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The Shao-Lin Temples
The ancient Shao-Lin Temples may be compared to a
martial arts university. Each temple had several Shao-Lin Masters who were
experts or specialists in a particular area of training. Thus, the students
could learn from the best in every field. There were 3 classes of Shao-Lin
devotees namely monks, priests and practitioners. The most difficult part was to
gain admission to one of these temples. Young students had to wait outside the
temple for an eternity before they were accepted or rejected based on their
temperament and attitude based on the monks discreet observations. They had to
endure months or years of doing menial chores before they were accepted as
disciples. Those accepted would receive an education in philosophy, fine arts
and the martial arts.
In order to graduate from the temple, they would have to exhibit phenomenal
skills and pass through 18 testing chambers in the temple. If they survived the
first 17 chambers, the reward for their hard work was a 18th chamber. With over
110 mechanicly activated diveces, the percent that came out was far smaller than
the ones who didn't make it. At the end of this 18th chamber there was a large
iron couldron filled with hot coal which they would have to grip, usually
weighing between 200, 250 pounds, with their bare forearms and have the raised
relief of a tiger and dragon burnt into their arms. These marks were the signs
of a true Shao-Lin Master.
For thousands of years the Shao-Lin Masters drew upon their experiences to
refresh and renew the Shao-Lin art with new styles and forms of training. At the
same time, the priests and practioneres instructed worthy laymen in various
styles. In time, many of these laymen initiated their own variants of the
training they had received. The priests and practioners also brought back to the
temple innovations in the martials arts that they encountered in their travels.
The following are the various temples that existed at one point in time and a
brief list of styles attributed to have been developed by them.
HONAN TEMPLE
Northern Fist, Ground Dragon, Monkey, Praying
Mantis, Cotton Fist, Eight Drunken Immortals,10,000 Lotuses Blooming, Golden
Snake, Staff, Spear, Jointed Sticks, Single Broadswords, Double Broadswords,
Tiger Hook Swords, Double Edged Sword, Three Sectional, Chain Whip, Double
Daggers, Double Hand Axes, Single and Double Butterfly Knives
FUKIEN TEMPLE
Southern Fist, Golden Centipede,
Sparrow, White Monkey, Wild Horse, Iron Bone Training, Iron Palm Training, Iron
Shirt Training, Short Fist.
SHANTUNG TEMPLE
Shantung Black Tiger, Tan Family Leg
Techniques.
OMEI SHAN TEMPLE
White Crane, Eagle Claw, Golden Cock, White
Swan, Ostrich.
KWANGTUNG TEMPLE
Tiger-Crane System, Fist of Ch'a, Golden
Roaches, 10,000 Bees Attacking.
WUTANG MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Pa Kua Chang, Hsing I Chu'an,
Liu Hsing Ch'uan, T'ai Chi Broadsword, Spear, Ta Mo Sword and Double Sword and
Spear, Seven Star Sword.
HUA MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
Classical Fist of Hua, Modern Fist of Hua,
Chang Ch'uan.