Free-Wheeling

by Jesse Delaney

Keanu Reeves does not know kung fu. Despite what The Matrix and other cinematic fare would have you believe, most of the high-flying, bone-snapping, board-breaking, back-flipping maneuvers being performed by your favorite movie stars are computer-generated effects or are enhanced by harnesses, pulleys and wires. If, after reading that, you're deeply disillusioned, then prepare to have your disappointment abated -- the Shaolin Monks are coming to town.

The Wheel of Life tour presents kung fu in its purest form, demonstrated by the ancestors of its originators, and chronicles the history of the monks from their beginnings in Imperial China in 495 A.D. through the modern era. While it is impossible to cover more than 1500 years of culture and history in the course of an afternoon, the show features dazzling martial arts displays and major reenacted highlights from the monks' past, including their ancient employment as imperial soldiers, their subsequent betrayal and execution by the emperor and the resilience and spread of their teachings by five children who survived the death sentence.

The performers are ordained soldier monks from the Shaolin Temple and the feats they perform are the result of years of study, training and rigorous dedication to Zen Buddhism. There are no smoke-and-mirror tricks used during the show: Everything witnessed is real (except for the Emperor of China, who is portrayed by an actor), and perhaps most incredible of all is that the kung fu that amazes audiences is just a regular part of a monk's daily life. The most famous use for kung fu (as a means of self-defense) is actually an auxiliary function of what is, to the monks, a meditative form of exercise. The Wheel of Life tour emphasizes the courage and peaceful existence of the monks as much as their strength, speed and nimbleness.

Shaolin: Wheel of Life, Sat., Jan. 25, 4 and 8 p.m., $29.50-$39.50, Keswick Theatre, Easton Rd. and Keswick Ave., Glenside, 215-572-7650.