How do I become apart of the Shaolin Monastery?

Question

I want to study Shaolin Kung Fu, and am wondering how I can become apart of the Shaolin Monastery? Do I have to become a Buddhist to learn the martial arts?

Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

now adays there arent any schools that I know of that you go and spend your entire childhood there(wish i knew of one) but there are thousands of schools that you study at part time.

Answer 2

The main temple in song shan (china) is still functional but you need to start at about 6 years old, the style of teaching the way of the shaolin fist has devolved from a "school-like" system to a more focused one, there are shaolin masters who travelled from china to all over asia, and we are lucky here in palawan (philippines) that one such person exist and i am proud to say that he is my sifu, i've been training alone for some time now... they will not force you to be a buddhist though.. but you have to shave your head everyday as a sign of respect, my master said that there are 3 other masters that live in ascetic training in other parts of the globe... i dont see the sense in people who always say that shaolin is nothing more than acrobatics, in truth it is far, though you are forbidden to fight most of the time, you will always know how to react to a given situation..

Answer 3

Shaolin Monastery, close to Dengfeng, China, is indeed a Buddhist monastery. Only Buddhist monks can live and train there. Further, you would need to be fluent in Chinese.

However, there are many martial training centers located very close to the monastery itself, in the valley immediately below it. These teach various Shaolin-influenced martial disciplines.

When I visited Shaolin and the surrounding area, I didn't see any Westerners training at these centers, but my experience was limited. Although I could be wrong, I expect that you would need some fluency in Chinese to train at one of these centers.

You do have alternatives, if you're interested in learning Shaolin-style martial arts. For example, there is a center near Portland, Oregon, that teaches in a very traditional Shaolin manner: http://www.shaolintemple.org/

And, as another answerer noted, there are many teachers worldwide who teach in the Shaolin style.