Shaolin Canons: From Legends to Secrets of Shaolin Tradition (1)

Legends are created today: it is an important part of Shaolin heritage. And, frankly, today even many followers of various "wushu institutions" around the Shaolin Monastery practice at all not what was once part of the tradition. Some things have been forgotten, many masters have gone out of life, the last great mentors of "Old Shaolin", who adhered to all the norms of behavior, in fact ceased to teach in the 90-2000-ies. Today there is a "new Shaolin", A New "Shaolin Wushu/Kunfu" and new followers who have never caught up with the old tradition. Their "Shaolin Wushu" "invent" and the Chinese, and especially foreigners who have not received any instructions.

"Shaolin" and "Shaolin Fist" became probably the most popular names in the world of martial arts of China. Following the famous proverb "All martial arts came out of Shaolin", today many Chinese schools refer their origins to this monastery in Henan province, in the mountains of Songshan. In fact, it is one of the many myths that have always wandered and roam around Shaolin, besides many techniques of Shaolin art have not been "invented" by monks, and have come since the XIII century, in the possible and early, from the national and Army schools fighting Arts. But in the monastery they were codified and preserved-in this great merit of the lineage of the Patriarchs of the transfer of tradition, which became known as "Zhenzong Shaolin Chuan" 正宗少林拳-"True Shaolin Kulart".

Illustration from the treatise "The most important in the preparation of the methods of Kulart" (1936)

And yet such instructions are preserved: to someone they were passed orally, and in some cases recorded in the form of treatises that have survived to this day. In our series of publications, we will see what the true Shaolin art was, what rules the followers adhered to and what techniques they used.