Does anybody know what shaolin kung fu is or if they are going through an experience with it?

Question

I mean as if somebody is studying it.

Answer 1

I have been learning shaolin kung fu for 8 years. My master is awesome. I learn the major internal/external styles of shaolin, san shou, shuai jiao, meditation, and Qin Na. Im not saying its better than another style, but its deffinately not well-rounded. Its taken me on many journeys, even entered a bjj tournament, back when I didnt know much about groundfighting. And I did fairly well too. LOL only guy with a kung fu shirt on haha.

    I love it, and hope to train the rest of my years.

Answer 2

there is tonsssss of information on shaolin kung fu all over the net, and in books, and in videos, and on tv. just type in "shaolin kung fu" in your search bar and read to your hearts content. also type it in at youtube and see examples of it. www.youtube.com

shaolin kung fu is technically called shaolin chuan fa (small forest fist method) ...shaolin is a buddhist temple in Hunan provence in northern china. there is also a shaolin temple in fujian province in southern china. by most accounts, the northern one is the original one. supposedly the birthplace of external styles of kung fu...i say supposedly because it is largely based on myth and legend, and a bit of ego. they think all martial arts started there...which has been proven false.

the real difference in internal and external styles isnt so much in technical aspects alone as most people think. at least from what my research has led me to believe the real difference was simply that the "internal" martial arts are indigenous to china, and were developed without any outside influence...tai chi(taiji) bagua (pakua) and hsing i (xing yi) are the three main internal arts (along with various weapon arts and liu he ba fa) ....the "external" arts were created via the shaolin temple by way of india...namely the traveling monk da mo (bodidharma) (which is largely in question as well...but it's the main myth/history you will hear from all sources) and that is why they are really called external. shaolin does just as much "chi" work as any internal art does. though of course, there are differences physically as well. so to me anyway, hard vs soft, and internal vs external aren't the same debate. shaolin is "harder" than tai chi. but not necessarily more "internal"

a further division is the basic northern vs southern styles. northern china has harsh cold winters, and the land is very mountainous and hilly...so the northern styles have more upright stances, fast footwork, and alot more kicks, especially flowery high jumping and spinning kicks (ala wushu)

...whereas southern china has very hot summers and a very long and harsh rainy season...so there are lots of marshes and mud to wade through. also they travel alot by small boat via the hundreds of little rivers in the south, therefore southern styles tend to be more rooted, less mobile, with lower stronger stances, less footwork, fewer kicks (and when they kick it is usually low..below the waste) and use their hands and forearms, and upper body in general more than the northern systems do.

lots of styles are said to descend from shaolin...even shorin ryu karate of okinawa (shorin is the japanese translation of shaolin) ..and shorinji kempo of japan (shorinji means shaolin temple)...but many arts simply use the term shaolin to give reckognition to the temples for their influence to martial arts over the years.

good examples of:

northern styles: eagle claw (ying jow pai) shaolin proper(the art taught at the temple obviously) seven star praying mantis tan tui (spring legs) and drunkard boxing

southern styles: pak mei (white eyebrow) hung gar kuen (hung family fist) wing chun (everlasting springtime..bruce lee's original art) and southern praying mantis.

some examples of arts that blend the two together...choy lay fut (choy li fut) and fut ga kuen (buddha family fist)

watch videos to see basic physical differences.

i hope that helped

Answer 3

I am a female who has been practicing Wing Chun (a southern style of Shaolin Kfu, the original style of Bruce Lee) for 17 years.  The guy before me pretty much answered your question thoroughly though : )  You can contact me if you like or have any questions regarding my own experiences as a female practioner (since I see you are a girl too : )

Answer 4

its a form of martial arts. basicly its just kung fu. which technically IIRC is a generic term used to describe chinese martial arts.