Sil-Lum (Shaolin) Kung-Fu

An Art That Has
all the Animals In Use.

We teach Sil-Lum (Shaolin) Kung-fu. This art form includes joint locks, kicks, punches, throws, sweeps, take downs and also the use of traditional Chinese weapons. Basic weapon instruction includes staff, Escrima sticks, short bo, knife, Nunchaku, sword, spear and walking cane. In the tradition of martial arts training of old, we are selective when it comes to our students. New students must be of good character and have a sincere desire to learn.
 
For the beginner, there are basic control moves designed to defend one against certain grabs, holds, and threatening maneuvers.  In addition, the student is taught basic kicks, how to do them properly and effectively, as well as how to punch and block an attacker.  The intermediate student learns the more complicated techniques, which include many knife attack defenses, weapons training, sweeps, takedowns, and light sparring, which trains the student to use the techniques learned in a fighting situation. 
 
For the long-term student the striving for perfection of form continues.  The dedicated will acquire confidence, self-discipline, and build strength of body and character. Also taught is  Tai Chi Chuan (The Grand Ultimate), the exercise of choice for a billion people daily. It teaches hand-eye coordination, balance, and relaxation while training effective self-defense movement. This is ideal for maintaining one's health and training one's body to be calm yet responsive. We currently have taught students ranging from 3 1/2 to 75 years old. Kung-fu has much to offer everyone due to the adaptive nature of the art.  
 
Like the martial arts schools of ancient china, we have a family based school. We teach separate children and adult classes but teaching the values of family and community is important to us. As a special incentive, children must maintain above average grades in order to stay in our classes. If their grades fall below acceptable levels, we require immediate action.
 
History of the Shaolin Temples
    There are few historical entities that engender as much debate, confusion, and acrimony as the nature and reality of Shaolin. We have heard distinguished university professors categorically deny the existence of either Shaolin or its problem-children Tongs; that only authenticated accounts by the Communist Chinese government are to be trusted; or that the temples are fictitious, based on stories in old novels.   The following accounts are taken from sources who 1) practiced the specific kung fu styles to Masters level from the "supposed" temples, 2) learned their arts AT those temples before the temples were destroyed, or 3) were taught by practitioners from those temples. In addition, at least three individuals (standard rule of evidence accepted by most professional journalists) corroborated our sources. The masters, however, have declined to be named for the reasons that 1) they do not want to engage in controversy--the information is here to accept or reject, as you like (as directed by the last lesson of the Buddha), 2) they have assumed new names after leaving China because, as refugees, did not want their families to suffer for their actions. Having said that, and agreeing in advance to protect the confidentiality of our sources, we have been told that... The Shaolin order dates to about 540 A.D., when an Indian Buddhist priest named Bodhidharma (Tamo in Chinese), traveled to china to see the Emperor. At that time, the Emperor had started local Buddhist monks translating Buddhist texts from Sanskrit to Chinese. The intent was to allow the general populace the ability to practice this religion. 
 
    This was a noble project, but when the Emperor believed this to be his path to Nirvana, Tamo disagreed. Tamo's view on Buddhism was that you could not achieve your goal just through good actions performed by others in your name. At this point the Emperor and Tamo parted ways and Tamo traveled to the nearby Buddhist temple to meet with the monks who were translating these Buddhist texts. The temple had been built years before in the remains of a forest that had been cleared or burned down. At the time of the building of the temple, the emperor's gardeners had also planted new trees. Thus, the temple was named "young (or new) forest", (Shaolin in Mandarin, Sil Lum in Cantonese).
 
    When Tamo arrived at the temple, he was refused admittance, probably being thought of as an upstart or foreign meddler by the head abbot (Fang Chang). Rejected by the monks, Tamo went to a nearby cave, meditated until the monks recognized his religious prowess, and admitted him. Legend has it that he bored a hole through one side of the cave with his constant gaze; in fact, the accomplishment that earned his recognition is lost to history.
 
    When Tamo joined the monks, he observed that they were not in good physical condition. Most of their routine paralleled that of the Irish monks of the Middle Ages, who spent hours each day hunched over tables where they transcribed handwritten texts. Consequently, the Shaolin monks lacked the physical and mental stamina needed to perform even the most basic of Buddhist meditation practices. Tamo countered this weakness by teaching them moving exercises, designed to both enhance ch'i flow and build strength. These sets, modified from Indian yoga’s (mainly hatha, and raja) were based on the movements of the 18 main animals in Indo-Chinese iconography (e.g., tiger, deer, leopard, cobra, snake, dragon, etc.), were the beginnings of Shaolin Kung Fu.
 
    It is hard to say just when the exercises became "martial arts". The Shaolin temple was in a secluded area where bandits would have traveled and wild animals were an occasional problem, so the martial side of the temple probably started out to fulfill self-defense needs. After a while, these movements were codified into a system of self-defense.
 
    As time went on, this Buddhist sect became more and more distinct because of the martial arts being studied. This is not to say that Tamo "invented" martial arts. Martial arts had existed in China for centuries. But within confines of the temple, it was possible to develop and codify these martial arts into the new and different styles that would become distinctly Shaolin. One of the problems faced by many western historians is the supposed contraindication of Buddhist principles of non-violence coupled with Shaolin's legendary martial skills. In fact, the Shaolin practitioner is never an attacker, nor does he or she dispatch the most devastating defenses in any situation. Rather, the study of kung fu leads to better understanding of violence, and consequently how to avoid conflict. Failing that, a Buddhist who refuses to accept an offering of violence (i.e., and attack) merely returns it to the sender. Initially, the kung fu expert may choose to parry an attack, but if an assailant is both skilled and determined to cause harm, a more definitive and concluding solution may be required, from a joint-lock hold to a knockout, to death. The more sophisticated and violent an assault, the more devastating the return of the attack to the attacker. Buddhists are not, therefore, hurting anyone; they merely refuse delivery of intended harm.
 
    The Shaolin philosophy is one that started from Buddhism and later adopted many Taoist principles to become a new sect. Thus even though a temple may have been Taoist or Buddhist at first, once it became Shaolin, it was a member of a new order, an amalgamation of the prevailing Chinese philosophies of the time. Other temples sprung from Hunan. This happened because the original temple would suffer repeated attacks and periods of inactivity as the reigning Imperial and regional leaders feared the martial powers of the not-always unaligned monks. Refugee Shaolin practitioners would leave the temple to teach privately (in Pai) or at other Buddhist or Taoist temples. In rare cases, a new Shaolin Temple would be erected (Fukien, Kwangtung) or converted from a pre-existing temple (Wu-Tang, O Mei Shan). Politically and militarily involved monks (such as the legendary White Eyebrow and Hung Tze Kwan) would be perpetual sources of trouble for the generally temporally aloof monks.
 
    The Boxer rebellion in 1901 was the beginning of the end of the Shaolin temples. Prior to that, China had been occupied by Western and Japanese governments and business interests. The British had turned the Imperial family into an impotent puppet regime largely through the import and sales of opium and the general drug-devastation inflicted upon the poor population. This lead to the incursion of other European powers, which included Russia, France and Holland, and later the Japanese and Americans. By the late 1800s, China was effectively divided into national zones, each controlled by one of the outside powers (similar to post World War II Berlin, on a hugely larger scale). The long-standing animosities between China and Japan worsened, and extended to include all other "foreign devils" as well. Coupled with the now almost universal disdain by the Chinese for their Empress, a Nationalist movement with nation-wide grass-roots support was born. Among the front line soldiers of the new "order" were the legendary and near-legendary martial artists--many Shaolin--known as Boxers (remember how Bruce Lee, in his films depicting these times, refers to himself as a Chinese boxer...). Though their initial assaults on the military powers of the occupation governments were not entirely successful (many believed in Taoist magical spells that would make them impervious to gunfire), their temporary defeat would lead to a more modern reformation that included adopting modern military weapons and tactics.
 
    The withdrawal of western forces was prolonged over many years, and by the end of World War I saw China in an almost feudal state of civil war. Not only were national troops fighting loyalists, but both sides had to fight the Japanese (who still held much of the northern Manchurian region of China) as well as many powerful, regional warlords. Many parts of China were virtually anarchies, but by 1931 almost all non-Asian occupants had been successfully driven out (with the interesting exception, in the late 1930s, of the volunteer American airmen known as The Flying Tigers, who helped repel Japanese forces prior to World War II), and the major combatants within China were the Nationalists and the Communists. Both side displayed the typical jingoistic attitudes of forces in mindless warfare--if you aren't with us, you are against us. Neutrality meant nothing except the possibility of a later enemy. Consequently, soldiers from both sides routinely murdered Shaolin and other monks. One result of this program of murder was the exodus of many monks into the hills, or abroad, with the hope that Shaolin knowledge might survive even if the temples themselves did not.
 
    The temples were unfortunate victims of war in a land that had abandoned its historical practice of respecting posterity and ancestors. These temples were ransacked and looted by various armed groups. O Mei Shan Temple ("Great White Mountain"), in Szechwan Province, was situated on a mountain top and deemed by Chinese officers to be a fitting target for artillery practice. It was shelled in turn by Nationalist and Communist armies. In a fitting twist of fate, this one-time site of medical and natural history knowledge was rebuilt by the Communists in the mid 1970s, and now stands as the National Park and Research Headquarters for the panda preserve.
 
    There are various stories coming out of China today referring to the history of Shaolin, particularly over the past 300 years. However, many of these stories are suspect (compare Chinese accounts of Tiananmen Square with CNN news coverage), with the more commonly "authenticated" versions coming from government records. The fact that Chinese authorities outlawed Shaolin and martial arts practices makes any story about their history from such sources suspect. The prevalent wu-shu styles originated as a result of a compromise between the post-World War II governments and the national need and history of having a martial arts tradition. Wu-Shu, however, was not designed as a martial art (strictly illegal), and claims to the contrary date back only a decade or so, following on the popularity of Kung Fu.

Shao Lin History - Another Angle

The Chinese martial arts originated in the Buddhist monastery built in 377 A.D. in the Shao Shih Mountains Deng Fon Hsien, Huo Nan province, by order of the Emperor Wei. There were no martial arts being done in the temple at this time, but the monks were doing meditation and exercises.
 
In 527 A.D. during the Liang dynasty, a Buddhist prince by the name of Da Mo from India came to the monastery and found that the monks were not strong in body, so he taught them ways to strengthen their bodies and also taught them Buddhism.  Legend has it that Da Mo spent nine years in a cave meditating, before he gave the Shao Lin monks this information on what is called "Shi Sui Jing" (marrow washing classic) and the Yi Chin Jing (muscle change classic).  From these teachings, and others, sprang forth a martial arts system that would later become legendary. The symbol of the Shao Lin monks became the "Wan" symbol, an Indian mystic symbol meaning good fortune and virtue which is attributed to Da Mo. 
 
Thirty years after Da Mo's death the Chou dynasty Emperor had the temple closed down in 570 A.D.  This was due to some renegade monks who, after leaving the temple, went robbing and killing people who were defenseless against them because of their power.
 
In the Sui dynasty 600 A.D. the temple was allowed to reopen with emphases on martial arts morality for the code of monks.  In 650 A.D. the Fukien Temple was built.  Many styles and systems flourished in this temple including the Five Family Fists of Choy, Li, Fut, Mok, and Hung which became the standard style for the Shao Lin temples for its completeness along with its formidable internal and external power.
 
From 600 A.D. to 1600 A.D. the Shao Lin martial arts grew to become very famous. The system of "Wu Su" became complete with internal and external power and meditation and many secret skills that have been lost, due to secrecy and other reasons. The Shao Lin monks became known as agents of justice, helping people everywhere they went.
 
In 1644 the Manchurians successfully invaded China and in 1760 a massive attack was made against the Shao Lin monks and their temple because it was a bastion for martial arts.  The Manchu, or Chin dynasty, killed many monks and burned many temples. Because of this some of the monks fled to Korea and Japan. Others went into hiding among the common people teaching their martial arts to the people and organizing underground societies, such as the "Triads".  The re-establishment of the former Ming dynasty was the goal of many Chinese.
 
Around the 1800's   the temple began to resume some activity, due to internal strife and corruption of the Chin dynasty and the western powers that were trying to invade China.  Because the Chin was spending so much time trying to fight the western powers it gave the Shao Lin temple some freedom.  However, during one of several attempts to destroy Shao Lin, The Manchu's burned the temple to the ground.  Only eighteen monks escaped, and of those only five masters survived to carry on the teachings of the Shao Lin Temple.
 
In 1836 there was a monk from Shao Lin who was one of the five masters that had survived the burning of the temple named Choi Fok, who taught a monk named Chan Heung.  Chan Heung then founded the "Hung Sing" Shao Lin Choi Li Fut Guan in the South China in Guangdong province. The meaning of "Hung Sing" (Hsiung Sheng in Mandarin) is Brave Victory  and there are two different Hung Sing schools in China, The other Hung Sing  means Vast Hero or Victory but both are pronounced “Hung Sing” in Cantonese dialect .  There is also the Buc Sing (Bei Sheng) style, which means Northern Victory.  Chan Heung was the founder of the southern system he developed from the teachings of the monk Choi Fok and he called his new style the "Choi Li Fut" system, named after his teachers monk Choi Fok and Li Yau Shan and gave the system the Buddhist name of  Fut.  He created the Choi Li Fut system in order to create a system that was simple and yet formidable. This system was then used to teach rebels in order to finally get the Manchu out of China. This was in 1836 in south China.
 
In 1911 the Chinese people were able to end the Chin dynasty with the revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.  After the revolution there was civil war and the warlords ruled much of the country.
 
The final tragedy of Shao Lin began in 1926.  In that year Chiang Ka-Shek launched the famous "Northern expedition"  (1926-1928),  to rid the country of warlords and develop a united China. The head master of the Shao Lin temple Meaw Shing gave protection to the warlord Farn Chiung Shiou and ordered the monks to fight against the troops of Shih Yeow Shan who was the lieutenant of General Fong Yu-Siang, who was appointed by Chiang Kai-Shek to fight the warlord Farn.  The soldiers were so angry that they burnt the Shao Lin temple.  This burning of the temple was in 1927.
 
There was also another young man named Wong Ark-Yuey   (1898-1987), who studied from the Shao Lin temple Abbot Pang.  Abbot Pang was the Chief Monk of the Guangdong Branch in the early 1900’s.  Wong Ark-Yuey migrated to Hong Kong then the United States in 1919 at the end of the "Boxer rebellion".
 
Later, the famous "Chin Woo Association was formed by Master Huo Yuan Jia in 1909. The Japanese in Shanghai poisoned Huo to death. The Chin Woo Association was closed down during the World War II, but was reopened after the war, with branches worldwide.
 
Once the country was united, the government began an active program to reorganize the martial arts on a massive scale.  In 1928 in Nan King, the Nan King Central Guo Su Institute was founded for the purpose of consolidating martial arts by bringing together many famous masters under one formal organization.  The first director was Chang Chih-Chiang.  Since that time "Wu Su" (also Wu Shu) or martial arts has been referred to as "Kuo Su" by the Republic of China, a term used for all traditional Chinese martial arts.  The Jin Shi Kuo Su Association is headed by Sifu D.E. Wei Kash, D.D. International 10th Duan, in the USA and is authorized by the Republic of China.
 
The masters who were invited to join this Association were such notables as the famous Iron Palm master Ku Yu-Cheng, who was one of the "Five Northern Tigers".  Others included Won Lai-shen, who recently died on Mainland China in 1993; there was Fu Chen-Song, Wong’s Hao-Chou, Li Shan-Wu,Tan San of the Choi Li Fut system, and Lin Shi-zon of the Hung Gar  style. The five northern tigers went south to Canton to open other Kuo Su Institutes to help General Li Zen-Chao to organize.  In 1937 the central Kuo Su Institute was closed down because of invasion of the Japanese starting World War II.  Many masters and students were killed and as a result the communists took over Mainland China.  Many masters fled China for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other parts of Asia and the United States.
 
In the United States Grandmaster Ark-Wong Yuey was the first Chinese Master to openly teach non-Chinese starting in 1965,  thus making him the pioneer of the Chinese martial arts in the western hemisphere for whom we owe our thanks.  Sifu David Kash began training with Master Wong in 1967 and eventually became an inheritor of the system along with Se Ming Ma, Ralph Shun (deceased), John Leoning (deceased) and John Davidson (deceased).  Grandmaster Wong Ark-Yueh passed away in 1987 at the age of 88.