Shaolin Kungfu

Shaolin Kungfu refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery. Of the tens of thousands of kung fu 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.

Huang Zongxi described Chinese 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:

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 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.

According to the Jingde of the Lamp, after Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk from Kerala in 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.

Styles:

Xiao Hong Quan - Small flood 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 1st Emperor of Sung dynasty who was a military commander)

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