Photo: The Abbot of Shaolin Temple with the Shaolin Temple Warrior Monks visit Meta Headquarters in California, November 2, 2023.

Current Changes in Traditional Shaolin Kung Fu

By Gene Ching

It is said that Shaolin Temple is the “cradle of martial arts from all over the world” (Ching, 2010, p. 7). According to legend, the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Bodhidharma,

created Yijinjing, the Muscle Tendon Change Classic, to strengthen the bodies of monks so they might endure prolonged periods of meditation. Martial arts lore often attributes

this qigong method as the symbolic origin of martial arts, although most modern scholars find this tale to be apocryphal (Ching, 2010, p.6).

Regardless of the Bodhidharma myth, today the Shaolin Temple is thriving. Nestled in the Song Mountain range, the central mountain of China’s five sacred mountains, the Shaolin Temple has been restored after being ravaged by the Japanese in the early 20th century, and again by the Red Guard in sixties. Today, the region receives millions of Buddhist pilgrims and curious tourists every year. In 2010, the historic monuments of Dengfeng, including Shaolin Temple, were inscribed as “The Center of Heaven and Earth” a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site (UNESCO, 2010).



Shaolin Culture in the New Millennium

In the wake of the global pandemic, Venerable Shi Yongxin, the abbot of Shaolin Temple traveled the world as part of his ongoing mission to promote Shaolin’s cultural legacy. During fall 2023, Abbot Yongxin has a rigorous itinerary which began in Argentina, then proceeded to the United States, and then to Australia and Italy (Ching, 2023a). He travelled with an entourage of Shaolin Warrior monks sharing Shaolin culture worldwide. Beyond demonstrations, blessings and meeting with various dignitaries, the Abbot and the monks were propounding two newly established international programs: Shaolin Kung Fu Duanpin System and the Shaolin Kung Fu Games.

The Shaolin Kung Fu Duanpin system is a new tutorial and ranking program that aspires to normalize and standardize Shaolin Kung Fu (Shaolin Temple, 2021a). With centuries of history, Shaolin Kung Fu has evolved into many different styles. Consequently, there are countless Shaolin derived disciplines that call themselves ‘Shaolin.’ Abbot Yongxin aspires to get Shaolin Kung Fu inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, but to do so, the curriculum that is directly from the temple must be more clearly defined. It must distinguish itself from its diaspora. 



The Shaolin Kung Fu Games are tournaments of Shaolin Kung Fu to be held in each of the six continents. The first was held in Africa in June. Following that, games were held in Latin America, North America, and Europe, with Oceania and Asia pending. The champions from these competitions will be eligible for the World Shaolin Kung Fu Games finals, scheduled for somewhere in China in 2024. It is a search for the next generation of Shaolin Kung Fu stars. (Ching, 2023a)

The North American Shaolin Tour 

Abbot Shi Yongxin and the Shaolin entourage made a historic visit to Meta in the Silicon Valley of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. The Shaolin Warrior Monks demonstrated their Kung Fu to a standing-room-only crowd of Meta employees, and the Abbot gave a talk “Zen Buddhism Encounters AI”. Within that talk, the Abbot stated “AI cannot possess the awakening and consciousness preached by Zen.” (Shaolin Temple, 2023b).

The Shaolin emissaries then traveled to Arizona where there are plans to erect the Red Mountain Shaolin Temple in northern Arizona. There are many official Shaolin schools run by Shaolin monks in the United States, however these are akin to any martial arts school, housed in various assorted buildings and strip malls. One of the first ones in California is in a converted auto shop (Ching, Chien, and Chien, 2009).

The Red Mountain Shaolin Temple project is a stand-alone full-size temple based on traditional Chinese architecture. The Abbot offered a Buddhist blessing to the proposed site. The project is only in the conceptual phase at this writing but aspires to reach its first completion goal in 2026 (Red Mountain Shaolin Temple, 2022).

The emissaries returned to California to stage the First North American Shaolin Kung Fu Games and the Second North American Shaolin Kung Fu Duanpin in San Gabriel (Ching, 2023c). The first North American Shaolin Kung Fu Duanpin was held in San Jose, California in May 2023 (Ching, 2023d). In addition, there was a special performance held in downtown Los Angeles at the historic Million Dollar Theater, Immortal Shaolin: The Past, Present and Future of Kung Fu (Ching, 2023c). All three events were overwhelmingly successful. 

The Youth, Women, and the Future of Shaolin Culture

During his southern California visit, Abbot Shi Yongxin took the time to answer a few questions from UNESCO ICM about the place of youths and women within Shaolin culture. Regarding youths, the nearest city to Shaolin Temple is Dengfeng where there are dozens of massive Kung Fu schools with tens of thousands of students, almost all of them children. These are mostly boarding schools. The students get a basic education alongside rigorous Kung Fu training, typically six days a week. Shaolin Temple does not allow students to become monastics until they are of age, although young potential disciples are a special class called Shami. However, there are very few Shami. Only a few of the young students from Dengfeng aspire to become monks and have the fortitude to actualize it. According to Abbot Yongxin, “The youth are really trying to use Shaolin Kung Fu to increase their energy level and their health to meet their homework requirements” (Shi, 2023).

Regarding women, Shaolin Temple has a nunnery that is positioned on the trail to Bodhidharma’s cave. There is also Yongtai nunnery which a sister temple is near Shaolin Temple. According to legend, Yongtai nunnery was built on the site of the humble hut of Zhuanyun, the first Buddhist nun of China (Ching, 2010, pp. 178-179). Both the Shaolin nunnery and Yongtai house practicing Buddhist nuns. Abbot Yongxin admits that he hasn’t done that much with the nuns because there is a separation between monks and females. However, he says that the population of nuns  has been increasing so he hasn’t pushed to promote this area (Shi, 2023).

The priority of Shaolin Temple lies in the Games and the Duanpin program at this time. According to Abbot Yongxin, “We want to have a global Shaolin association. There are so many organizations; they can just call themselves Shaolin or whatever.” With the Abbot at the head of the Games and the Duanpin program, it is clear what comes directly from Shaolin Temple. “The ultimate goal is for all the Shaolin Kung Fu and Shaolin culture to grow locally” (Shi, 2023).

<Reference>

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Shi, Y. (2023) Interview by Gene Ching and Gigi Oh, 11 November

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※ Views in this writing are the author's own