind the scenes. They eventually shooed the people that weren’t part of the parade out of the holding area and out onto main street.
![[Image: image-4.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image-4.jpg)
They were roping off the street. Disney was treating this like it was a real event as opposed to something they were contractually obligated to perform.
The parade was short. It lasted about a block of Main Street. But if you put up the ropes, people will sit down to watch. It was packed along Main street, as the Dragon troupe turned the corner and headed towards Sleeping Beauty’s castle. I though they were just going to march and wave, but half way through the course, the Parade stopped. Master Xu and Master Yan Kai started to do some forms. The crowd was ecstatic by this very energetic performance. I don’t think Yan Zo got into the spirit. He stood in the center of the street and looked inscrutable. I heard one excited parent exclaim about the great Karate being performed in front of them. I almost turned. I almost spoke. I let it go. Here were thousands of middle Americans being exposed to Kung Fu. I was excited. Finally, Shaolin was getting the audience it deserved.
![[Image: image-5.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image-5.jpg)
The parade continued on, back into the holding area. I was left on the street. I headed over to Tomorrow Land where they were supposed to be released. They weren’t there. I did a little panic. I though I’d missed my chance at the Disney Monk conjunction photograph. Crap.
After several patrols, the Monks appeared. Director Li said it was now my time to photograph. I envisioned wandering around for the evening and shooting hundreds of pictures. They told me to a pick spot. Beggars and choosers. We headed for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. I took some stand ups. Nothing too exciting, but I had the conjunction photograph. It turned out to be a family snap rather than my NatGeo cover. It was the compromise photo. The Monks were off to their next engagement.
![[Image: image-6.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image-6.jpg)
I followed them towards the main gate. I tried to get Director Li to stop at the Walt and Mickey statue, but he gave me the head shake. It had been a long week for his group. They were flying home on Monday and all they had was one more appointment and they would be done.
![[Image: image-7.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image-7.jpg)
At the Fire Engine house, the group stopped for a bathroom break. Shi Yan Kai, amazingly pulled out his own camera for some shots of the Celebrate Disney Parade that had just started behind him. Since I was standing there, he handed me the camera to take his picture with the parade as a background.
![[Image: image-8.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image-8.jpg)
Naturally, since he was posing, I took a picture with my camera which I still had hopefully in my hand. Shi Kai was very gracious.
Since Shi Kai had his picture had his picture snapped, you might as well take a picture of Shi Xu, right? Wait a second, why not take a picture of Shi Zo, too? Snap. Ah, Bliss. Suddenly I was doing group shots in front of the train station. I almost made them go over to the canon where a famous Doom photograph was made twenty years ago. I contained myself and took what I could.
![[Image: image-9.jpg]](http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/Images_Global/gregForum/image-9.jpg)
The last shots I took were on the tram to the parking lot. I handed out my card and made promises to send my new monk friends the pictures.
In the end, it was my favorite day of the tour. I spent a lot of time talking with Director Li about Shaolin Kung Fu in America. I got to take some photos of monks in Disneyland. I got to go behind the scenes. And I got to do it for free. What’s not to like about that?
The week started off auspiciously enough. I went to a Press Conference with venerable Abbot Shi Yon Xin. For unknown reasons, the people in charge of the visit here in the Southland thought I should have a one on one interview with the leader of 1500 years of martial arts tradition. I don’t speak Mandarin. He doesn’t speak English. It went well. I think he had more fun talking to the translator. Eventually, I got through the interview. I heard the Abbot speak at the Bowers Museum. I shot a ton of photographs of the demonstrations. I even got some videos, which I posted on line. I was a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Granted, I was a really big slow cat, but I was in there. What I’m trying to say is I was hopping.
I went to my first Taking Refuge ceremony. I photographed the Abbot inaugurating the first Shaolin Temple here in Los Angeles. It’s all about branding, people. Use it or Lose it.
The thrill waned mid-week. The Abbot returned to China despite some events left on the Shaolin Tour dance card. The Director of the Shaolin Temple, Lee Li and two of the four traveling monks were left behind to do a lecture at the Pacific Asia Museum. For the Abbot, five hundred people attended, many including photographers, were standing in the aisles. The director got about fifty. Sit where you like.
I gamely made way to the Anaheim Convention center for the Shaolin demonstration that was to be held during the Disney Martial Arts tournament. I talked to the Disney rep, so I had a free pass. As a first aside, if you are going to have a tournament like this, does it really make sense to charge admission to spectators? You aren’t getting a lot of people off the streets coming to watch eleven and twelve year olds hit each other or do forms. You’re asking parents to shell out yet more money after they’ve paid tournament participation fees to watch their children perform.
The demo was the nadir of the week. It wasn’t really announced. I don’t think people were aware that it was actually occurring unless they walked by and happened to see Master Xu and a couple of his students. He had about nine people. I shot my shots, because I was there. It was nothing to write home. It looked like the grand Shaolin Tour, which had started so promisingly at the Bowers Museum whimpered to a sad death in the bowels of the Anaheim Convention center.
At this point, I was done with the Shaolin experience. I was sick of driving down the 5 past Highway 91. It’s a twenty-mile journey that takes two hours. I had already done this joyful drive three times. I’d be happy never to go to Orange County again. Unfortunately, there was still one more item left: The demonstration and parade inside Disneyland.
When the PomDaddy first told me the Abbot of the Shaolin temple was going to go to Disneyland, I was frothing at the mouth to follow him around, snapping pictures. I dreamt of some candid shots of the Abbot on Splash Mountain or inside the Haunted Mansion. I couldn’t sleep I was so excited. As the week wore on and I saw the writing on the wall that Abbot would be gone before the planned trip to Disney, my excitement did cool. It was balanced by the fact that I had a press pass for the trip. I was going to get in the Mouse House gratis.
After the events at the Pacific Asia Museum and Convention Center, my enthusiasm had turned to ice. It approached Kelvin when Rick, the Disney rep, warned me I had to get there two hours early in order to get in the park. Crowds at Disney over the weekend were huge. Can you see where this is heading? Plus, there had only been Sifu Xu at the convention center. I was afraid he’d be the only one at Disney, too. My job was to get pictures of the visiting Shaolin monks in action, not the expatriates living here in the United States.
Sunday, the day of the event came and I pondered long and hard about actually going. It came down to the fact I had a free ticket. I’d never had a free ticket before. That kind of clinched it. I loaded up my camera. I left the video camera in the bag, despite the fact Rick had told me I couldn’t shoot video. He also said I couldn’t shoot any of the costumed characters. Old habits die hard. I brought the video camera.
The trip south only took an hour and half. It was going really well until the accident blocked the freeway near the 91. The lines at the parking structure weren’t horrendous, but the only spots were on the roof in the Minnie section. I left the video camera in the car. I didn’t want to wait for an hour and a half to get my ticket and then be turned away by security because of my camera.
I arrived at the park a little before three. I got into the park a little after three. The longest wait was for the tram at the parking garage. They only gave my camera bag a cursory glance as they ushered me through the security checkpoint. I walked right up to the guest services window where they gave me a park hopper pass. I could go to both California Adventure and Disneyland if I had the inkling. I wish I were sixteen so this ticket would not be such a waste.
One more aside. I think Orange County and Disneyland have formed a pack to drive Knott’s Berry Farm out of business. The worst section of road work on the Five is where you need to exit for Knott’s. It’s hard to tell even where to get off for that park. At that spot, there is a maze of concrete barricades and relined freeway lines and abrupt signs for the exits. Once you get passed there, it’s six lanes of smooth sailing concrete. You see hundreds of signs for the Disney resort and the off ramp takes you right into the Disney Parking structure. I’m just saying. One park has beautiful access. The other has the labyrinth. You make the call.
I’m in Disneyland with two hours to kill. I find the dumpy little spot near Sleeping Beauty’s Castle where they are going to hold the Martial Arts demonstration. Okay, it’s not dumpy but it is small and kind of off the beaten path. It’s on the short cut from Fantasy Land to Frontier Land. I keep hoping for a grander stage for the Kung Fu demonstrations. It’s Shaolin Temple! Shouldn’t they be front and center at Carnegie?
In the two hours I had to kill, I wandered the park taking photographs. I was going to do photos of woman falling out of their tops, but I didn’t think I would have enough memory cards to do that photo survey justice. I read a magazine. I kept an eye on the theater in case a huge crowd suddenly appeared. Even with twenty minutes to go, I still had all the access I needed. I was ready to take a few snaps and beat my retreat. I had to get to the airport and pick up The Queen.
Then it changed. At 5, the crowd finally thickened. A group of Disney Handlers and photographers started their crowd massage.
The Shaolin group started the bill. Two of Shi Xu’s students started the show. Then the two remaining Monks from China. Shi Zo and Shi Kai did their performance. It ended with Shi Xu’s doing his Guan Do. They got a huge round of applause. They were far and away the best part of the performance. Second place went to a Wudang master. The rest was kids and groups from the Saturday’s Martial Arts tournament. It ended slow with a performance of a hip hop Martial Arts demonstration. I think it was just three guys jumping around without any rhyme or reason.
I found Director Lee and Beng from the Temple City Shaolin Temple. I floated the idea that it would be nice to get some shots of the monks around the park. Director Lee agreed. I went to excited on the enthusiasm scale. My dream of pictures of monks enjoying Disneyland was coming to fruition.
At this point, I sort of became part of the Martial Arts demonstration entourage. I went behind the scenes at Disneyland. How often do you get to do that? The next event for the evening was a parade down main street for the members of the demonstration teams and the kids from Saturday’s tournament..
I only got in trouble once when I took a picture of the monks in the holding area behind Main Street. The Disney people frown on pictures behind the scenes. They eventually shooed the people that weren’t part of the parade out of the holding area and out onto main street.
They were roping off the street. Disney was treating this like it was a real event as opposed to something they were contractually obligated to perform.
The parade was short. It lasted about a block of Main Street. But if you put up the ropes, people will sit down to watch. It was packed along Main street, as the Dragon troupe turned the corner and headed towards Sleeping Beauty’s castle. I though they were just going to march and wave, but half way through the course, the Parade stopped. Master Xu and Master Yan Kai started to do some forms. The crowd was ecstatic by this very energetic performance. I don’t think Yan Zo got into the spirit. He stood in the center of the street and looked inscrutable. I heard one excited parent exclaim about the great Karate being performed in front of them. I almost turned. I almost spoke. I let it go. Here were thousands of middle Americans being exposed to Kung Fu. I was excited. Finally, Shaolin was getting the audience it deserved.
The parade continued on, back into the holding area. I was left on the street. I headed over to Tomorrow Land where they were supposed to be released. They weren’t there. I did a little panic. I though I’d missed my chance at the Disney Monk conjunction photograph. Crap.
After several patrols, the Monks appeared. Director Li said it was now my time to photograph. I envisioned wandering around for the evening and shooting hundreds of pictures. They told me to a pick spot. Beggars and choosers. We headed for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. I took some stand ups. Nothing too exciting, but I had the conjunction photograph. It turned out to be a family snap rather than my NatGeo cover. It was the compromise photo. The Monks were off to their next engagement.
I followed them towards the main gate. I tried to get Director Li to stop at the Walt and Mickey statue, but he gave me the head shake. It had been a long week for his group. They were flying home on Monday and all they had was one more appointment and they would be done.
At the Fire Engine house, the group stopped for a bathroom break. Shi Yan Kai, amazingly pulled out his own camera for some shots of the Celebrate Disney Parade that had just started behind him. Since I was standing there, he handed me the camera to take his picture with the parade as a background.
Naturally, since he was posing, I took a picture with my camera which I still had hopefully in my hand. Shi Kai was very gracious.
Since Shi Kai had his picture had his picture snapped, you might as well take a picture of Shi Xu, right? Wait a second, why not take a picture of Shi Zo, too? Snap. Ah, Bliss. Suddenly I was doing group shots in front of the train station. I almost made them go over to the canon where a famous Doom photograph was made twenty years ago. I contained myself and took what I could.
The last shots I took were on the tram to the parking lot. I handed out my card and made promises to send my new monk friends the pictures.
In the end, it was my favorite day of the tour. I spent a lot of time talking with Director Li about Shaolin Kung Fu in America. I got to take some photos of monks in Disneyland. I got to go behind the scenes. And I got to do it for free. What’s not to like about that?
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit
