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1
 
SHAOLIN Kung fu Training
Types of Shaolin Kung fu Training
are: 1.
Basic training,
2.
Qigong training,
3.
Combat training.
 Shaolin (
少林
) kung fu (
功夫
: gong fu, also called
武术
: wu shu, or
拳
: quan) basics (
基本功
: jiben gong) include
warm-up
--which itself includes
loosen-up
and
endurance exercises
--and
stretching
and
balance
exercises. Shaolin kung fu has a special set of 18 main stretching andbalance postures, called
Childish Skills
(
童子功
: tong zi gong). Shaolin monks have publishedmany Basic Training tutorials.
1
Shaolin qigong (
气功
) has 2 types: 1.
Qigong training
2. The
72secret arts.
Qigong is based on deep-abdominal (
丹田
: dan tian) breathing and itself has 2 types:
internal 
(
内
: nei) and
external 
(
外
: wai). Kung fu master Yang Jwing-Ming has published trueqigong training methods.
2
The 72 secret exercises, 36 external and 36 internal, of Shaolintemple have close relation with qigong and result in the legendary powers and skills of Shaolinmonks. Shaolin temple
’s
precious manual of these 72 arts has been published.
3
In combat (
散打
:san da) training, monks learn and practice various
 forms
(
套路
: tao lu), their
techniques
, and
combat applications
. Shaolin kung fu forms and combat can be learned from a master (
师父
: shifu) or from instructional tutorials.
1
The practitioner must continuously improve both the
soft 
(
阴
: yin) and
hard 
(
阳
: yang) aspects of his
body movements
(
身法
: shen fa). All these exercisesare complementary to each other, because
“t 
o be as soft as cotton, you must be as hard
as iron,”
and vice versa.
 Shaolin Kung fu Training Schedule
depends on what, how, and when the practitioner wants totrain. However, these characteristics are most typical in Shaolin temple: Basics are typicallypracticed in early mornings, before breakfast. Beginning with 15~30 minutes of warm-up, thenabout a half hour on Tong Zi Gong exercises; this way, basic training takes about 1 hour everyday. A high level in basic skills is achieved after about 3~5 years of hard training. Shaolin monksalso have one or a few sessions of qigong training every day; every session of qigong training,internal or external, takes about a half hour. They prefer to do it at sunrise or just before sleep,though doing it in afternoons is also usual. It takes about 3~5 years to achieve the basic powersof qigong. The 72 secret exercises are very hard to practice, so practitioners only choose a few of them to practice at the same time. Most these methods can be practiced at every time, whetherday or night; each of them takes from a few minutes up to a half hour or more every day.Mastering each of these arts takes about 3~5 years and some of them maybe up to decades.Forms, techniques, and combat can be trained at every time, mixed with other exercises or in aseparate session; it takes about 1 hour more or less every day. Most Shaolin monks eventuallymaster about 18 styles and their combat applications. This may take 10~15 years of learning.According to Shaolin teachings, monks should train hard in this manner every day, except oneor two days a week, to rest and do the works, anyway, no matter burning summers or freezingwinters, even if being sick, they must continue on training, day-by-day and year-by-year, tobecome the masters of Shaolin kung fu. At last, about the place of training, as the saying goes,Shaolin kung fu can be trained in
“
a room enough for an ox to lie down
;”
which means that evena small personal room is enough for training.
 
1
 SHAOLIN Kung fu instructional channel at YouTube.com (click to go):more than 200 instructional videotutorials provided by the most known inheritor Shaolin monks and masters.
2
 
“
Qigong for Health and Martial Arts,
” “
Qigong Meditation: Embryonic Breathing,
” “
Qigong Meditation:Small Circulation,
” and other qigong books by
Yang Jwing-Ming.
3
 
“
Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin
” by
Jin Jing Zhong and
“
72 Consummate Arts Secrets of theShaolin Temple
” by
Wu Jiaming.
 
2
 
SHAOLIN Kung fu Basic Training
4
 
Warm-up:
Warming up makes stretching easy and prevents injuries to muscles, tendons, and ligaments.Warm-up has 2 parts: Loosen-up and Endurance exercises.
Loosen-up
all joints from toe to head. This is the first and most important part of warm-up; it isnecessary before any stretching activity, and is better to be done in beginning of every trainingsession. The following is the typical loosen-up routine of Shaolin monks; repeat each one severaltimes, for example, 9 times to each side:
 
 
Rotate hands in the
wrists
 , to both sides
 
Rotate forearms in the
elbows
 , to both sides
 
Rotate arms in the
 shoulders
 ,
 
 forward and backward 
 
Toes down to floor, rotate
ankles
 
around, to both sides
 
Feet apart or together, rotate
knees
 
around, to both sides
 
Feet apart, rotate
hips
 
around, to both sides
 
Feet apart, rotate upper body in the
lower back 
 , to both sides, arms swing with upper body 
 
Feet apart, twist 
upper back 
 
 from side to side, arms swing with upper body 
 
Rotate
neck 
 
around, to both sides At last, loosen up whole body and shake all extremities.
Endurance Exercises
are a basic requirement in Shaolin kung fu. Dynamic Endurance Exercisesare categorized as part of warm-up and are done before stretching exercises. Begin endurancetraining lightly, then, after some minutes make it as heavy as possible to beyond the endurablelevel; this level increases gradually as the practitioner achieves higher levels of skill one by one.There are various endurance exercises and the practitioner can do different ones each day:
 
 
Run
 
Run sideways, front leg bends in knee; switch direction
 
Run sideways, front leg bends in knee, alternate front and rear feet; switch direction
 
Run, twist upper body from side to side
 
Run, raise feet in behind, slap them
 
Run, raise feet in front, slap them
 
Run, raise knees high
 
Run, raise knees and punch with opposite fist 
 
Run, raise both knees up as you jump high
 
Run, do flying kicks with both legs
 
In squat position walk forward 
 
In squat position leap forward 
 
In squat position leap to sides
 
Roll forward and backward 
 
Sprint forward and backward 
 
… and many other exercises
 
4
This section must be accompanied byBasic Training video tutorials to have a better understanding.
 
3
 
Stretching Exercises:
The ultimate in stretching exercises are the stretching postures of Shaolin Tong Zi Gong. Usually,few people master all the postures. So, based on which postures you want to master, you canchoose the exercises. Begin each stretching exercise with 3~5 soft stretching pulses to wake upthe muscles, then hold the position and stretch for 9 deep-abdominal breaths or so. This way,each exercise takes 1 minute or so;
 
then relax for some seconds to begin the next exercise. Do allthe exercises every training day. At 
advanced level 
, at which you can assume the Tong Zi Gongposture of the exercise--this may take one or a few years--you can abandon mastered exercises,and instead, assume their Tong Zi Gong postures for 9 deep-abdominal breaths or so. Afterachieving this level in all the exercises, in addition to stretching and balance, daily Tong Zi Gongis upgraded into a set of qigong breathing. This is the highest level of mastery.
 
 for 
 posture 1
:
 
Both arms straight forward, hands fixed on wall, bow forward to stretch; thenboth arms straight backward, hands fixed on wall, deep squat to stretch.
 
 for 
 posture 2
:
 
Feet apart, arc backward, both palms to floor at behind.
 
 for 
 posture 3
:
 
Stand, turn both toes inward as far as possible, toes in touch, bend down.
 
 for 
 posture 4
:
 
Stand, turn both toes outward as far as possible, heels in touch, sit down.
 
 for 
 posture 5
:
 
Squat on one knee, other leg straight in front on its heel, hands clasp and dragits toes backward, bend forward and press your head to the leg; switch legs. At advanced level, you can assume front 
‘ 
clasping Buddha
’s
foot 
’ 
posture.Split legs to front and rear and fall to floor into 180-
degree ‘ 
 front split,
’ 
legs straight; switchlegs. At advanced level, you can assume
‘ 
 posture 5 
.
’ 
 
 
 for 
 posture 6
:
 
Squat on one knee, other leg straight to side on its heel, hands clasp and drag itstoes backward, bend sideward and press side of head to the leg; switch legs. At advanced level, you can assume side
‘clasping
Buddha
’s foot’ 
posture.Split legs to right and left and fall to floor into 180-degree
‘ 
side split,
’ 
legs straight. At advanced level, you can assume
‘ 
 posture 6
.
’ 
 
 
 for 
 posture 7 
:
 
Try to pass your head and shoulders through your legs with straight legs.
 
 for 
 posture 8 
:
 
Try to pass your head and shoulders through your legs with bent legs.
 
 for 
 posture 9
:
 
It is
an advanced variant of ‘front split 
 ,
’ 
practice it after mastering front split.
Formal stretching kicks:
 
‘ 
 front kick 
’ 
to forehead,
‘ 
side kick 
’ 
to ear,
‘ 
inward crescent kick,
’ 
 
‘ 
outward crescent kick.
’ 
Begin all with feet near together, palms pulled to sides, both legsstraight while kicking, kick at the head level, take half a step with each kick and then kick withthe other leg, repeat each kick 9 times or so with each leg.
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