Yeah, What He Said

[the_gneech]

His technique is not great—clearly he will not win one of the top three prizes—but he moves with a certain grace. As he slowly moves the pudao around his body, pacing up and down the mat, his back bent, it occurs to me that he has been practicing this form for at least the last 60 years, which means he was practicing it during the Japanese invasion, during the Civil War, during the ban on kung fu, during the Cultural Revolution, and during this capitalist explosion in wealth. From the roughness of his hands and the deep wrinkled tan of his face, he has been either a farmer or a manual laborer his entire life, a tough, dusk-to-dawn, back-breaking life. But somehow he has found the time to keep at this form.

All this rolls over me in a wave of unexpected emotion. And as I take his picture, I find myself having to keep the camera against my face to hide the flow of tears, which, loosed by the baijiou and mixed with the emotion of seeing my master again, won't stop. When I was 21 what I admired most was the tremendous skill of the monks. I wanted to be that good at something, anything. But as I watch this old man, what I am most impressed with is the devotion. It is what has allowed this culture to survive (and now thrive) despite the traumas. As he finishes his form, what I want is to love something, anything as much as he so obviously loves Shaolin kung fu.

-The Gneech

Comments

[ex-space-wol421.livejournal.com]

It's easy to click on that....

Whoa!!

[kailucidricwolf.livejournal.com]

We have the same LJ ICON!! thats.. Totaly cool!!

As for the artical. that was rather cool. an informative.

One day, it will be about Gneech! An we can say "We knew that guy!!"

^~Kai

Re: Whoa!!

[titanic.livejournal.com]

In your case, though, it's hard to tell it is an actual sign, though it is easier to read.

well.. yea

[kailucidricwolf.livejournal.com]

well when i found the original picture. i wanted to make it look like a sign. but you couldnt read the finer print.
Also, the edges didnt look all that sharp.
so i decided to just get a tighter shot. which gave it more clarity, an gave the edges more 'sharpness' since LJ icons have to be exactly square.

^~Kai

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Well, that was the point, wasn't it? :)

-The Gneech