Most martial arts fans, especially those who practice or are interested in the Chinese arts, are familiar with the original iconic 1970s TV show Kung Fu. In the show there is a half-Asian/half-Caucasian monk name Kwai Chang Caine. Through his various trials and tribulations the viewer is taught a valuable lesson each episode, not only about Kung Fu but life itself. The show was wonderfully done and has left a lasting impact on the martial arts world.
The Shaolin Temple and its Shaolin warrior monks have been portrayed on the big screen as having almost superhuman abilities – with bodies hard as steel, fast as a leopard and agile as a monkey. In addition, they are portrayed as having an almost mystical mental discipline to endure unbelievable physical and mental hardships. Not all of their training was physical and mental in such great Shaw Brothers classics as The 36 Chambers of Shaolin. There was a spiritual side as well, with the great masters imparting to their students some profound wisdom of Buddhism philosophy.
Despite the exaggerations one sees in such movies and TV series, they possess an underlying kernel of truth. Most have seen the mesmerizing performances of the famous Shaolin Temple monks through live performances or documentary films, but let’s take a deeper look at the real life training of students of this enchanting art.
Endurance
Endurance and discipline go hand-in-hand for the Shaolin student growing up in one of the many fulltime Shaolin schools in and around the famous Shaolin Temple. China in and of itself is not a land of indulgence and happy-go-lucky lifestyle as seen in the West. Work, study and lifestyle revolve around practicality and necessity. Free time and leisure activities are not at the forefront of one’s existence. In modern cities, the man of the house works long hours to support his family, and the children work equally as hard in study. Play and fun is left for holidays and special occasions. This is especially true in poorer rural areas such as the area where the Shaolin Temple is located, in the Songshan Mountains of Dengfeng, Henan province.
To this very day the local residents of Songshan live a poor simple lifestyle. I have now lived in this area for a year after living in China for the past decade. The lifestyle is very simple and the locals primarily make a living by farming, or operating not-so-profitable restaurants, or as drivers in the city of Dengfeng, located a short drive away. In this area many houses still have outhouses. Resources are scarce, and in order to save money and energy, most homes have no heat. This includes in wintertime, and winter nights can get down to 20 degrees.
The Shaolin monks and students mostly come from poor village areas in and around Henan. They live the lifestyle which is common to all in this rural area, sleeping with no heat in cold winter temperatures. This leads to a physical and mental toughness that cannot be learned by conventional strip-mall martial arts school methods.
This reminds me of an old episode of the Kung Fu TV series where Caine is mistakenly accused of a crime he didn’t commit, and is punished by being stuck in an outside small prison type of structure along with another prisoner to be tortured by the cold. His prison cellmate is a Caucasian man who does not have the endurance training of young Kwai Chang Caine. As the other inmate shakes and shivers, Caine sits still, calm and collected. The man asks Caine, "How do you endure the cold so well?" Caine in turn teaches the man how to meditate and endure the cold. In the morning when the guards come to check in on the prisoners, they are surprised to see the two quietly sitting, apparently unfazed by the cold.
I witness this daily during the second winter season living in the Songshan Mountains with his Shifu and his disciples, who basically live heat-free during the entire winter season, day and night. Not to mention that all training takes place either in the building's yard, which has walls but no roof, or out in the training ground, which is just a field. Though not quite as mysterious as the 1970s Kung Fu episode, it holds true that Shaolin teachers and students can withstand and endure unimaginable conditions.
On a recent trip back to the States to visit my family, I learned firsthand the benefits of enduring such hardships. In traveling from Dengfeng to Florida, there are no direct flights. One must spend a day traveling by train to Beijing, then starting at 7 am embark on 18 hours of air travel (with several plane transfers along the way) to Florida. Miraculously, both my wife and I were unfazed by the two days of grueling travel, and credit it to their training and lifestyle of hardship in the Mountains of Shaolin.
Wisdom
In the show Kung Fu, Caine's teacher Master Po often guided young Caine with enduring words of wisdom. These quotes often came from the Buddhist philosophy or some other ancient oriental wisdom. In reality, Chan Buddhism is a system of doing and learning through experience as opposed to quoting from scriptures. This is one of the discrepancies in the TV show. In reality these lessons are often imparted to the disciple through examples in living. In the author’s own experience, he has learned many valuable lessons simply by watching his Shifu’s behavior in day-to-day dealings. Shifu’s tolerance and self-control are quite admirable, and are an inspiration in and of themselves. In dealings that could lead people back in the States to angry eruptions of cursing (if not violence), Shifu remains calm and disciplined. He often offers words of advice – though perhaps not as mystical and profound as those of Kwai Chang Caine's master, they are always true and useful.
Special training
Anyone growing up watching the famous Shaw Brothers films knows Shaolin Temple was a place of mysterious training that went beyond that of other systems of Asia. Special devices and other training tools helped the monks gain abilities far beyond the average human. Often the monk in training had to master certain skills before moving on to the next room or chamber containing some new devices for specialized training. These training methods were unusual and spectacular to behold, imparting new abilities involving balance, strength or speed.
To this day Shaolin schools in and around the temple have many interesting and unique training devices. One of the more common ones used at my Shifu’s school is the plum blossom poles. By training on such small objects extended above the ground, one develops a keen sense of balance and agility, as well as learning how to deal with fear and adrenalin rush.
The shi suo is a lesser known tool known in English as the stone locks. Made of heavy stone or iron, it has a handle by which one throws it around and catches it in various patterns to increase strength and endurance. Other solid steel weapons that weigh up to 90 pounds apiece are used for strength and endurance training as well. There are also a variety of intricate weapons that develop other attributes in Shaolin students.
More exotic training devices seldom seen in public are also a part of the Shaolin student's training, though used less frequently. On one recent trip to the Shaolin Temple compounds, I witnessed such unusual devices as a kind of Shaolin obstacle course, consisting of a wall for running up, and smaller vertically hanging walls followed by trampolines. On these devices the Shaolin disciples would run, flip, climb and jump. Often these more obscure devices are reserved for shows, demonstrations or documentary films. The knowledge of such training obviously still exists, should the teachers decide to pass it on to their disciples.
Shaolin training and the Shaolin lifestyle provide many great benefits and mysteries that are both deep and profound. Those who choose to dedicate themselves to Shaolin training have much to gain.
