Ancient Wisdom in a Modern Era
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Shaolin Temple Kung Fu
History, Schools, Movements
Northern Shaolin
Training ~ Boxing ~ Weapons
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and capturing his nephew Renze.
Without the fort at Cypress Valley, there was nothing to keep Li Shimin from marching on Luoyang after his defeat of Wang's ally Dou Jiande at the Battle of Hulao, forcing Wang Shichong to surrender.
Li Shimin's father was the first Tang Emperor and Shimin himself became its second.
Thereafter Shaolin enjoyed the royal patronage of the Tang.
Though the Shaolin Monastery Stele of 728 attests to these incidents in 610 and 621 when the monks engaged in combat, it does not allude to martial training in the monastery, or to any fighting technique in which its monks specialized. Nor do any other sources from the Tang, Song and Yuan periods allude to military training at the temple.
Shaolin Kung Fu (少林功夫) refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery (少林寺). Of the tens of thousands of kung fu and wushu styles, several hundred might have some relationship to Shaolin; however, aside from a few very well known systems, such as Xiao Hong Quan, the Da Hong Quan, Yin Shou Gun, Damo Sword, etc., it would be almost impossible to establish a verifiable connection to the Temple for any one particular art.
Internal and external arts
Huang Zongxi described martial arts in terms of Shaolin or "external" arts versus Wudang or internal arts in 1669. It has been since then that Shaolin has been popularly synonymous for what are considered the external Chinese martial arts, regardless of whether or not the particular style in question has any connection to the Shaolin Monastery. Some say that there is no differentiation between the so-called internal and external systems of the Chinese martial arts, while other well-known teachers have expressed differing opinions. For example, the Taijiquan teacher Wu Jianquan states "Those who practice Shaolinquan leap about with strength and force; people not proficient at this kind of training soon lose their breath and are exhausted. Taijiquan is unlike this. Strive for quiescence of body, mind and intention."
In 1784 the Boxing Classic: Essential Boxing Methods made the earliest extant reference to the Shaolin Monastery as Chinese
Ancient Wisdom in a Modern Era
Sources: Wikipedia
History of Shaolin Kung Fu
The attribution of Shaolin's martial arts to Bodhidharma has been discounted by several 20th century martial arts historians, first by Tang Hao on the grounds that the Yì Jīn Jīng is a forgery. Stele and documentary evidence shows the monks historically worshiped the Bodhisattva Vajrapani's "Kimnara King" form as the progenitor of their staff and bare hand fighting styles.
Huiguang and Sengchou were involved with martial arts before they became two
of the very first Shaolin monks, reported as practicing martial arts before the arrival of Bodhidharma. Sengchou's skill with the tin staff is even documented in the Chinese Buddhist canon.
Records of the discovery of arms caches in the monasteries of Chang'an during government raids in AD 446 suggests that Chinese monks practiced martial arts prior to the establishment of the Shaolin Monastery in 497. Monks came from the ranks of the population among whom the martial arts were widely
boxing's place of origin. Again, this is a misconception, as Chinese martial arts pre-date the construction of the Shaolin Temple by at least several hundred years.
Shaolin Kung Fu Origin
Legend of Bodhidharma
According to the Jingde of the Lamp, after Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk from South India, left the court of the Liang emperor Wu in 527, he eventually found himself at the Shaolin Monastery, where he “faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time”.
According to the Yì Jīn Jīng, after Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at Shaolin temple and made a hole with his stare, he left behind an iron chest. When the monks opened this chest they found two books: the “Marrow Cleansing Classic,” and the “Muscle Tendon Change Classic”, or "Yi Jin Jing" within. The first book was taken by Bodhidharma's disciple Huike, and disappeared; as for the second, the monks selfishly coveted it, practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the correct purpose of cultivating the Real. The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to their possession of this manuscript.
practiced before the introduction of Buddhism. There are indications that Huiguang, Sengchou and even Huike, Bodhidarma's immediate successor as Patriarch of Chán Buddhism, may have been military men before retiring to the monastic life. Moreover, Chinese monasteries, not unlike those of Europe, in many ways were effectively large landed estates, that is, sources of considerable regular income which required protection.
In addition to that, the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue, the Bibliographies in the Book of the Han Dynasty and the Records of the Grand Historian all document the existence of martial arts in China before Bodhidharma. The martial arts Shuāi Jiāo and Sun Bin Quan, to name two, predate the establishment of the Shaolin Monastery by centuries.
Tang Dynasty (618–907)
The oldest evidence of Shaolin participation in combat is a stele from 728 that attests to two occasions: a defense of the monastery from bandits around 610 and their role in the defeat of Wang Shichong at the Battle of Hulao in 621.
Like most dynastic changes, the end of the Sui Dynasty was a time of upheaval and contention for the throne. Wang Shichong declared himself Emperor. He controlled the territory of Zheng and the ancient capital of Luoyang.
Overlooking Luoyang on Mount Huanyuan was the Cypress Valley Estate, which had served as the site of a fort during the Jin and a commandery during the Southern Qi. Sui Emperor Wen had bestowed the estate on a nearby monastery called Shaolin for its monks to farm but Wang Shichong, realizing its strategic value, seized the estate and there placed troops and a signal tower, as well as establishing a prefecture called Yuanzhou. Furthermore, he had assembled an army at Luoyang to march on the Shaolin Temple itself.
The monks of Shaolin allied with Wang's enemy, Li Shimin, and took back the Cypress Valley Estate, defeating Wang's troops
According to Meir Shahar, this is explained by a confluence of the late Ming fashion for military encyclopedias and, more importantly, the conscription of civilian irregulars, including monks, as a result of Ming military decline in the 16th century.
Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)
From the 8th to the 15th centuries, no extant source documents Shaolin participation in combat; then the 16th and 17th centuries see at least forty extant sources attest that, not only did monks of Shaolin practice martial arts, but martial practice had become such an integral element of Shaolin monastic life that the monks felt the need to justify it by creating new Buddhist lore. References to Shaolin martial arts appear in various literary genres of the late Ming: the epitaphs of Shaolin warrior monks, martial-arts manuals, military encyclopedias, historical writings, travelogues, fiction, and even poetry.
These sources, in contrast to those from the Tang Dynasty period, refer to Shaolin methods of combat unarmed, with the spear, and with the weapon that was the forte of the Shaolin monks and for which they had become famous, the staff. By the mid-16th century military experts from all over Ming China were travelling to Shaolin to study its fighting techniques.
Around 1560 Yú Dàyóu travelled to Shaolin Monastery to see for himself its monks' fighting techniques, but found them disappointing. Yú returned to the south with two monks, Zongqing and Pucong, whom he taught the use of the staff over the next three years, after which Zongqing and Pucong returned to Shaolin Monastery and taught their brother monks what they had learned. Martial arts historian Tang Hao traced the Shaolin staff style Five Tigers Interception to Yú's teachings.
The earliest extant manual on Shaolin Kung Fu, the Exposition of the Original Shaolin Staff Method was written in around 1610 and published in 1621 from what its author Chéng Zōngyóu learned during a more than ten year stay at the monastery.
Conditions of lawlessness in Henan—where the Shaolin Monastery is located—and surrounding provinces during the late Ming Dynasty and all of the Qing Dynasty contributed to the development of martial arts. Meir Shahar lists the martial arts T'ai Chi Ch'üan, Chang Family Boxing, Bāguàquán, Xíngyìquán and Bājíquán as originating from this region and this time period.
Pirates
In the 1540s and 1550s, Japanese pirates known as wokou raided China's eastern and southeastern coasts on an unprecedented scale.
The geographer Zheng Ruoceng provides the most detailed of the 16th century sources which confirm that, in 1553, Wan Biao, Vice Commissioner in Chief of the Nanjing Chief Military Commission, initiated the conscription of monks—including some from Shaolin—against the pirates. Warrior monks participated in at least four battles: at the Gulf of Hangzhou in spring 1553 and in the Huangpu River delta at Wengjiagang in July 1553, Majiabang in spring 1554, and Taozhai in autumn 1555.
The monks suffered their greatest defeat at Taozhai, where four of them fell in battle; their remains were buried under the Stūpa of the Four Heroic Monks (Si yi seng ta) at Mount She near Shanghai.
The monks won their greatest victory at Wengjiagang. On 21 July 1553, 120 warrior monks led by the Shaolin monk Tianyuan defeated a group of pirates and chased the survivors over ten days and twenty miles. The pirates suffered over one hundred casualties and the monks only four.
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Not all of the monks who fought at Wengjiagang were from Shaolin, and rivalries developed among them. Zheng chronicles Tianyuan’s defeat of eight rival monks from Hangzhou who challenged his command. Zheng ranked Shaolin first of the top three Buddhist centers of martial arts. Zheng ranked Mount Funiu in Henan second and Mount Wutai in Shanxi third. The Funiu monks practiced staff techniques which they had learned at the Shaolin Monastery. The Wutai monks practiced Yang Family Spear (楊家槍; pinyin: Yángjiā qīang).
Northern Shaolin Kung Fu
In its broadest sense, Northern Shaolin (Chinese: 北少林; Pinyin: běishàolín, Cantonese: Bak Sil Lum) refers to the external (as opposed to internal) martial arts of Northern China referring to those styles from the Northern Shaolin Monastery in Henan. At its most specific, Northern Shaolin refers to a style called Fist taught at the gates of Northern Shaolin (Chinese: 北少林拳門; Cantonese: Bak Sil Lum Kuen Moon, disseminated by Gu Ruzhang (Cantonese Ku Yu Cheung).
Characteristics of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu
The Northern Shaolin style of kung fu is one of the most prominent traditional northern styles of Chinese martial arts. The northern styles of kung-fu generally emphasize long range techniques, quick advances and retreats, wide stances, kicking and leaping techniques, whirling circular blocks, quickness, agility, and aggressive attacks.
The system teaches empty-hand techniques and weaponry through predetermined combinations, known as forms, routines, or movement of sets. The students learn the basics by practicing the routines until the movements in the routines can be executed naturally based on instinct. Then, two or multiple man sets are practiced to train responses and applications of techniques learned from the sets. The practice sets/routines are not only practical in applications but are also graceful and artistic in nature. The fluidness of the movements combined with acrobatic techniques are trademarks of the Northern Shaolin Kung-Fu sets.
The Northern Shaolin style of Kung-Fu was made famous by the late Ku Yu Cheung. There are many legends of Ku; according to tales related by his close students, Ku's father was an accomplished exponent of the Tan Tui (Snapping Kicks) Kung-Fu form. When he was young, Ku traveled throughout Northern China to learn all the northern kung-fu systems. He was renowned for his Iron Palm techniques and the application of the long spear. He organized all his learnings into what is the Northern Shaolin Kung Fu today.
History of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu
The monastery in Henan is the original Shaolin Monastery. The monks began to practice military weapons sometime around the Tang Dynasty and became famous for aiding the future Emperor Li Shimin in struggles against rebellious forces. The monks were primarily known for their spear and staff techniques until the Ming-Qing transition when they began to specialize in unarmed combat. As the reputation of the Shaolin martial arts grew during the following centuries, its name became synonymous with martial arts, regardless of whether an individual art traced its origins to the Shaolin Monastery in Henan or not. As a result, the "Shaolin" moniker was applied to other Buddhist temples with strong reputations for martial arts. The characteristics of the martial arts taught at each temple were so different from each other that they became identified with their place of origin.
The Northern Shaolin style associated with Gu Ruzhang was first taught to a lay disciple, the celebrated 18th century master Gan Fengchi of Jiangsu Province, by a Shaolin monk named Zhao Yuan, born Zhu Fu, a member of the Ming royal family who joined the sangha after the Ming was overthrown by the Qing in 1644. (Gan is also remembered for founding the martial art Huāquán 花拳, literally "flower fist", about which he wrote the book Introduction to Huāquán.) Gan in turn taught Wan Bangcai, who taught Yan Degong, who taught Yan Sansen, who taught Yan Jiwen, who taught his nephew Gu Ruzhang (1894–1952).
Generation 1-7
1.朝元 和尚 (Monk Zhāo Yuán)
2.甘鳳吃 (Gān Fèng Chī)
3.萬邦才 (Wàn Bāng Cái)
4.嚴徳功 (Yán Dé Gōng)
5.嚴三省 (Yán Sān Xǐng)
6.嚴機(繼)溫 (Yán Jī Wēn)
7.顧汝章 (Gù Rǔ Zhāng)
Yan Jiwen also taught Gu the skills of Iron Body and Iron Palm. On a famous occasion in 1931, Gu is said to have demonstrated the latter on a horse.
Among the martial artists who gathered at the Central National Martial Arts Institute in Nanjing in 1928, Gu placed in the top fifteen and was included—alongside Fu Zhensong, Li Xianwu, Wan Laimin, Wan Laisheng, and Wong Shao Chou—in the Five Southbound Tigers (五虎下江南; pinyin: wǔ hǔ xià jiāng nán; literally "five tigers heading south of Jiangnan"), five masters of the Northern Chinese martial arts sent to Guangzhou to organize another National Martial Arts Institute.
In Guangzhou, the name "Shaolin" was already associated with Hung Gar and other styles, so Gu's style came to be known by the name Northern Shaolin. Also by the names Bak Sil Lum in Cantonese and Bei Shaolin in Mandarin.
The Northern Shaolin curriculum of Gu Ru Zhang
Lead the Way
領路 (Lǐng Lù)
The Sitting Horse
坐馬 (Zuò Mǎ)
Pierce the Heart
穿心 (Chuān Xīn)
Martial Skill
武藝 (Wǔ Yì)
Short Strike
短打 (Duǎn Dǎ)
Plum Flower
梅花 (Méi Huā)
Uprooting Step
拔步 (Bá Bù)
Chained Fist
連環拳 (Liánhuánquán)
Pattern Method
式法 (Shì Fǎ)
Note that some heirs of Zhang's tradition teach these routines in a different order, particularly those under Chan Kowk Wai, graduated master by Yim Shang Wu, a direct student of Zhang and introductor of Northern Shaolin into Brazil.
Special Shaolin training methods
In 1934, Jin Jing Zhong published a book variously known in English as Shaolin 72 Shaolin Arts Practice Method or Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin. This work lists what are alleged to be authentic Shaolin training methods that can produce extraordinary skills and abilities; examples of these skills include iron body techniques (both offensive and defensive), jumping and wall scaling techniques, pole-top leaping dexterity training, pressure-point and nerve manipulation, and a host of other feats. Most of these skills require anywhere from three to ten years to master, according to the author. Jin claims to have witnessed many of these skills himself or to have learned of them from a scroll given to him by Shaolin Abbot Miao Xing, though the work may tend to exaggerate and embellish.
The following is a list of martial arts practiced in Shaolin Kung Fu. Although they are commonly called "72 Shaolin martial arts", they are four different versions of these 72 skills, hence there are actually more than 72 in total.
(please note: the exercises listed below are not to be attempted as they can result in serious injury; for reference only)
Diamond Finger
The Diamond Finger (一指金剛法; literally: One Finger Vajra Skill) allows the practitioner to cause damage to an opponent's internal organs by knocking at the opponent's chest. The practitioner trains by striking hard objects with his finger repeatedly over time to increase striking power. The skill usually requires three years to master.
Double Locks
The Double Locks (雙鎖功) allows the practitioner to block attacks from blunt weapons with his bare arms. During training, the practitioner knocks his forearms at each other and then hits his shins and feet with his forearms repeatedly.
Foot Striking Skill
The Foot Striking Skill (足射功; literally: Foot Shooting Skill) allows the practitioner to inflict damage on an opponent using his toes. During training, the practitioner uses stones to strike his toes. The weight of the stones used increases as his training progresses.
Nail-Pulling Skill
The Nail-Pulling Skill (拔釘功) allows the practitioner to attack his opponent's acupuncture points by using locks with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger. Training involves pulling out regular nails from a board of unabi or jujube wood. Rustier nails are used as the training progresses. It is common to get blisters during training.
Tree-Uprooting Skill
The Tree-Uprooting Skill (抱樹功; literally: Tree-Hugging Skill) allows the practitioner to lift a weight of 250-350 kg with both arms. During training, the practitioner attempts to uproot a tree several times a day. Mastery of the skill is achieved when he succeeds in uprooting the tree.
Four Part Exercise
The Four Part Exercise (四段功) is one of the foundation skills of Shaolin martial arts. The exercise consists of a set of four basic movements that helps the practitioner to focus Qi.
One Finger of Zen Meditation
The One Finger of Zen Meditation (一指禪功) allows the practitioner to cause a vascular spasm to an opponent with only a weak blow. The injuries sustained by the opponent cannot be cured without special medicine. The training process involves many stages. Firstly, a weight is hung and the practitioner pokes at it with little force using his finger. He repeats the exercise until the weight moves without his finger touching it. After this, lamps are lit at a distance of six to seven meters away from the practitioner and he has to extinguish the flames with his finger. In the next stage, the lamps are covered with paper shades and glass shades in the subsequent stage. The practitioner is deemed to have mastered the skill once the flames in glass lamps can be extinguished simply by poking at them with his finger.[
Iron shirt
The Iron Shirt (鐵衫) is a form of hard style martial arts exercise for protecting the body from damage. The training involves a series of exercises with stances, herbs, Qigong and body movements to use the body's natural energy (Qi) to reinforce its structural strength. Practitioners believe that directing energy to parts of the body can reinforce these parts in absorbing the impact of blows. A Shaolin practitioner lies on a stump or support tablets of granite on his chest during training to toughen his body.
Iron Head Skill
The Iron Head Skill (鐵頭功) is designed to allow the practitioner to resist attacks on his head. During training, the practitioner wraps layers of fabric around his head and rams his head into a hard surface repeatedly. Incrementally, layers of fabric are removed as he progresses. A famous practitioner named Hong Chan could easily break a stone tablet and he could walk quickly with a stone weighing 170 kg on his head when he was 80 years old.
A Series of Blows
A Series of Blows (排打功) is similar to Iron shirt except that it is purely external and contains none of the internal elements of the latter. During training, a practitioner hits his body with a block of wood, then a brick, and subsequently a block of iron as he progresses. His body will become invulnerable to bare-hand strikes after mastering the skills but the practitioner is not protected from weapon-based attacks.
Iron Broom Sweeping Skill
The Iron Broom Sweeping Skill (鐵掃帚功) allows the practitioner to break an opponent's bones and tear his muscles with a kick. In the first stage of training, the practitioner attempts to remain in a half-squatting, half-standing position (called "Horse stance") for two hours. He will kick poles that increase in size as his training progresses and finally a tree. He is deemed to have mastered the skill once he can kick a tree down.
Bronze Gravel Palm
The Bronze Gravel Palm (銅砂掌), a.k.a. Bamboo Leaf Hand (竹葉手), allows the practitioner to break objects and cause injury to an opponent. Training methods include hitting a bag filled with iron filings with a palm heel strike. A 15 kg bag is used initially, and its weight increases until 60 kg as the training progresses. The practitioner is deemed to have mastered the skill once he can hit the 60 kg bag at full force continuously without showing signs of weariness.
Snake Form Movement
The Snake Form Movement (蛇行術), a.k.a. Centipede Leap (蜈蚣跳), helps the practitioner increase the power of his fingers and toes and the speed of his jumps. During training, the practitioner does regular push-ups on the palms of his hands, before progressing to do on his fists and three fingers. Mastery of skill is when the practitioner is able to do one-finger push-ups.
Lifting a Thousand Jin
Lifting a Thousand Jin (提千斤) allows the practitioner to injure an opponent simply by grasping the opponent. During training, the practitioner holds weights weighing 10 Jin and the weights become heavier as he progresses. The practitioner is deemed to have mastered the skill once he can grasp a weight of 50 to 60 Jin for about an hour with his fingers. (a jin is equal to a pound.)
Deity's Palm
The Deity's Palm (仙人掌) training process involves the practitioner striking a wooden object repeatedly using four fingers initially, followed by striking a hard stone repeatedly. The practitioner is deemed to have mastered the skill once he can strike the stone hard enough to create a dent in it.
Hard and Soft Skill
The Hard and Soft Skill (剛柔法) training process involves the practitioner performing blows at a bundle of spoiled paper repeatedly. Initially, a bundle of paper about 66 cm long is placed above a large wooden table with fixed outer boards and removable inner boards. The practitioner strikes the bundle of paper with his right hand while holding a cord with his left. He switches hands later. The bundle weighs about 10 kg initially and lead weights are added subsequently as he progresses, until the entire bundle weights about 50 kg. The inner boards are also removed in progressive stages until only the fixed outer boards remain. The practitioner is deemed to have mastered the skill once he can hit the bundle of paper over the large gap in the boards and return it with his other hand.
Cinnabar Palm
The Cinnabar Palm (硃砂掌) is said to yield great benefits to the practitioner but such claims are not supported by modern science.[citation needed] During training, the practitioner fills a vessel with sand and continuously rubs his hands in the sand until he is worn out. As he progresses, he moves his hands further away from the sand until he can move the sand even when they are about 30 cm away. After this, the sand is replaced with an iron weight and subsequently, heavier iron balls. Mastery is achieved when the practitioner can move the iron balls without touching them. This skill is said to take 15 years to master. Upon mastery, the practitioner can cause his opponent to die within 10–15 days after striking them with his palm, even when he is at a distance away from his opponent.
Crouching Tiger Skill
The Crouching Tiger Skill (臥虎功) helps to increase the power of the practitioner's hands, feet, fingers and toes. The exercise is similar to standard push-ups with the exception that you must raise your body 30 cm above the ground, shift yourself backward and then downward to 10 cm then move forward and upward again to 30 cm and continue.[3] Initially, the exercise is performed on the palms of the hands and subsequently on the fists before progressing to perform on fingers and toes for balance. In the final stage, the practitioner does push-ups using only three fingers of each hand and one toe. At this stage, heavy weights are also added to the practitioner's back. Mastery of the skill is attained once the practitioner can perform the push-up with a weight of about 50 kg on his back for a period of time.
Swimming and Diving Skill
The Swimming and Diving Skill (泅水術) helps to improve the practitioner's swimming skills. The training methods for this skill are similar to those used by modern competitive swimmers. The only difference between them is that, Shaolin practitioners focus their Qi to increase their swimming power. Some movements adopted include dog-paddling, backstroke style, diving and some underwater combat techniques.
Sluice Shutter Weighing 1000 Jin
The Sluice Shutter Weighing 1000 Jin (千斤閘) helps to improve the practitioner's physical strength. The practitioner begins training by remaining in the "horse stance" for a period of time while raising his hands upwards. He will balance progressively heavier weights on his head subsequently. The weights are replaced with a heavy sluice shutter attached to two wooden poles in the final stage. Mastery of the skill is attained when the practitioner can balance a 500 kg sluice shutter on his head.
Gold Bell Shield
This is hard type of martial arts exercise that is considered to be complicated and difficult, but important. A practitioner begins training by repeatedly striking himself in the body with a mallet covered with soft things. Later, he progresses to striking himself with a wooden mallet, and finally, an iron mallet. Tinctures are used after every session to heal from damage. If a practitioner trains in this method for two to three years, punches, kicks , and even sword blows will have little to no effect on him.
Other Methods
Finger Locking Skill (鎖指功), Arhat Skill (羅漢功), The Lizard Scaling the Wall (壁虎游牆術), Whip Power Skill (鞭劲功), Pipa Skill (琵琶功), Falling Star Pole (流星樁), Plum Blossom Pole (梅花樁), Stone Padlock Skill (石鎖功), Iron Arm Skill (鐵臂功), Projectile Skill (彈子功), Soft Bones Skill (柔骨功), Toad Skill (蛤蟆功), Curtain-Piercing Skill (穿帘功), Eagle Claw Skill (鷹爪功), Iron Bull Skill (鐵牛功), Eagle Wings Skill (鷹翼功), Sun Rays Hand (陽光手), Groin-Protection Skill (門襠功), Iron Bag Skill (鐵帶功), Truth-Revealing Skill (揭諦功), Tortoise Back Skill (龜背功), Deft Jumps Skill (蹿縱術), Light Body Skill (輕身術), Iron Knee Skill (鐵膝功), Jumping Technique (跳躍法), Iron Gravel Palm (鐵砂掌), String Pulling (一線穿), Yin-Absorbing Skill (吸陰功), Golden Gravel Palm (金砂掌), a.k.a. Rubbing Skill (磨擦術), Stone Pillar Skill (石柱功), Impenetrable by Spears and Broadswords Skill (槍刀不入法), Flight Skill (飛行功), Five Poisons; Gravel-Chasing Palm (五毒追砂掌), a.k.a. Five Poisons Hand (五毒手), Water Separation Skill (分水功), Flying Up a Roof and Walking on the Wall Skill (飛檐走壁法), Somersaulting Skill (翻騰術), The Conqueror's Elbow (霸王肘), Flower-Pinching Skill (拈花功), Mountain-Pushing Palm (推山掌), Horse Saddle Skill (馬鞍功), Nephrite Belt Skill (玉帶功), Yin Fist Skill (陰拳功), Sandbag Skill (沙包功), Stone Piercing Skill (點石功), Mountain Moving Skill (拔山功), Praying Mantis Claw (螳螂爪), Cloth Bag Skill (布袋功), Guanyin's Palm (觀音掌), Pot-Lifting Skill (上罐功), Iron Beads Bag (鐵珠袋), Whirlwind Palm (旋風掌), Demon Slaying Sword (斬魔劍), Empty Fist (玄空拳), Golden Shovel Finger (金鏟指), Running on Plank Skill (跑板功), Dodging Skill (閃戰法), Golden Broadsword, Palm Exchanging Skill (金刀換掌功), Flying on Land Skill (陸地飛行術), Thousand Layers of Paper Skill (千層紙功), Wind-Chasing Palm (追風掌), Soft Skill (軟玄功)
List of styles currently taught at the Shaolin Temple
Xiao Hong Quan - Little Red Fist
Da Hong Quan - Big flood fist
Tong Bei Quan - Through the back fist
Liu He Quan - Six harmonies fist
Taizu Chang Quan - Emperor Taizu's long fist( this refers particularly to the military commander who, using his technique in his armies, became the first Song emperor)
Qixing Quan - Seven star fist
Da Pao Quan - Big cannon fist
Xiao Pao Quan - Small cannon fist
Chang Hu Xin Yi Men - Forever preserve the heart-mind link/door
Meihuaquan - Plum flower fist
Luohan Quan - Arhat fist
Tongzigong - Shaolin child training
Dan Dao - Single sabre technique
Long – Dragon technique
Qi Lu Quan - Seven animal fist
Contemporary training at the Shaolin Temple
While most warrior monks tend to be focused on performance geared toward the touring troupes, a smaller cadre of Shaolin warrior monks seek the traditional route that focuses somewhat more on self-defense and authenticity of techniques. In many ways, the contemporary performing warrior monks are comparable to contemporary wushu artists who focus on beautiful, elaborately dazzling form rather than original martial application and fighting prowess. The 72 Shaolin arts are more indicative of the older, original Shaolin temple fighting system and theory. Also, performing monks are not pressured to practice or study Zen, while inside the temple, at least a show of deference for the Shaolin customs is expected by the masters of their chosen warrior monk disciples.
Shaolin influence outside China
Some lineages of Karate have oral traditions that claim Shaolin origins. Martial arts traditions in Japan and Korea, and Southeast Asia cite Chinese influence as transmitted by Buddhist monks.
Recent developments in the 20th century such as Shorinji Kempo (少林寺拳法) practised in Japan's Sohonzan Shorinji (金剛禅総本山少林寺) still maintains close ties with China's Song Shan Shaolin Temple due to historic links. Japanese Shorinji Kempo Group financial contributions to the maintenance of the historic edifice of the Song Shan Shaolin Temple in 2003 received China's recognition.
Shaolin In popular culture
Shaolin, in popular culture, has taken on a second life. Since the 1970s, it has been featured in many films, TV shows, video games, cartoons, and other media. While much of this is a commercialized aspect of Shaolin, it is also widely credited as keeping the 1500 year old temple in the consciousness of the world, and from vanishing into obscurity like many other ancient traditions. The Abbot of Shaolin, Shi Yong Xin, has decided to embrace modern day pop culture and has used it to the advantage of the temple to keep the temple prominent on the world stage. Shaolin monks have been featured on Fight Science and a National Geographic television series, performing feats of strength, endurance, and martial arts.
The 1970s television series Kung Fu starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk on the run in the Wild West whose Zen (Ch'an) training is tested along his journey. Carradine's part was originally to be played by Bruce Lee. Ironically, Lee was pulled at the last minute before airing for looking "too Chinese" for an American public accustomed to white actors portraying ethnic minority characters for a mainly white audience. However, the character of Caine was supposed to be of mixed Chinese and European ancestry, a fact which may have also had an influence on this decision. In the 1990s, Carradine starred in the series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, which followed the grandson and great-grandson of the original Caine in a large modern city.
In 1977, the cult classic Shaw Brothers film Shaolin Temple was released and in 1982 a film by the same name starring Jet Li is credited as a major reason for the revival of the Shaolin Temple in China after the Cultural Revolution. The film's story tells the legend of the Shaolin Temple. This film is followed by countless other films, including another Shaw Brothers film entitled The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which depicts the training of the legendary Shaolin monk San Te.
In the 1990s, American hip-hop group The Wu Tang Clan arose, often making frequent references to Shaolin, sometimes as a name for their home, Staten Island, New York. The references arise from the group growing up in Staten Island in the late 1970s, and being influenced by movie theaters playing and advertising Kung Fu movies based on the Shaolin fighting style.
Video games and cartoons begin to also feature Shaolin, such as the cartoon Xiaolin Showdown. Liu Kang, the main character in the Mortal Kombat series, is a Shaolin monk, and Kung Lao from the same series, is also a Shaolin monk who seeks to avenge the temple's destruction, (led by Baraka in Mortal Kombat's story), they were so popular, they were turned into their own video game, Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks. Krillin, a character in the Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z universe, is also a Shaolin monk, though he abandons the Shaolin fighting style in favor of Muten-Rôshi's Turtle technique.
In 2000's, Shaolin gets pop-culture recognition by appearing on The Simpsons (TV series), where they visit the Shaolin Temple in the episode Goo Goo Gai Pan, which first aired in 2006. That same year, the Abbot of Shaolin invites the K-Star martial arts reality TV show to film a TV series of foreigners competing to survive Shaolin style training.
Two prominent publications about Shaolin were published in 2007, including the first ever photo documentary on the temple entitled Shaolin: Temple of Zen, published by the non-profit Aperture Foundation, featuring the photos of National Geographic photographer Justin Guariglia. The Shaolin Abbot, Shi Yong Xin, has written the foreword attesting the authenticity of the project. These became the first photographs seen of monks practicing classical kung fu inside the temple. American author Matthew Polly, also has written a book recounting his story of his two years living, studying, and performing with the Shaolin monks in China in the early 1990s. A third, more academic book, is "The Shaolin Monastery; History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts," published by the Israeli Shaolin scholar Meier Shahar in 2008 about the history of the Shaolin Temple.
While some of these are clear commercial exploitation of the Shaolin Temple and its legends, they have helped make Shaolin a household name around the world, and kept the temple alive in the minds of many young generations. To date, no other temple in the world has achieved such wide spread recognition.
