Shaolin’s martial path is rooted in Chan (Zen) Buddhism, where meditation and combat are two sides of the same truth. To strike is to express Dharma; to endure is to purify karma; to defend the weak is to manifest compassion. Their techniques are not merely physical forms but scriptures written in motion — fists as sutras, staffs as prayers, breathing as enlightenment.
Shaolin divides its martial arts into two great branches:
External Arts (拳 Qian & 棍 Gun) – Barehanded forms and staff techniques that embody discipline, strength, and fluid endurance.
Internal Arts (气功 Qigong) – Breathing and meditation techniques that strengthen the body, calm the mind, and harmonize Qi.
“A long fist strikes beyond the body; its flow cannot be stopped.”
The first art every novice learns. Long Style Boxing emphasizes extended strikes, flowing transitions, and continuous motion. It teaches disciples to use their whole body in combat, chaining kicks, punches, and sweeps into an endless tide.
Training: Novices drill for months in courtyards, striking sandbags and wooden posts until their bones harden. They also perform sequences against the statues of the Arhat Hall, copying each posture.
Philosophy: “The fist is like a river — if it halts, it stagnates.” Long Style Boxing instills discipline in breath and flow.
Application: Effective for disrupting an enemy’s stance, forcing them into imbalance before delivering decisive blows.
Legend: It is said that when the monks defended the Tang Emperor, their Long Fist techniques scattered cavalry charges, sweeping horsemen from their saddles like waves washing stones.
A wide-sweeping staff technique said to have been inspired by Bodhidharma himself. By channeling Qi through circular swings, the monk creates a vortex of force that knocks down multiple enemies at once.
Training: Practiced at dawn, monks swing staves in slow arcs until their motions align with breathing. Once harmony is achieved, the speed increases until the staff blurs.
Philosophy: Like the Dharma that embraces all beings, the staff sweeps wide, encompassing all in its circle.
Application: Best used when surrounded, it teaches monks to remain calm under pressure, their staff an extension of their breath.
Legend: During the defense of the monastery, twenty monks wielding Bodhidharma’s Stick reportedly held a mountain pass against hundreds of soldiers, their sweeping arcs forming a wall of wood and wind.
A devastating technique reserved for Shaolin veterans. The staff becomes an extension of the monk’s will, channeling both internal and external Qi into concussive strikes that can shatter armor and stun foes.
Training: Practiced only by monks who have endured the Wooden Men Alley. The staff must feel as natural as breath; hesitation results in failure.
Philosophy: The staff is humility. It is simple wood, yet in discipline it surpasses steel.
Application: In duels, it overwhelms foes with a blend of precision and sheer force. Against demons, its Qi-infused strikes disrupt spiritual forms.
Legend: Master Xueting, wielding the Weitao Stick, once stunned a rampaging oni with a single downward strike, saving a village from destruction.
The foundation of all Shaolin internal practice. Monks sit in lotus posture, aligning breath with heartbeat, allowing Qi to circulate naturally. With discipline, wounds knit, blood flow strengthens, and clarity of mind is restored.
Philosophy: To heal is to remove obstruction; to breathe is to return to origin.
Application: Used both in battle (to stabilize wounds mid-fight) and in daily life (to purify mind and body).
Legend: A monk once meditated in the snow for seven days. When rescued, he bore no frostbite, his Qi sustaining his warmth.
This breathing method channels Qi into strength and defense, fortifying body and mind against corruption and demonic influence. It is as much spiritual armor as physical.
Training: Monks chant sutras while practicing this breathing, visualizing themselves as Arhats warding demons.
Philosophy: The true enemy is not the demon without, but the demon within.
Application: Used against curses, inner demons, and demonic spirits, it makes the monk a living bastion of Dharma.
Legend: Elder Jinhai once faced a horde of specters alone, his body glowing with golden Qi. He returned with scars but no corruption.
A dangerous but powerful practice. By transmuting pain into energy, monks can endure wounds and fight on, each strike fueled by their suffering.
Training: Practiced under harsh conditions, monks endure strikes and burns while maintaining steady breath.
Philosophy: Suffering is inevitable; to turn suffering into strength is enlightenment.
Application: Converts damage into power, making the monk more resilient the harder they are struck.
Legend: During the Fall of the Southern Gate, a monk named Liang fought with broken ribs, each injury only fueling his fury. Witnesses claimed he looked like a wrathful Buddha.
The pinnacle of Shaolin internal mastery. By focusing breath so completely that worldly distractions vanish, the monk transcends flesh and fear. For brief moments, their body becomes unbreakable, their defenses impenetrable.
Training: Only the most devoted attempt it, undergoing years of ascetic practice — fasting, meditation in fire and ice, silence in darkness.
Philosophy: The body is illusion, the spirit eternal. When the illusion is pierced, nothing can harm the true self.
Application: A temporary state of near-invulnerability, bypassing even the deadliest strikes.
Legend: Master Huiguang, during the Burning of Shaolin, stood in a collapsing hall as arrows and flames consumed it. When the fire cleared, he emerged untouched, carrying the sutras on his back.
Shaolin insists that external and internal must be one. A fist without Dharma is cruelty; meditation without the fist is weakness. Every strike is paired with breath; every breath is paired with sutra. Thus, Shaolin arts cultivate warriors whose fists are prayers, whose staves are sermons, whose bodies are scriptures.
Summary:
Shaolin’s martial arts are not tools of war but embodiments of Dharma. From the flowing strikes of Long Style Boxing to the overwhelming Weitao Stick, from the healing calm of Meditation to the transcendent Ascetic Buddhist Skill, every technique teaches that strength and compassion are inseparable. To face a Shaolin monk in battle is to face not merely a man, but centuries of scripture made flesh.