Shaolin question?

I heard that alot of martial arts schools call themselves "shaolin" even though they don't teach anything close to shaolin kung fu. When looking for a kung fu school, how do you know whether its a fake or not?

Shaolin question?
There is no 'real' Shaolin any more. The temples and most of the monks were wiped out when the Emperor 'purged' them. Allied to this, the 'Cultural'/Communist revolution decimated anything that was left again.





Some of the remaining monks and teachers moved outside China and there are some original remnants teaching in places such as Taiwan and Malaysia but you would be hard pressed to find them. Modern day training at Shaolin tends to be Wu Shu oriented training with some Qi Gong thrown in. I've visited China a couple of times as have some of my students and was consistently disappointed with what purports to be Shaolin.





A student of mine got back recently and was talking about a temple he had seen which was not Shaolin but which taught a much more accurate representation. I have a feeling it was called the 9 Dragons Temple, he also visited a place where there was a temple called Heavens Cloud. None of these were tourist traps and needed long treks to find them. Each of them had a lineage going back hundreds of years as well.





If you want to find true Shaolin you need to throw the guidebook away, to the Chinese, Shaolin is now a tourist attraction. My student got a qualification to teach English and then went to some pretty rural places until he found something he liked.
Reply:fake or not, you will know from watching a few schools and different practitioners practicing. Sifus are only as good as how well their students are taught by them.





Good schools teach martial arts but also discipline and respect for each other.
Reply:Shaolin martial arts are merely the arts developed and taught at Shaolin.





A person who teaches Shaolin arts doesn't have to be a monk.





Hung ga is an art that derived at Shaolin.





There are versions of arts that were developed by secular practitioners. Those are not Shaolin. That doesn't mean that they are inferior.





It just means they were developed by someone who was not a monk. It may also have some Shaolin influence.





Shuai Jiao is waaaay older than any Shaolin art and it is devastating in application.





Then you have the Shaolin Kenpo which is not Shaolin at all. Sorry to all you kenpo guys but this is true.





Here in my city there is a guy who claims to teach Shaolin MA and is nothing but a phoney.
Reply:Sholin is a term meaning like big tree or mountain or something like that. It basically refers to the northern end of the country. Japan's Shonru (sp) is similar. The "Sholin" is not the style but instead where the style originates the White Crane or Old Tiger is the style or system. Many schools have adopted the Sholin term because they know it sells. Look beyond the superficial to find the answer you seek.
Reply:Hi,





In principle, many of the answers above have much truth to them. But there is one thing that needs to be considered. Shaolin is not a martial art but a principle. Based on Buddhism, Shaolin was developed for health and fitness. When the Shaolin relised that they also need to defend their temple they adapted it to also be a self defence.





1000 years later and then, as mentioned above, it was destroyed and purged. But, the principle of Shaolin lives in many houses; those that teach the kung fu for health and fitness and not fighting based on the principles of Zen/Chi'en Buddhism (you may need to research this a bit more to fully appreciate what i mean).





Finally, how do you know if something is fake if you are not an expert; look at the people, the teachers, the spirit, the feel and place. Most people have excellent intuition and instinct, honed over millions of years; listen to your inner voice.

flowers get well