Meeting the Head Abbot of the Shaolin Temple is lot like meeting the Pope. One’s a German with a five hundred dollar hat and seems to be in charge of all of God’s money. The other is a little guy in a plain gold robe, surrounded by a bunch of other little guys in plain robes, and they all look like they go to the same barber.
One represents the Catholic Church, has millions of followers and people who practice and study every day; the other represents the Shaolin Temple and the Shaolin Arts, also has millions of followers who also practice everyday.
Two very powerful and influential men. While I haven’t met the Pope, just watching the man on television, you can almost see the energy radiating from the guy. The Head Abbot of the Shaolin Temple has that same vibe.
I’ll never forget the first time I was in the presence of the Head Abbot of the Shaolin Temple.
It’s like having a flashback to one of your earliest memories – when you’re about four or five – and you meet one of your superheroes from television, or that famous uncle of yours that always drives a sports car and shows up only at Thanksgiving.
Your eyes go wide; your breathing gets shallow because your chest is tight, your hands get sweaty and you hope that the person doesn’t ask you a question - you’re afraid you might barf on him instead of answer.
I first saw him in 2001 at the dinner where the Head Abbot presented the Professor with the Shaolin Secrets – the Ten Ancient Training Manuscripts from the Shaolin Temple. I met him again in 2006 when I was part of a group that trained at the Shaolin Temple.
And two weeks ago, I was able to meet him personally and present him with a gift. After the exchange, the Head Abbot was kind enough to pose for a picture with myself, the Professor and Grandmaster DeMasco.
It was an honor for me; a once-in-a-lifetime event where I was able to spend time with someone that could be considered a Head of State or Dignitary. In the case of the Head Abbot, you could say that he, along with the Shaolin Temple, is one of the most influential people in the martial arts – ever.
That is something that I hope you get the chance to do someday. To meet someone that you admire and look up to.
Maybe you’re the type of person who likes to read and your heroes are historical figures that have influenced the world through their actions.
Lincoln, Churchill, Rommel, Gandhi, King…any one of them can be someone you admire and study.
If your hero isn’t alive, there’s only one way to study and learn from them, and that’s through the writings and teachings they left behind, or studies that others have done of them.
Maybe you want to learn more about the Head Abbot of the Shaolin Temple and the Shaolin Arts. If you can’t leave your job and go to China, there is another alternative.
Go to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com and get the Shaolin Secrets Volume I: Shaolin Feats of Martial Arts, or Shaolin Secrets Volume II: Shaolin Fist Law.
These are the first two of the ten volumes from the ancient training manuscripts from the Shaolin Temple of China. The very same training manuscripts used by the Shaolin Temple to train the legendary Warrior Monks for over fifteen hundred years.
You may never get a chance to meet the Head Abbot. It might not work out that you get to travel to China and train at the Shaolin Temple.
By going to http://www.shaolinsecrets.com you can do the next best thing. Go there today.
Best,
William Huff