Conversations With The Last Shaolin Monk

I spent a lifetime studying the art of Shaolin Kung Fu, and I was dedicated to my art with the goal of perfecting and preserving all that was unique to the legendary Shaolin Temple in China. Though I had many Kung Fu friends in the Chinese communities within Chinatown, never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined going to visit the Shaolin Temple. However, in 1998, I had the very rare and honored privilege to meet Shi Wan Heng, a 78-year-old old monk from the venerated Shaolin Temple. Even at 78, due to his lifelong daily training regimen at the temple, his mind was as sharp as someone half his age, and his stamina was astounding. I was especially eager to meet with Shi Wan Heng, because he was one of the last of an era, a living relic from a place in time that would never be again, a time when the Shaolin Temple was cloistered, off limits to the outside world, and renowned for its legendary martial arts. When he passed from this world to the next, there would be no one left who could answer my questions about ancient Shaolin.
Our conversation is included in this book.