“If your primary interest is tournament skills, I advise you to seek your training elsewhere! Most of what you will learn here is too lethal for tournament use. I teach the ancient system of Shaolin-Do, ‘Art of survival, not of sport.’ As did the immortals, we should learn to destroy so that we may preserve! It is a way of truth. The knowledge that I offer you is not an athletic training; it is a sacred trust.”
-Shaolin Grandmaster Sin Kwang The’-
Age, gender, ethnicity, weight, fitness level, flexibility and strength – None of these are an issue when starting your training in Shaolin. Like the Shaolin Temples of Ancient China, our student body is comprised of both male and female students of all ages and fitness levels.
Material
Our Kung Fu training was obtained from the Shaolin Temples, and was developed to work the mind and the body, in turn creating and better and well rounded martial artist. At each belt level the student will learn certain techniques, building skill and ability, preparing them for more advanced material at the next level. The material you will find in Shaolin is much more advanced than modern day (contemporary) martial arts. From White Belt to 1st Degree Black Belt students will learn over 21 long forms consisting of 7 different open hand fighting systems and 6 different weapons, 30 short forms that develop power and coordination, 20 techniques that develop combination attacks, and over 50 different street fighting techniques that include knife defense, grappling, and ground defense. This make for a well rounded martial artist. Each student will learn how to defend themselves at long and short range, from the ground, with weapons and against multiple attackers.
Classes
Classes are well structured. They start out with warming up, stretching, running through kicking & punching exercises, controlled (but free) sparring, and conditioning exercises. Classes are non-stop and are designed to keep you moving. Students work at their own pace to allow them to learn at their abilities. Meaning those with prior martial arts experience may advance a little faster at first, and those that have little experience may get a good understanding of the fundamentals.
Your first class
The first class will cover basic kung fu stances, basic kicks, proper punching, and the first three techniques taught at white belt. Each class after that will build on the other, learning new and more challenging techniques, giving a foundation for the next level of training.
Why we use the Belt System
You might be wondering why we use the belt ranking system when most Kung Fu schools do not. It is to honor our Great Great Grandmaster Ie Chang Ming. When Grandmaster Ie fled China and moved to Indonesia, he continued teaching Kung Fu. He found that at that time the government had outlawed all Chinese martial arts so he decided to adapt the belt ranking system from the Japanese styles to disguise it.
At the Shaolin Temple there were only four levels; Practitioner, Disciple, Master and Grandmaster. Grandmaster Ie divided the practitioner’s level into 5 levels of belts; White, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Brown. The disciple level begins at first degree black belt and is divided into 4 levels between 1st degree black belt and 4th degree black. The Master level begins at 5th degree black belt. In all, there are 10 levels of black belt within our system.
The rank of 10th degree Black Belt belongs to the Grandmaster.
