The transcript below is from the video “Michael Jai White Breaks Down Why “Shaolin Monks” are Fake” by djvlad.

DJ VLAD:

Well when you did the interview with Logan Paul you basically destroyed all my past, you know dreams and everything when you actually broke down that Shaolin Monks are not what everyone thought they are.

Michael Jai White:

Yeah, not it.

DJ VLAD:

You know here I am I grew up in the age of seeing these, you know Chinese movies with the Shaolin Monks beating everyone up.

Michael Jai White:

Yeah, Yeah.

DJ VLAD:

And these movies were there breaking 20 blocks of ice their head and I mean in fact Kung Fu David Carradine Kung Fu he was a Shaolin monk, right?

Michael Jai White:

Yes.

DJ VLAD:

On that show. So here I am I grew up worshipping Shaolin Monks thinking of these are the epitome of the you know, the most advanced fighters on earth.

Michael Jai White:

Yeah, Exactly.

DJ VLAD:

And then, you know, of course Wu-Tang comes out, you know, they further kind of build on the Shaloin Legend.

Michael Jai White:

Right right, yeah yeah, it’s fun isn’t it.

DJ VLAD:

To me my whole life was like yo the Shaloin Monks could beat Mike Tyson

Michael Jai White:

I know, right.

DJ VLAD:

they could beat all the MMA fighters.

 Michael Jai White:

That’s hilarious actually

DJ VLAD:

They’re superhuman, but in fact there’s sort of a different story about the Shaloin Monks

Michael Jai White:

Yeah this is the truth it’s  like, you know you can Google this shit it’s that easy my complexion came into Shaolin Temple brought Kung Fu, you know 18 has a low hand was it first call? But anyway, martial arts dates way back 50 over 1500 BC in Africa plain and simple you can google that real quick. But you know Bodhidharma are Damo brought Kung Fu to The Shaolin Temple there were sedentary this was an exercise and he also brought Buddhism. Well, that’s fact number one. But what happened when China got into the film, you know process, you know film industry well at the time we had westerns were America’s export. Japan had the Samurai movies, right and there’s always samurai movies there’s always westerns and you see with the Samurai movies there’s times where the samurai got overtaken by technology. There’s guns and no more Samurai last Samurai you know what I mean.

DJ VLAD:

Sorry Tom Cruise.

Michael Jai White:

Yeah, right which is ughh okay don’t get me started on that but then there’s westerns where you know, there’s people now you know with horseless buggies, you know, you see the transition.

DJ VLAD:

Yeah.

Michael Jai White:

Now China countered with The Kung Fu movement The Shaolin Monks who we gonna make our heroes so they went back 400 years to kind of, you know popularize the Shaolin Monks. They could have chosen Tibetan Monks, they could have been it just happened to be the Shaolin Monks Shaolin is of a mountain, you know in China but it’s so they then made those they’re superheroes. That’s why see but the Shaolin Monks The Shaolin Temple was burned down like 400 years ago the end right that’s why you don’t see Shaolin Monks in a car or Shaolin Monks in a gun. You don’t see any cause every one of those movies started way back then.

DJ VLAD:

Right.

Michael Jai White:

So the truth of the matter is the Shaolin Temple gone, right? Then in 83 because it was opened up to westerners. Everybody kept going hey, where’s the Shaolin Temple and they’re like, you know Chinese people where like there’s no Shaolin Temple that shit burned down 40 years ago, but then they reconstructed a replica. In 83 and around 85 they had right around later in 83 that they had like townsfolk dress as Shaolin Monks for tourism and around 85 they started having actual kung fu people portray The Shaolin Monks, but then westeners kept coming in here and going we want to learn from The Shaolin Monks and it’s like okay pay here, you know what I mean so they start teaching these people and these people are not connected to the Shaolin Monks. That’s like the equivalent of saying you are taught by a Shaolin monk is equivalent of saying I was taught by a knight of the Round Table same time period you know how ridiculous that would sound these new people have nothing to do with the Shaolin Monks that were destroyed long time ago. This was something that was resurrected later.

DJ VLAD:

In the 80s.

Michael Jai White:

Right and every Shaolin Monk you’ve ever seen in the, in the this is hilarious because there’s a tour of the Shaolin Monks.

DJ VLAD:

Right I’m actually looking right now the Shaolin Monks celebrate 10 years of touring

Michael Jai White:

Right yeah, there’s this tours.

DJ VLAD:

This was last year.

Michael Jai White:

Yeah of the Shaolin Monks, but here’s whats

DJ VLAD:

So these are not actual Shaolin Monks?

Michael Jai White:

No of course not, like sure the tour of the knights of the round table so, the Shaolin Monks right that are touring the funny thing is historically everybody you saw playing a Shaolin monk in the movies like the Jet Li’s and all they usually were people from the Beijing wushu team Beijing wushu team is basically like the All-Star team. We’re all around China there’s all these different wushu factions that are competing but Beijing wushu team is the number one basically like menudo or whatever ? they are getting children who have the best technique all around the whole all of China and the best of the best go to The Shaolin I mean go go to the Beijing wushu team, so usually you know, when they get to the mid to late 20s, they’re they’re gone, you know, they become coaches or whatever or they go into the movies. This is what always has happened.

Interviewer:

So Jet Li came out of that?.

Michael Jai White:

Yeah he was a Beijing wushu team member. He was a really great competitor, for the Beijing wushu team.

DJ VLAD:

So would you say that, cause you know we talked about this earlier you know actual fighters who became actors.

Michael Jai White:

He’s not a fighter

DJ VLAD:

No, he’s more of an actor like an acrobat kinda?.

Michael Jai White:

Yeah,no Jet Li knows more martial arts than anybody you’ve ever seen on film.

DJ VLAD:

Okay.

Michael Jai White:

That dude, if we want to compare it to like say gymnastics think about this Jet Li is not only the tumbling champion, but the rings champion and like he won he is so good with like baguazhang I know I’m gonna get too deep with this stuff but Jet Li knew so many styles within the Kung Fu system and has won national world titles doing several different styles, which is unusual for a one individual that have but, so.

DJ VLAD:

But it’s not fighting though?

Michael Jai White:

It’s not fighting he’d tell you himself he wouldn’t know how to fight anybody.

DJ VLAD:

Right.

Michael Jai White:

You know what I mean, It’s like you know –

DJ VLAD:

Same thing with Jackie Chan?

Michael Jai White:

Yeah, but Jackie Chan probably would be able to fight a little bit because Jackie Chan’s style he’s a little rougher he comes from a stunt person background he’s a stunt man but yeah there and there’s things about Jackie Chan that I would say he probably would be able to fight pretty damn good because his timing and stuff but Jet Li is classically trained it’s different but like yeah Jackie Chan’s not a little dude either.

DJ VLAD:

I’ve never met him

Michael Jai White:

No Jackie Chan’s not a little dude man

DJ VLAD:

He’s big.

Michael Jai White:

What he’s able, Jackie Chan is un-freakin’-believable. He’s unbelievable and I’ll say something else that’s controversial-

DJ VLAD:

He’s 5’9.

Michael Jai White:

Yeah, but Jackie Chan is not a small guy he’s durable.

Interviewer:

160 Pounds

Michael Jai White:

Yeah, maybe a long time ago, yeah

DJ VLAD:

Gained some weight since then.

Michael Jai White:

That’s a tough dude Jackie Chan is a tough individual. But like I’m gonna say this, right if you to try to put you know, give him his due. If you, and I almost want to do this experiment one day if you switch the faces of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, you take a retrospective of Jackie Chan’s best fight stuff. But give him Bruce Lee’s face, which is meaning a very serious look I’ma whup your ass look and you put Jackie Chan’s face on Bruce Lee’s best stuff, alright it will be interesting,

DJ VLAD:

Huh.

Michael Jai White:

Because when you think of Jackie Chan because of his silly funny, if he was like, I’m kicking your ass. If you just just imagine Jackie Chan with a serious face and doing the things that he’s done

DJ VLAD:

Yeah.

Michael Jai White:

Right?

DJ VLAD:

I see where you’re going with this.

Michael Jai White:

See a regular fight scene with Jackie Chan flipping around going through a ladder using that ladder doing all this type of stuff  and he was kicking your ass like dead serious. You might say there’s no way in hell Bruce Lee could do that.

DJ VLAD:

So you would say that Jackie Chan. Is a better what did you say martial artist than Bruce Lee?.

Michael Jai White:

No, I would never say anybody’s a better martial artist than Bruce Lee because he’s the embodiment of what martial arts is about. Wouldn’t say that what I’m talking about I’m talking about who is the better martial arts fighting movie star that whole thing. It’d be interesting because the thing is that it’s so sad is that people don’t realize what Jackie Chan does because he’s being silly there’s never been anybody on that level, it’s just un-freakin’-believable.

DJ VLAD:

Yeah because he does he’s own stunts.

Michael Jai White:

Not only that but the okay, his how meticulous and what he’s done it it’s almost sad that he doesn’t get the nod as the best martial arts fighter on film ever.

DJ VLAD:

So you would say that’d be Jackie Chan over everyone else including yourself.

Michael Jai White: 

Come on I ain’t nowhere near that come on man my fight scenes have to be done in like a matter of hours Jackie almost everybody’s fight scenes that one fight scene they’ll shoot for an entire week. I don’t have that luxury my favorite scenes will be look pretty bad. Yeah. I wish I had a week to do a damn fight scene do one fight scene but not not saying I’m better know Jackie Chan’s way freaking better come on Bruce Lee’s way better, stop it if they had to fight me they’re in trouble because  I’ve done it but it’s but Jackie Chan is just like I know Bruce Lee is number one, right because you want to vicariously be him he was he has a he made a noise ‘’WHAA’’ he made a noise that nobody else has made but that noise is the embodiment of all martial art.

DJ VLAD:

Yeah, that’s true.

Michael Jai White: 

Think about how powerful that is.

DJ VLAD:

Yeah.

Michael Jai White: 

That there’s nobody that’s that dominant in any of their arts or sports than what he did and what the magnetism he has and everything else. Okay that’s that but then Jackie Chan what he will do on screen what he’s able to do that should have its own category because it’s like it’s just when you look at both and you go if you put Bruce Lee’s head on that you’d be like, it’s it the game is over.