About

Amituofo.

What’s in a Name?

Greetings from the confines of Shaolin Chamber 36. My name is Raymond, but I go by the moniker of  ‘SMK’ on this site, which is an abbreviation for Shaolin webMaster Killer. This name derives from the U.S. titling for the classic Shaw Brothers film, ‘The 36th Chamber of Shaolin‘. This name of course was ‘Shaolin Master Killer’. To me, the movie ’36th Chamber’ epitomizes the true meaning of what a classic kung fu film really is.

Who Am I?

I am in my late 30′s, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the East Bay to be specific. Just between Oakland and San Jose. I am married with children, I have both a son and daughter. And let’s not forget my little shih tzu dog, which completes the family. Since I was in the 6th grade, I had began my life as a DJ, the times of saving my lunch money to buy a couple of 12′ records on the weekend is what it was all about. I have done so much as a DJ, that once I was I know longer able to do it full time, the transition was easy to deal with. But with my personality, I must have something, a hobby if you will, to dedicate my spare time and energy to. After you’ve worked a full days work, spent quality time with your family, and have some time to yourself, this is where I need to be doing something positive, focus on something that in return offers a feeling of accomplishment if done right. Since I don’t drink alcohol (never have) or smoke or do any form of recreational drugs (never have), I can not just sit around and do nothing for long periods at a time. This of course brings me to Shaolin Chamber. What better to do in your spare time, then to create and develop a website about something that you love, and feel a deep passion for, and basically would like to share these feelings with others that feel the same way. I have not seen every kung fu movie there is, I do not claim to be a expert of the genre, I am simply someone who is always ready and willing to learn something new, to meet new friends, and that has tried to create a site that I feel the genre so eagerly deserves.

History of Shaolin Chamber

I originally began my venture on the web with a simple blog created with the easy to use blog based website, I named the site ‘Shaolin Spot’. After a short time of working on this blog and basically loving the idea of sharing my passion for classic Fu films, I quickly realized I wanted to have more control of the design of the site and wanted to customize it in ways that I just couldn’t do with a free blogging service website. Christmas 2004, I registered my first domain name, purchased an account with a web host, and then began my first official website known as SHAOLIN CHAMBER. Without going in to too much detail of the original Chamber website, you can have a look at what once was the original Shaolin Chamber website by using the Internet Arhcive – Wayback Machine. Sadly in 2008, I had pretty much abandoned the site due to personal/family issues that had come up. During this process I unknowingly lost the the registration to the domain name “ShaolinChamber.com”, as it had expired while I was taking a leave of absence from the site. As things in my life were turning around for the better, and also as I had learned that during this time away a friend of mine, a literal Kung Fu Genius, Linn Haynes had passed away, I decided that I must bring back Shaolin Chamber as a way to honor my friend Linn, and also because I realized I was truly missing the joy I experienced when I was working on my site previously. Recently a loyal disciple of both of my sites, someone who made a considerable amount of contributions in the form of cover scans had also passed away, this person being Andrew ‘Jocky’ Jones. I dedicate the relaunch of SC36 to my good friend Andrew. To all the fans of martial arts films, particularly Classic, Old School Kung Fu films, I hope you enjoy my humble efforts and continue to visit me and all the great writers that have joined the cause in Keeping the Fu Alive.

Buddha Bless You.