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Fu>the Best
of Shaolin Kung Fu |
| the Best
of Shaolin Kung Fu |
The international work of Shaolin
kung fu is derived from the exercise of cross-legged
sitting in meditation of the Chan Sect, the foundation
of the utmost mastery in all styles of kung fu. It
requires the practitioner to close his eyes, place the
tougue to the upper jaw, and breathe evenly to release
the qi go throughout the internal organs. The
development of the Chan exercises gave birth to the 12th
style of Yijinjing, which tempers toughness with
gentleness. More unique skills were born after the Ming
Dynasty, including the internal and external exercises,
hard exercise, light exercise, child's exercise, walking
and fighting on top of stakes set into the ground, the
Luohan exercise, freezing an enemy by jabbing his acu-points,
fire exercise, and the heart-and-mind stake exercise, to
name only a few.
The unique
skills of the Shaolin Kung fu give full play to a human
being's potential by integrating the wisdom and spirit
of the Chan Sect. Imagine these: he is still alive even
though he is strangled; his throat remains unhurt after
being stung by a spear; his fingers penetrate wood; the
stone is broken on top of his head; the stick is broken
after heating his chest; he headstands on two fingers;
and he breaks the stone with his "flying" foot
Shaolin breath control can be divided
into the internal and external, or the soft and hard
exercise. Internal breath control exercise is practiced
either as a means to keep fit and cultivate moral
conduct by regulating the internal qi(breath). They
include baduanjin, yijinjing, yinyang qi and sitting
Chan. The external breath control stresses directing the
internal qi, through concentration, to a certain part of
the body, thus endowing it with extraordinary strength,
so powerful and incredible that it is beyond people's
imagination. The best examples are tiebushan(iron jacker),
zhushazhang(red sand palm), tietougong(iron head
exer cise, or hanging from a tree with a rope round the
neck), gangdugong(iron stomach exercise), fire exercise,
and tieshazhang (iron sand palm).
Shaolin kung fu on stakes can be divided into the Meihua
(Plum Blossom) and Xinyi (Heart-and-Mind). The Meihua
stakes stand some two meters above the ground and each
is set at a specific distance from the others. Shaolin
devotees are able to fight on top of the stakes as if
they were moving on solid ground. The Xinyi stake
exercise is one of the oldest exercises of Shaolin kung
fu. An internal work, it sends out the power through
integrating the internal breath and strength. Skillful
devotees can stamp their feet into a pit and break the
stone with their feet. The 48 pits in the
Ten-Thousand-Buddha Hall of the Shaolin Temple evidence
this power. |
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