Originally Posted by
Fei Li
Hi all.
To me the most comprehensive and reasonable summary about what shaolin is or is not,
I read in Adam Hsu's "A sword polishers record" and "Lone sword against the cold cold sky".
I will scan it if I find the time.
(It is by the way one of the best if not THE best book about kung fu I ever read)
Just a brief summary of what he found out in his travels to the temple:
There was only one Temple, the one in the north.
Shaolin itself was not really known for a long time, but became popular trough the Swordman tales. As a result many MA Schools tried to take advantage of this popularity.
He also states that Shaolin was more of a MA Melting pot than a distinct style.
The monks had a life before entering the temple and they brought different styles in.
Again this was just a brief resume from what I remembered, read the book, it's worth your time!