Shaolin Training....

[Qigong]

does anyone know of any Shaolin Temple training methods used for serious physical conditioning....i want my body in the greatest condition possible and i would like to learn the ways of Shaolin, but have no access to a temple or school...i want to learn by myself and train by myself until i have the money and am old enough to take a trip to China and learn there straight from their teachings...although this is a longshot, im still going by my question: "Does anyone know of any Shaolin training methods for serious physical conditioning?"


im looking for some training exercises used by the monks and students, taught by the teachers there....i know its hard to find if you dont actually go there...but hey, its worth a try...

please help me out...thanx....

-Chi of Internity

[wall]

- low stances held for a long time

- single leg squats

- chinups

- pushups

- one arm pushups

- handstand pushups

- head stands

- jumps

- ...

[Thundermudd]

Research the I-Chin Ching - "49 dynamic muscle tendon change exercises" These are what Dao Mo brought to the Shaolin Temple. Excellent stuff - like yoga w/serious balls.

[Qigong]

thanx guys...i can do some of that **** u listed wall....cuz i used to bboy(breakdance) for a year and a half, and i still do....so i can headstand forever, literally. and handstand pushups against a wall.....but yea ima get them ****s down packed. thanc for the help...

ima research that thing u said thunder, ima check that out, thanx for the help.

[Qigong]

but by the way, do u know any of these stances? ive been looking for em but no one seems to have any information, except the history of it. i want some PICTURES!!!!! haha nah, but i might jus go buy some books on it....but lemme know

[SevenStar]

try doing bodyweight exercises - the handstand pushups, plyometrics, etc. Don't worry about temple exercises. If you start trying to learn them on your own, and are doing them wrong, then you are going to have to break your bad habits when you begin training under an instructor.

[Serpent]

72 Consummate Arts Secrets Of The Shaolin Temple, ISBN 7-5335-0486-0

Hard as fvck to find, but there's your temple training - all the conditioning and strengthening gungs are in there.

[bung bo]

i think there is a section on shaolin stances in the last Kung Fu: Qigong mag. my suggestion is to hold a horse stance till it hurts, (when your quads burn) then hold for a bit longer, then stop. massage your legs and stretch. if you don't feel any burn, you won't make progress. (i don't mean bad burn, like nerve damage) pay attention to keeping your muscles relaxed and sink your breath to your dantien. IMPORTANT: keep your knees over you toes, otherwise you'll hurt your knees. and meditate if you want to.

[Thundermudd]

Doing forms etc with a weight vest on is good too.

[Scythefall]

I'm going to run with Thundermudd on this one too. First, you *do* need to get the latest Shaolin Kung Fu special issue. It has Shaolin twisting exercises in it which will give you tremedous strength in your stances. You add a weight vest or weighted belt and you will develop even faster.

Like SevenStar said, don't buy a book and expect to do Muscle-Tendon Change exercises correctly. I haven't seen the videos put out by Shaolin Overseas so I can't recommend them. If you can't get a teacher, just skip out. Also, if you are wanting to train at Shaolin, you do need to check out the thread about the Brooklyn Monk over in the Shaolin forum.

Anyway, like I was saying, the twisting exercises are big helpers. Buy a book on Plyometrics like Jumping Into Plyometrics which has exercises we can use for martial arts. There's alot of core strengthing and jump training in it.

And most of all, Qigong, are you in a martial arts class now?

[Qigong]

not yet, but ive been training fer it fer a while now and im just waiting for the right place....im looked at one school near me that teached JKD, BJJ, Muy Thai Kickboxing and Eskrima....so im thinkin about that but it is real expensive i dont have the money for it....i wish i could do like Bruce Lee and trade dance lessons for martial arts instruction.....that would be lovely....but....no....it wont happen....i wanna learn Shaolin Boxing and all the arts of the shaolin temple, but JKD is also in my interest, due to my infatuation with Bruce Lee....and its bascially everything shaved off into the essentials....so thats what i want but at the same time want the discipline and training methods of the Shaolin Monks....i dunno man im in a pretty big pickle....lemme know....peace

[maccajim]

have a look at this website www.shaolinwolf.com

it is a ny shaolin school with shi yang ming pretty famous monk has some good pictures on stretching punching and kicking also very good explanation with the photos, it is a bit wushu but he looks like he trains bloody hard.

I especially liked the explanation on punching using every muslce from the heel of your foot up your legs back shoulders to the arm, when i first read it a year ago had no clue what he meant, after stretching everyday and training hard that is the shaolin punch, makes a loud noise just in the air when you get it right.

good luck

[Scythefall]

Well, Bruce Lee's JKD isn't really an art. It's a thought process. I recommend picking up the book from the Bruce Lee Library that is plainly called Jeet Kune Do. It's a rare book in that it has his theories on combat in general. Jeet Kune Do is a supplement though. Bruce Lee's disavowal of tradition and forms is silly. He learned kung fu before he decided this. I always tell people they need to reach an advanced level in at least one martial art before they start trying to say what is essential and what is not.

For instance, in Shaolin, you'll see us in extremely low crouches with arms extended to the sides with crane beak and crane wing. It's a signature move in the form, but also is training for extension. Your arms and legs are at their limits. Your body and mind is making a record of these limits. The next time you miss with a punch, your body is going to stop where it needs to and won't hyperextend, possibly damaging the shoulder or elbow.

I would look for a traditional school before I would recommend going to a school that teaches such a vast array of non-related arts. Tae Kwon Do is a great starter. Where I was from, Tae Kwon Do was the only school we had. It was great though. I took for years. Unfortunately, my school's lineage had a big power struggle and out of nowhere our forms began to change. For some reason I lost interest due to having to backtrack and relearn basic forms. I wouldn't trade the experience for the world though. Your kicks and punches are full of snap and power in TKD.

Look for a well disciplined class when you're first starting. That way you always know where you stand.

[Qigong]

thanx for the help, but i dont desire to take Tae Kwon Do at all....i dont find it very appealing and it doesnt seem to effective in real life. i would like something to train me to my hardest and highest potential, i just dont think TKD would do that. Kung Fu is my interest now, and i would like to practice the Shaolin arts as did small children of Shaolin. i want to start from the beginning. learn the basics and master them. learn the next things and master them as well. when i learn something, i always have to be the best, or i dont move on. i learn this one thing before adding other things to my list. its just an instinct i have. so if anyone could give me some advice about schools that teach Shaolin arts, or any form of Kung Fu near me...that would be lovely. thanx.

[GeneChing]

The Shaolin special is off the newsstand, but we still have it available here. Right now, there is a fair amount of stock, but Shaolin specials often sell out.