Shaolin 72 Special Skills Competition (Shaolin 72 jidasai 少林七十二技大赛)

Well now, what's all this then?

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Shaolin Temple to hold ‘Eastern Olympics’ martial arts contest
2017-06-09 09:29 Global Times Editor: Li Yan ECNS

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Monks practice martial arts at Shaolin Temple in central China's Henan Province, Jan. 20, 2017. Shaolin Temple is located at Songshan Mountain in Henan. As one of the cradles of Chinese Kungfu, it is the birthplace of the Shaolin martial arts. Monks here are famous for their Kungfu skills. (Xinhua/Li An)

The famous Shaolin Temple in Central China's Henan Province plans to hold an "Eastern Olympics" by inviting contestants from around the globe to test their martial arts skills.

Qualifiers will be held from July 30 to August 2 and will include four martial arts tests, including "iron palm" brick breaking and the "double finger Zen" handstand, Zheng Shuming, a spokesperson for the contest, told the Global Times Thursday.

The competitors will be evaluated on the number of bricks they can break in a set time; the number of push-ups they can do; how long they can do a handstand supported only by two of their fingers and how far and accurately they can throw knives, said Zheng.

He added that the contest has already attracted more than 1,000 applicants from countries as far afield as the U.S., the UK and Italy. "The abbot has long aspired to hold such a contest … Eastern sports are different from Western sports, so the abbot hopes this contest can be an Eastern Olympics," Zheng said.

National and international competition winners will be prioritized during the selective round, said Zheng, adding that Shaolin Temple welcomes people, regardless of their nationality or race, to participate actively in this contest.

The Shaolin Temple, one of the most famous Mahayana Buddhist monasteries in China, was built in the fifth century and has became a symbol of Chinese kung fu.

In 2013, some 250 martial arts enthusiasts from the U.S. arrived at the renowned Shaolin Temple and practiced the kowtowing ritual for the temple's abbot.

The ritual is the solemnest Chinese courtesy that sees disciples offer their respect to their masters.

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Eastern sports are different from Western sports

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Are we really calling those events "Eastern sports"?

That being said, sounds like it'd be fun to watch. :D

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Originally Posted by Punch.HeadButt

Are we really calling those events "Eastern sports"?

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Actually, I'm not exactly sure what they are calling it. I've yet to hear a formal title. But we do have a Kung Fu Tai Chi rep there, who has promised to bring us a full report.

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China’s Shaolin Temple welcomes 116 kung fu masters for grand gathering
Marital artists will compete in four disciplines as well as attend discussions on Zen Buddhism
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 30 July, 2017, 1:15pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 30 July, 2017, 1:22pm
Viola Zhou
viola.zhou@scmp.com
https://twitter.com/violazhouyi

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/defaul...720_132045.jpg

A week-long international martial arts competition got under way at the world-famous Shaolin Temple in central China on Saturday, mainland media reported.

The evolution of kung fu: from hired killers to soldiers, the mafia, and finally an esteemed sport

The event is the first ever “grand gathering” to be held at the 1,500-year-old temple in Dengfeng, Henan province, which many regard as the birthplace of kung fu, news portal Thepaper.cn reported on Saturday.

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A total of 116 martial artists from across China and around the world will take part in a series of contests across four disciplines, the report said.
These will include demonstrations of the two finger skill, in which practitioners demonstrate their inner strength by doing handstands and press-ups using just two fingers of each hand.
Others participants will pit their abilities against one another in stone lock lifting and knife throwing, while the only woman taking part in the event – a martial artist from Japan, who was not named – is expected to demonstrate her iron palm skill by breaking bricks and wooden boards with her bare hands, the report said.

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According to Shi Yongxin, the temple’s head abbot, the event is not all about martial arts, however.
“We want to tap into our traditional culture with this gathering,” he was quoted as saying.
“Martial arts is not only about sport, it is more about culture and the spirit,” he said.
A series of talks on Zen Buddhism, as well as Go competitions will be held alongside the martial arts demonstrations, the report said.

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"Great Meeting Open to All" is a dumb title. Maybe it sounds better in Mandarin. :rolleyes:

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Shaolin Temple prepares 'Great Meeting'

China Daily, July 30, 2017

The first "Great Meeting Open to All" will be held at the Shaolin Temple from July 29 to Aug 4 in Dengfeng, Henan province.

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A kung fu practitioner smashes bricks using one hand in Luoyang, Henan province, early this Month. XU JUNWEN/CHINA DAILY


The 1,500-year-old temple will welcome kung fu masters and enthusiasts from home and abroad to share their skills and views on kung fu.

Shi Yongxin, the abbot of Shaolin Temple, came up with the idea of holding the "Great Meeting Open to All" in August 2016, said Zou Xiang, website manager for Shaolin Temple.

The meeting welcomes people of any social status and identity who will be treated equally through diverse forms of cultural exchanges, including Chan (Zen Buddhism), martial arts and medicine, Zou said.

The events date back to the late 4th century, according to historical records.

"Besides the martial arts, Chan and medicinal culture are regarded as the essence of Shaolin culture, and the contests involving the traditional 72 Shaolin kung fu arts can also be seen during the seven-day event," Zou said.

In addition, many foreign disciples are welcome to join in events such as the lamp transmission ceremony, and take part in the "Shaolin Temple and the Northern Buddhist" academic seminar.

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This makes this look a lot like the 'Liqun Cup' International Traditional Wushu and Unique Feats Tournament featured in our DVD Extreme Kung Fu Qigong.

There's video too.

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LOOK: Martial arts masters show off their skills at Shaolin Temple grand gathering
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON AUG 1, 2017 6:15 PM

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This week, more than a hundred martial arts masters from around the world have flocked to the legendary Shaolin Temple in Henan province to put their skills to the ultimate test of friendly competition.
The attending martial artists are competing in four different traditional events: Iron Palm, Stone Lock, Two-Finger and Flying Knife. Take a look at the photos below for a clue as to what these events entail.

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According to Xinhua, the most bricks broken with a single chop so far at the event is eight. Meanwhile, other highlights include one dude using his hand as a hammer.

And another guy apparently trying to give himself a concussion.

This is the first time in the temple's more than 1500-year history that an event like this has been held. Unfortunately, Xu Xiaodong was not in attendance.
[Images via NetEase]

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Martial arts masters and students show off skills at Shaolin temple
Source:Global Times Published: 2017/7/31 18:22:48

http://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/...c3eb70286a.jpg
Photo: Li Hao/GT

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgXdnWiExDw

I just heard from Chris Friedman who said the title of this competition is Shaolin 72 ji da sai 少林七十二技大赛 (Shaolin 72 Special skills competition). This makes a lot more sense because it evokes the 72 Consummate Arts Secrets of the Shaolin Temple

I'm changing the title of this thread accordingly from Shaolin "Eastern Olympics".

First day was rainy and muddy, hard to keep dry and clean, specially when trying to get some clear pictures. China Xinhua new used a little part of the interview they gave me, as one of the foreigners at the event. All in all ,I would say it was a great event and great idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1e1Fjz-Dl0

Read History in the Making: The First Ever Shaolin Temple 72 Specialty Skills Competition by Chris Friedman

Relevant to:
72 Consummate-Arts Secrets of the Shaolin Temple & Shaolin 72 Special Skills Competition (Shaolin 72 jidasai 少林七十二技大赛).

For more coverage, look for "The First Ever Shaolin Temple 72 Specialty Skills Competition" by Chris Friedman in the upcoming November+December 2017 issue of Kung Fu Tai Chi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11hOyZUKLUI

More footage from this tournament. Not really indicative of the event tho.

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Originally Posted by GeneChing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11hOyZUKLUI

More footage from this tournament. Not really indicative of the event tho.

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I really like the Monkey guy his form looks firm like Bak Mei like he really wants to hit you with the staff lol.

Some of the other guys are a bit skinny so it`s hard to tell if some of their poses are like lion dance footwork for show but still martial or wushu blend with western gymnastics and ballet poses:cool:

I read about wushu years ago I remember reading after the ban on martial arts was lifted after Nixon the Mainland started getting above mentioned ballet, gymnastics coaches to help stylize the new Wu Shu routines for performance competition.

I`m looking up the history of Shaolin forms on youtube etc and it`s kind of hard to see who is a paid athlete doing san da and wu shu for cash and who is basically a 20 year old monk doing it for the love like my Sifu is well off retired Engineer gives his time every weekend to teach and promote in Chinatown for like 50 years that`s pretty monkish lol.

It`s hard to see if its wu shu based without looking up a bio and that gets tedious when trying to find the old school forms.

Gene do you know when that Toad set was developed, is it newer like performance based or does it have moves from an older toad set? .

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Originally Posted by diego

Gene do you know when that Toad set was developed, is it newer like performance based or does it have moves from an older toad set? .

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Read my article Deadly Venom: The Toad in our SEP+OCT 2016 issue.

See now the benefits of being a subscriber. You wouldn't have to ask such questions. :cool:

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Originally Posted by GeneChing

Read my article Deadly Venom: The Toad in our SEP+OCT 2016 issue.

See now the benefits of being a subscriber. You wouldn't have to ask such questions. :cool:

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lol, I`ll have to hit up my local news stand for that article, Thanks.:D

I`ve been focused on Bak mei since 2011 working on my drawing skills for like graphic novels so I am looking up the old legends of Kung Fu again...lost like 400 magazines in the storage flood of 2012 lol I think the first issue I bought from you guys must have been in 1996ish.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgXdnWiExDw

Gene, at 1:07:00-1:09:00 in the full LIVE: First ever Kung Fu competition in Shaolin Temple of Mount Song video who is the monk doing the Shaolin Yoga form?.

That`s bloody amazing..he has strong fighting stances so it`s not just skinny hippy yoga lol his posture is very dynamic very good form to open up ground fighting muscles and such.

VICE China interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOGJaTJef-s

:) I have been off-line for a while and missed watching any of this event last summer. POST #6 Video says it all. Great to be able to watch a competition like this.