Shaolin question for Gene

[Mr. Horse]

You have been to the temple. You have learned Northern Shaolin. You have trained with the monks. Is the monks kung fu really traditional or not?

[richard sloan]

"A horse is a horse of course of course,
unless of course it's a talking horse..."

[pazman]

sorry, i'm not gene, but i've trained both at shaolin and in traditional kung fu. yes, what i trained in at shaolin is traditional. its different, but its certainly not contemporary wushu....unless it is the ugliest wushu ever. if you've trained in something like northern shaolin or northern mantis, you'd certainly recognize it as traditional, but in my opinion plain shaolin is much more compact, explosive....not as expansive and flowing as northern shaolin. but....the training methods are the same as most traditional kung fu...attention to basic movements and footworks, lots of work on taolu and application, standard chinese-style conditioning, etc.

[Mr. Horse]

Thanks a lot.

[GeneChing]

There are monks that focus on performance so they focus on wushu. That causes the confusion because most people who go to Shaolin only see that. Also the tours, well, that's performance too. But there is definately a core of traditional forms that can be called Songshan Shaolin. In fact, BSL is quite resonnate with Songshan Shaolin theory, but I'd agree with pazman in saying that Songshan Shaolin is more explosive - more fajing. So in answer to your question, look at the monks who aren't on stage and you'll find some serious traditional kung fu. Follow the spotlight and you'll be looking at wushu because it's simply more spectacular. Shaolin has both modern and traditional - and more.

[Mr. Horse]

Thank you