Plans for school to teach the ways of Shaolin monks

THE way of Shaolin is to be brought to the West under the direction of a Tiverton man who will enable local people to train with warrior monks.

Olly Renon, who lives in Tiverton, has spent time at the Shaolin Tze Seng-Fu Hou Bei Dai in Henan Province in China, learning from the masters.

Although most associated with a form of kung-fu, there is much more to Shaolin teaching than martial arts, and Olly says he wants the school he plans to set up to reflect that.

Olly said he has been asked by the Shaolin monks to open a school to spread the word of Shaolin and help promote cultural exchanges.

Olly said: "I spent 10 years in China and I visit every year, so it is the place I call home. It means more to me than anything else in the world."

The routine at the monastery requires great discipline, said Olly.

"The monks get up at 4am for meditation and run up the mountain before breakfast. They then do more endurance training in the morning and in the afternoon concentrate on weapons training until perhaps 9 or 11 at night — and they do that 365 days a year," he said.

He said the monks did not reject all aspects of the modern world. They have mobile phones, for example and respond to emails, but they were not materialistic in outlook.

Shaolin monks and their pupils would travel to the school every couple of months for periods of around two weeks at a time said Olly.

Olly himself is a 32nd generation disciple of Shi De Yang, who he describe as the most respected living Shaolin monk in the world.

Olly said the school would offer instruction for up to four hours an evening in meditation, Tai Chi, Shaolin medicine, Chinese culture and language and the techniques of Chinese kick-boxing and Shaolin Gong Fu.

A small fee for the classes would be charged said Olly, with any surplus profits from the running of the centre going back to the temple in China, where the monks, many of them orphans, have no electricity and live on rice.

The Shaolin Temple where 27-year-old Olly studied is the original Ch'an sect Buddhist Monastery and birthplace of Gong Fu and Ch'an, better known throughout the world as Zen.

Olly said anyone could benefit from applying aspects of Shaolin teaching to their lives.

"People think they can't fit in with Shaolin because they aren't fit, but Shaolin is a lifestyle. It embraces Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism.

"Everyone has got something like 83 or 84 problems, and there is something in Shaolin for everyone," he explained.

The benefits of practicing Shaolin could include improved mental awareness, an active healthy body and a calm sense of well being, he says.

One of Olly's followers is Mick Fenwick, who said he was facing problems with his business and personal life when he embraced Shaolin techniques around six months ago.

Mick said: "It has totally changed my way of thinking and my way of life. I am a much better person all round. I turned 40 in October and learning Shaolin at this age has been an amazingly uplifting experience. I think this is such a huge opportunity for the people of Tiverton."

Olly added: "Shaolin doesn't turn you into something you are not, but it takes from you all the things which make you feel jaded."

Olly said he was still looking for a suitable premises to locate his Shaolin school, which he hoped to have opened by the monks in October. Ideally it would be close to town so it was accessible, but not in the centre where noise could interrupt the peaceful atmosphere.

He said he hoped if he could secure a building on several floors, he could have a dedicated library with training books and DVDs, a meditation area, and a martial arts studio.

Olly said anyone who could suggest a suitable venue or wanted to learn more about Shaolin could contact him at damocave@live.co.uk.