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Shaolin kung fu training

from beginning to the highest level of Shaolin temple monks

Shaolin (少林) kung fu (功夫)/wushu (武术) contents are:

1. basic skills (基本功: ji ben kung): stamina and flexibility&balance (童子功: tong zi kung);1

2. power skills (气功: qi kung):

a. internal (内: nei) and external (外: wai) Qi kung meditation for energy control;2

b. the 72 secret skills (七十二功: qi shi er kung), the legendary exercises of Shaolin monks;3

3. combat (散打: san da) skills: barehanded, weapon, and barehanded vs weapon styles (套路: tao lu).1

Shaolin kung fu training schedule depends on the lineage, master, the trainee, and has varied from

era to era. the typical schedule recorded in Shaolin temple texts is: monks train every day and every

year, except for one or a couple of days a week to rest and do the chores. they get up before sunrise. then

do Qi kung meditation for a half hour. they also do external Qi kung later every day. Qi kung is better

done at sunrises, early afternoons, or before sleep. after morning Qi kung, they usually do basic training,

before breakfast, by a quarter to a half hour of warm-up and a half hour on Tong Zi kung. routines and

their combat methods are usually trained in afternoons or other sessions for an hour or so. every monk

also practices a few ones of the 72 skills, at any time, day or night; practicing each skill takes a few

minutes but some of them take up to a half hour every day. in general, Shaolin kung fu exercises can be

done at any time, all in one session or different sessions. also, Shaolin temple believes that “kung fu is

trained wherever a bull lies down,” they mean Shaolin kung fu can be trained at any place. they also

believe that after 100 days of training skills emerge, and after 3 years initial mastery is attained, but

complete mastery takes decades.

1 Shaolin kung fu (instructionals) (at YouTube.com): hundreds of full video tutorials by Shaolin temple inheritors.

2 books: Yang Jwing-Ming’s “Qigong for Health and Martial Arts,” “Qigong Meditation: Embryonic Breathing,” “Qigong Meditation: Small Circulation,” and his other Qi kung books.

3 books: “Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin” and “72 Consummate Arts Secrets of the Shaolin Temple.”

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1. Shaolin ji ben kung (basic training)4

a. Warm-up makes stretching and other exercises much easier and more efficient, and prevents

injuries to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Shaolin monks loosen up the 9 main joints and the relevant

minor joints, like finger joints, before stretching and in beginning of any training session. pictures show

the typical loosen-up method for every joint. repeat each one several times, for example, 9 times to the

clockwise and 9 times to the counterclockwise direction:

arms:

legs:

trunk:

at the end, loosen up whole body and shake all extremities.

4 Shaolin monks basic training tutorials (at YouTube.com).

rotate knees around rotate hips around rotate ankles around

rotate upper body around the

waist

rotate head around the neck

twist shoulders around the back

rotate arms around the

shoulders rotate hands around the

wrists

rotate forearms around the elbows

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b. Endurance exercises develop stamina and sometimes are considered a part of warm-up. repeat

each exercise for a while. begin endurance training lightly at the first minutes, then make it as quick as

possible gradually. there are various endurance exercises; do a few exercises every day:

run: jog; run and twist upper body from side to side; sprint forward; sprint backward; …

run sideways; switch direction: legs get close to and far from each other alternatively like a scissor;

legs cross each other; legs cross each other with feet alternate to front and rear; …

raise knees high alternatively: run and raise knees; raise knee and punch with opposite hand; …

jump: jump high; run and jump high; jump and raise both knees high; …

roll: forward; backward;

pushup: lie prone with hands on ground near the shoulders with straight body to push up by

straightening the arms;

squat: walk forward; leap forward; leap to sides; …

walk and slap kicks alternatively: slap feet soles in behind near the hips with opposite palm; slap

outside of feet in behind near the hips; slap feet soles in front of chest with opposite palm; slap insteps

in front of chest; …

flying kicks

… and many other exercises.

c. Tong Zi Kung literally means ‘childish skills’ and is the set of flexibility and balance skills. Tong

Zi kung is recommended to be trained since childhood, however, it can be mastered at any age, young or

old. if one masters Tong Zi kung, being as soft as cotton and as light as a swallow, they will feel like being

given a second childhood. various variants of Tong Zi kung postures have emerged in the course of the

centuries. however, the sayings go that “Tong Zi kung has 18 postures.” in this section, 18 (start & 8

flexibility & 8 balance & end) main postures and their most usual variants are shown. Shaolin flexibility

postures are mastered via stretching exercises. a complete set of Shaolin stretching exercises is described

below. Shaolin balance postures need calmness and perseverance. to learn some of them one is better

to use supports at the beginning levels, like the help of their hands, lean to a wall, etc. in Tong Zi kung

balance training, assume a few of these postures for a while, like for 36, 72, 108, or more breaths every

day.

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Stretching exercises begin lightly with holding the position, then a few, like 3~5, light stretching pulses

to wake up the muscles, then hold the position and stretch continuously in position for 9 deep lower-

abdominal breaths or so; then relax for some seconds to begin the next exercise. this way, each exercise

takes 1 minute or so. do all the exercises every training day until achieving the mastering level, at which

you can assume the Tong Zi kung flexibility postures with ease. this may take 3 years of training. in that

level of skill, you can abandon ordinary stretching exercises and, instead, do Shaolin Tong Zi kung in

meditative (video at YouTube.com) or combative (video at YouTube.com) routines.

this is a complete set of typical exercises:

for posture 1: both hands fixed on wall in behind, squat down to stretch.

for posture 2: feet apart, arc backward, try to land both palms on the floor at behind.

for posture 3: feet apart, lean forward, try to pass your head and shoulders through your legs.

for posture 4: stand, turn both toes inward as far as possible, bend down.

for posture 5: stand, turn both toes outward as far as possible, sit down.

for posture 6: sit down or stand up, try to hook your feet behind your neck, do with both legs.

for posture 7: one leg squats, other leg straight in front on heel with toes upward, hands clasp and drag

toes of the straight leg to you, bend forward and press your head to the leg; switch legs. at advanced

level, you can assume front ‘clasping Buddha’s foot’ as a prerequisite for ‘posture 7.’

try ‘front split,’ legs straight; switch legs. at advanced level, you can assume ‘posture 7’ itself.

for posture 8: one leg squats, other leg straight to side on heel with toes upward, hands clasp and drag

toes of the straight leg to you, bend sideward and press your ear to the leg; switch legs. at advanced

level, you can assume side ‘clasping Buddha’s foot’ as a prerequisite for ‘posture 8.’

try ‘side split,’ legs straight. at advanced level, you can assume ‘posture 8’ itself.

basic stretching kicks: ‘forward kick,’ ‘sideward kick,’ ‘inward crescent kick,’ ‘outward crescent kick.’

begin all with feet near together, palms to sides, both legs straight while kicking, kick at the head level,

take a half step with each kick, then kick with the other leg, repeat each kick 9 times or so with each

leg.

forward sideward inward outward

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Shaolin Tong Zi kung (flexibility & balance) postures:5

Starting posture: 起势: qi shi, Salute!

Flexibility postures (to be as soft as cotton):

5 Shaolin monks’ Tong Zi kung tutorials (at YouTube.com).

1 lazy monk praises Buddha 懒僧拜佛: lan seng bai fo

1, advanced single-arm variant Buddhist child shows the way 佛童指路: fo tong zhi lu

4 sun and moon 日月: ri yue

2, advanced variant on-chest hide flower under the leaf 叶底藏花: ye di cang hua

2, advanced variant on-knees

2, on-head variant 2

arc backward 下腰: xia yao

5 golden tortoise 金龟: jin gui

5, single-leg variant cross the river on a reed stem 一苇渡江: yi wei du jiang

3 head through the legs

3, simpler variant golden rooster pecks at rice 金鸡食米: jin ji shi mi

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advanced combination of split and 2 green dragon clasps its tail 青龙抱尾: qing long bao wei

7 front skyward step

朝天蹬: chao tian deng

7, prerequisite variant front clasp Buddha’s foot 抱佛腳: bao fo jiao

single/double leg

7, prerequisite variant front split

竖叉: shu cha

7, lying variant front split and

clasp Buddha’s foot 跌叉抱佛脚:

die cha bao fo jiao

8, lying variant side split and

clasp Buddha’s foot 跌叉抱佛脚:

die cha bao fo jiao

8 side skyward step

朝天蹬: chao tian deng

8, prerequisite variant side clasp Buddha’s foot 抱佛腳: bao fo jiao

8, prerequisite variant side split

橫叉: heng cha

6 golden rooster stands on one leg

金鸡独立: jin ji du li

6, lying variant

6, prerequisite variant green dragon coils in the nest 青龙盘窝: qing long pan wo

single/double leg

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Balance postures (to be as light as a swallow):

12, lying variant sleeping arhat

罗汉睡觉: luohan shui jiao

12, sitting variant sleeping fish carries Buddha 卧鱼载佛: wo yu zai fo

aka naughty child praises Buddha 顽童拜佛: wan tong bai fo

10 swallow-posture balance

燕式平衡: yan shi ping heng

aka dragon explores out of the sea 蛟龙探海: jiao long tan hai

9 child praises

Bodhisattva Guan Yin 童子拜观音: tong zi

bai guan yin

combination of 6 and 13 twin dragons play with a pearl 双龙戏珠: xuang long xi zhu

13 meeting a Buddhist ascending to heaven

迎佛升天: ying fo sheng tian

13, another variant meditation in midair

悬空打坐: xuan kong da zuo

11* child/arhat praises Buddha

童子/罗汉拜佛:

tong zi/luohan bai fo

11, simpler variant

*11, double-leg, simpler variant is on horse stance (马步: ma bu),

which is also practiced to improve balance.

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Ending posture: 收势: shou shi

Amituofo! _/\_

16 upside down monument 倒载碑: dao zai bei

16, prerequisite variant upside down monument 倒载碑: dao zai bei

15 upside down balance on hands

15, advanced variants* upside down two-finger meditation 倒立二指禅: dao li er zhi chan

*15, prerequisite variant arhat watching troops formation 罗汉观阵: luohan guan zhen

14, prerequisite variant single-arm support

单臂扶撑: dan bi fu cheng

14 double-arm support

双臂扶撑: shuang bi fu cheng

aka kneeling elbows hang body 跪肘悬身: gui zhu xuan shen

combination of 13 and 14

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2. Shaolin Qi kung (powers training)

a. Shaolin Qi kung meditation

Qi kung meditation is based on deep lower-abdominal (丹田: dan tian) breathing

Nei (internal) qi kung

Wai (external) qi kung

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b. Shaolin kung fu 72 consummate skills

the 72 skills of Shaolin temple have close relation with Qi kung. every monk selects a few skills and

practices them.

1、 六字桩功

2、 头面耳鼻目口功

3、 舌齿身功

4、 内外功夫秘诀

Elementary exercises:

1. hung gold coin (悬金钱: xuan jin qian):

2. hung Buddha's pearl (挂佛珠: gua fo zhu):

3. 1000 sheets of paper (千层纸: qian ceng zhi):

4. RuYi circle (如意圈: ru yi quan):

5. hung cotton ball (悬棉椎: xuan mian chui):

6. strike wooden dummy (打木人: da mu ren):

7. kick wooden pole (踢木桩: ti mu zhuang):

8. kick hung weights (踢称锤: ti chen chui):

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72 skills/arts/methods/techniques kung/yi/fa/shu艺/功/法/术:

36 external 36 internal

1.

2. swim (泅水: qiu shui) aka going into waves (浪里钻: lang li zuan): in

3.

4. spears and knives cannot wound (枪刀不入 : qiang dao bu ru): soft but has outer power: Yin&Yang:

soft

5. dodge and fight (闪战 : shan zhan) aka sand bags (沙包 : sha bao): ext . it develops maneuvering

agility. hang sand bags of smaller than 3 kg, or other objects like metal coins, small stones, knives,

etc., with strong but flexible string at the height of the shoulders. in case of hanging knives, the

exercise is called (金刀换掌 ; jin dao huan zhang). smaller objects are harder to hit and control. stand

in the center of the structure. first, hang 1 bag and strike at it so that it swings out and when it

returns back strike at it again with greater force. deliver 100 blows or more a day without pause.

after mastering it with 1 bag, proceed with 2 bags, with simultaneous or successive blows. then

proceed with 4 bags at front, rear, left and right sides. begin with orderly successive blows, then

proceed to random blows with different parts of your body. gradually proceed to fight with 10~14

bags, at full motion, while you walk, run, jump, fall, dodge, etc.

6. meteor poles (流星桩 : liu xing zhuang): & 1000 sheets of paper (千层纸 : qian ceng zhi) aka standing

like a pile and beating a pile (zhan zhuang da zhuang): ext

7. serial hits (排打 : pai da): ext. It strengthens all parts of body against enemy blows. The trainee takes

a piece of hard wood and delivers successive blows with it at all parts of his body, i.e., the arms, legs

(front and inner sides, outer and back sides), chest and stomach, both sides of the chest and waist,

back and waist. He can also hit all sides of his head. He starts with light blows and makes the blows

heavier gradually. He makes 100 blows or more at each of these parts. He can train himself 2 times

every day, e.g., once in the morning and once in the evening. After a year, instead of a wood, He uses

a brick and trains as before. He will use a piece of iron, e.g., a rod or hammer, after another half a

year. After another half a year, which is 2 years total, he is expected to reach mastership.

8. iron head (铁头: tie tou): ext.

9. enlightened (罗汉: luohan): in

10. tortoise back (龟背: gui bei): ext

11. metal bell cover (金钟罩: jin zhong zhao): ext+in

12. iron robe (铁布衫: tie bu shan): ext

13. iron belly (: tie dai) aka iron ox (铁牛: tie niu): ext

14. cloth bag (布袋: bu dai): in+some ext elements

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15. jade belt (玉带: yu dai) aka continuous round of the universe (qian kun juan), ext+in, The trainee hugs

a tree firmly by both his thighs and ringing his arms round it, and tries to uproot it. After a year he

can shake the tree forcefully. After another year, the tree gradually wilts. At the 3rd year, the force

may uproot or break the tree trunk. The hug the tree (抱树: bao shu) skill is mastered with success.

The trainee may then continue doing the exercise with pillar-like stones of 200-250 kg. Stones are

slippery and it is more difficult to raise them. He trains himself until he can easily raise and lower

the stone. He then will try to hold the stone suspended for as long as possible. After 2 years, he will

try to walk while holding the stone.

16. 500-kilo sluice shutter (千斤闸: qian jin zha): ext

17. raise pot (上罐: shang guan): ext

18. sack of iron (铁袋: tie dai) aka sack of iron beads (铁珠袋; tie zhu dai): ext.

19. stone padlock (石锁: shi suo): ext

20. frog (蛤蟆: ha ma): ext

21. separate water (分水: fen shui): ext

22. lash power (鞭劲: bian jin): ext

23. eagle wings (鹰翼: ying yi): ext

24. Bawang's elbows (霸王肘: ba wang zhou): ext

25. iron arms (铁臂: tie bi): ext

26. twin locks (双锁 : shuang suo): ext. The trainee hits all parts of both his forearms to each other, like

the two arms of a scissor. This is very painful. After a long time, he will feel no pain, and the forearms,

while colliding with each other, make a dull sound. Afterwards, he proceeds by training his hands as

well, his fists, palms, fingers, by hitting them mutually to each other. After a while, when a hollow

sound is heard while doing this exercise, this level of mastership is over. Finally, he will hit his arms

against his raised shins, raising the left and right knee in turn, to keep balance between hard and soft

in his arms.

27. hard and soft (刚柔: gang rou): ext+in

28. horse saddle (马鞍: ma an): ext

29. bullet fists (弹子拳: dan zi quan): ext

30. Yin hands (阴手 : yin shou) aka Yin fists (阴拳 : yin quan) aka mysterious air punch (玄空拳: xuan kong

quan) aka well fist (jing quan); if done by punching to a candle instead of a well chasing the wind

palms (追风掌: zhui feng zhang) aka sun-rays hands (阳光手: yang guang shou): in

31. pushing mountain palms (推山掌: tui shan zhang): ext

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32. bamboo leaf palms (竹叶手 : zhu ye shou) aka copper sand palms (铜砂掌 : tong sha zhang) aka palm

rotating sand (fan sha zhang): ext

33. iron sand hands (铁沙掌 : tie sha zhang) aka black sand hands (hei sha shou): ext. The trainee fills a

canvas bag with one or a few kilograms of iron sand or iron chips, or another hard sand-like material.

He puts this bag on a bench, a short wall, or on a hard ground and delivers successive blows with the

palm and the back of his hands at it. He may also use the lower edge of his hands. The blows should

be light at first and become heavy gradually. After training during 100 days, good results are reached,

but complete mastership takes one or a couple of years. After that, he is expected to be able to break

several bricks or stones with his hands.

34. hands of 5 poisons (五毒手 : wu du shou) aka 5 poisons chase sand palms (五毒追砂掌: wu du zhui sha

zhang) aka palm of 5 thunders aka Yin hands: ext+softness Yin

35. mantis claws (螳螂爪: tang lang zhao) aka diamond hand (jingang shou): ext+in

36. chop-devil swords (斩魔剑 : zhan mo jian) aka Bodhisattva Guan Yin's palm (观音掌 : guan yin zhang):

soft which developed outer power: Yin

37. rubbing palms (合盘掌: he pan zhang) aka golden dragon hands (金龙手: jin long shou): ext

38. whirlwind palms (旋风掌 : xuan feng zhang) aka cinnabar sand palms (朱砂掌 : zhu sha zhang) aka

plum-blossom palms (梅花掌: mei hua zhang) aka red sand palms (紅砂掌: hong sha zhang): in

39. one-finger meditation (一指禅: yi zhi chan): in

40. one diamond finger (一指金刚: yi zhi jin gang): ext

41. poke stone (点石: dian shi): ext

42. metal spades (金铲 : jin chan) aka immortal’s hands (仙人掌 : xian ren zhang): is external but also has

internal aspects. The trainee delivers forceful stabbing blows with his fingertips, with the four fingers

straight and close together, at hard objects, like walls, tables, benches, trees, etc., every day. After a

long time, he is expected to be able to make small dents in wooden objects. If he can make a hole in

a wooden object, the first stage is over. Then he will do the exercise on a stone as before. With time,

after many blows, he is expected to make a deep dent on the stone.

43. locking fingers (锁指: suo zhi): in+ext

44. pull out nails (拔钉 : ba ding): ext. It develops the locking force of the fingers. The trainee knocks a

number of nails with length of about 10 cm into a thick wooden board or a tree. He grabs a nail with

the fingers and tries to pull it out. The grab can be done with 2 fingers, the thumb and the index

finger, or with 3, 4, or all the 5 fingers. If he can pull out the nails, he has reached the first level of

mastership. Then, he pours salt water on the nails to become rusty and then trains himself as before.

At the highest level of mastership, he is expected to be able to pull out the rusty nails.

45. carry 500 kilos (提千斤: ti qian jin) aka water chestnut (shi bo qi, bi qi): ext

46. pull out mountain (拔山: ba shan): hard strengthens internal+develop soft Yin: hard Yang + soft Yin

47. eagle claws force (鹰爪力: ying zhao li) aka dragon claws (long zhao): in&ext

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48. pinch flower (拈花: nian hua): soft exercise for external strengthening: Yin soft

49. metal sand hands (金砂掌: jin sha zhang) aka rub and pierce (摩插: mo cha): ext+in

50. guitar (琵琶: pi pa) aka 3 Yin fingers (san yin zhi) aka springy fingers (zhi tou tan): ext

51. slithering snake (蛇行: she xing) aka jumping centipede (蜈蚣跳: wu gong tiao): ext

52. crouching tiger (卧虎: wo hu) aka sleeper (shui) aka feline (mao): ext

53. knock groins (门裆: men dang) aka golden cicada (jin chan): in

54. draw in Yin (吸阴: xi yin): in

55. stone pole(s) (石柱/桩 : shi zhu zhunag): hard but strengthen internal. The trainee practices the horse-

riding stance (Ma Bu) every day in many repetitions. With time, his legs become stronger and he

does the exercise in less but longer repetitions. After a long time, he can stay in the stance

continuously for one hour. The first goal is reached. Then he will dig two poles of the thickness of

about one third of a foot sole into ground, and will do the exercise on top of them. It is much harder

now, but after 3 months, painful feelings disappear and he may again gradually increase the time of

the exercise. Afterwards, he proceeds with putting a weight of 10-15 kg on both of his thighs. Every

3 months he will add another 5 kg or more until the weight reaches 50 kg, and he can do it

continuously for half an hour on top of the poles. His body is now rooted like a mountain. This takes

5-6 years or more.

56. iron knees (铁膝: tie xi): ext

57. kicking legs (踢腿: ti tui):

58. iron sweeping broom (铁扫帚: tie sao zhu) aka iron leg (tie tui): ext

59. kick wooden pole (踢木桩 : ti mu zhuang) aka pole of cypress (柏木桩 : bai mu zhuang): ext. The trainee

finds a long pole which is rooted and dug into the ground. He kicks and pushes the pole with both

his legs in succession everyday. This is painful, but the pain gradually disappears after a half a year.

After a year, the legs become powerful. Then, instead, he will proceed by kicking a bigger thing, like

a sheer rock or a small wall, weighing 250-350 kg. This is painful again, but pain disappears over

time. If his kick, as expected, can displace the stone to a distance of several feet, the success has been

achieved.

60. shooting feet (足射: zu she): ext

61. light body (轻身: jin shen): in

62. pass on string (一线穿: yi xian chuan): in

63. plum-blossom poles (梅花桩: mei hua zhuang): in

64. flight walking (飞行 : fei xing) aka flight over the earth aka solitary walk of 1000 LIs aka night walking:

in. The trainee ties some small weight to each of his legs and runs as quick as possible on a flat ground

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for as long as he can. Every few days, he adds about 50 g to the weight until it reaches 2-2.5 kg on

each leg. After a few years his body agility becomes great. He continues on by training on uneven,

rugged grounds instead. If at nights, he can run on a rugged ground with stones, rocks, and cliffs as

easily and fast as on a flat ground, the full success has been achieved. If he walks without the weight

on his body, he will see the lightness and extreme ability of his body to run fast and jump over

obstacles.

65. run on boards (跑板: pao ban):

66. fly to roofs and walk on walls (飞檐走壁 : fei yan zou bi) aka 8 steps in the horizontal position (heng

pai ba bu): in

67. deft jumps (蹿纵: cuan zong): in

68. high jumping (跳跃: tiao yue) aka higher and further (登髙超远: deng gao chao yuan): in

69. pass through the curtain (穿帘: chuan lian): in

70. reveal truth (揭谛: jie di): ex+in

71. flip and soar (翻腾: fan teng) aka leather strips (pi tiao): in

72. lizard climbs wall (壁虎游墙 : bihu you qiang) aka climbing a wall (pa bi) aka hung picture (gua hua):

in: ext softness&in hardness

in case of injuries, bleeding, fractures, etc, wait until after the healing, then continue on.

iron sand hand: each palm 30~50 times, 100 days; 50 times after 100 days.

sand claw: rice, 50~100 times (until claws get numbed), 2~3 months; then with sand; then iron, 30~50 times, 1

year; 50~130 times; then wall, more than 100 times a day, after a long time one can make a hole in the wall.

punch: 0-100 times, 3~5 months; more than 100 times; after the pain vanishes, 3~4 sessions daily, each session 50

times, 3~4 month later can break brick; then with stone, continue 10, 20, or 30 years.

head: both fists punch head, morning and evening 30~50 times, 3 months; 100 times, 1 year; 300 times 1 year;

continue 3~5 years; then hit head with a staff 45 cm long 5 cm thick, grab it with both hands, slow to fast, light to

heavy, morning and evening, 30~50 times, 3 months; 50~100 times 1 year; 100~300 times 3 years; after success

hit head to wall, 10~15 times, light to heavy, slow to fast, 3 months; 50~100 times 6 months; 100~300 times 3

years.

jump: hole 30 cm, 3~5 minutes; morning and evening 15~20 times, until about 1.5 meters.