As Grand Master of the Fukien Temple, Su Kong was the first person to master all the material from all six Shaolin Temples.

Ie Chang Ming inherited the immense body of Shaolin forms, techniques and training as master at Fukien Temple under Su Kong Tai Jin. He received the Grand Master title from Su Kong after the burning of the last Temple. Ie Chang Ming left China and settled in Bandung, Indonesia where he began to teach the Shaolin Art. 

Sin Kwang The' began his training at age 7 under Ie Chang Ming, training 7 days a week, 8 hours a day. He learned the entire body of Shaolin weapon, empty hand, animal and internal styles in the relatively short time of 18 years, becoming Grand Master at age 25. Since moving to Lexington, Kentucky, GrandMaster The' has trained hundreds of black belts and has taught over 100 of the approximately 900 forms in the Shaolin system.

Master Price is a 7th Degree Black Belt and has studied under Grand Master Sin The' for over thirty years. He has learned more than 100 empty hand, weapon and animal forms and three internal systems. Master Price has been an instructor in the Louisville area over twenty five years. Prior to coming to Louisville, he taught Shaolin Do at Morehead State University.   

Chin Na - to seize and hold. These techniques are the basic self-defense techniques that teach how to control attackers by utilizing joint locks, breaks, throws and strikes. Chin Na emphasizes following an opponents force, deflecting and redirecting that force back to the attacker.

Forms training is the primary training element in our Martial Art. Forms are choreographed movements and fighting sequences that are designed to teach proper technique, speed, timing and execution. Forms training also helps build strength, increases cardiovascular efficiency, flexibility and balance.

The uniqueness of each form comes from the knowledge each holds. The masters created these forms as training exercises, teaching tools to pass down their fighting skills and knowledge to successive generations. The ancient monks of Shaolin developed their fighting skills over hundreds of years, creating superior technique that made them the most feared warriors in history.

It is for we, as students of Shaolin Do to see past the graceful movements and practice routines to translate these movements and study their applications, to gain true understanding of the knowledge entrusted to us. In the words of our Shaolin ancestors – "The form is the finger that points to the moon." Focus on the finger and you see one piece of and empty hand, but follow where the finger leads and your knowledge is without limit.

Weapons training was the way of the warrior, with each weapon becoming an extension of the warrior’s arm and providing training in strength, balance, agility and accuracy. Weapons training is designed not merely to create an arsenal, but to enhance fighting skills.

There are four division of weapons training – long, short, flexible and paired.

The long weapons include the spear, trident, long staff, tiger fork and Kwan Dao. Traditionally, these were the weapons of the foot soldier. The most popular of the long weapons is the spear and was used by the infantry to unseat the mounted soldier. It gave the warrior extended reach and a deadly point.

Another of the classic weapons is the Kwan Dao (kwon do), named after the famous General Kwan Kun of the Northern Kingdom. He was a patron of the martial arts and became immortalized as the symbol of loyalty, honor and heroic deeds. Kwan Kun was a massive man and the kwan do is a massive weapon. The original has a blade 3 feet long on a staff 6 feet long weighing almost 200 lbs. It is on display in a village in China.

The kwan do was use by ground fighters to chop down horses or the heads of ground-based enemies. Used by a mounted fighter, it was use to chop an enemy in half.

The short weapons include the broadsword, the straight sword, the dagger, and the short staff. The broadsword was the weapon of the mounted soldier and carried by the common man. It was used to slash, chop and thrust. The straight sword is sharp on both edges and is somewhat flexible. It is the classic weapon of Tai Chi and was carried by persons of royalty and prestige. It requires finesse and uses intricate cuts and precision thrusts to overcome the opponent.

The paired weapons include the double dagger, the twin broadswords, the tiger hook sword, Lie Kwei axes and butterfly knives – the traditional weapon of Hung Gar and Wing Chun. The double dagger was a weapon of the yang or the dark side. It was hidden and deceptive and used at close range. It blends speed and accuracy with the cutting edge. The butterfly knives were short swords, single-edged, and combined the speed and precision of the knife with the powerful cut of the sword in close range combat.

The flexible weapons include the chain whip, rope dart, 3 section staff, shuriken and throwing knives, all of which require intense training in balance, agility, coordination and accuracy. The chain whip – another weapon of yang – is concealable in a cloak or can be worn as a belt. It is nearly invisible when used properly and creates a devastating strike from the weighted tip.

Throughout the centuries the monks of Shaolin studied the most efficient and vicious fighters in nature – the animals – in an effort to bring the character of the animal into the human spirit to enhance the fighter’s abilities and skills for survival. Each animal brought a unique character to be studied and absorbed:

The tiger – strength and tenacity

The crane – strong sinews, balance and grace

The monkey – cunning and agility

The mantis – speed and patience

The snake – flexibility and chi

The dragon – flowing movement and spiritual essence

The tiger was the most feared predator in the animal kingdom. It embodies the warrior spirit – fierce and deadly – combining strength and beauty in explosive power. The tiger, one of the first animals to be studied by the monks, became a system of fierce overpowering attacks, blending elements of the beast into the human warrior such as the tiger claw, the tiger fist, and stalking moves. The tiger system grew from the Shaolin Temple at Hunan and includes other style such as the Shantung Black Tiger, the flying tiger, white tiger and leopard styles.

The praying mantis is one of the more exotic fighting styles, created by renowned warrior Wang Lang and brought into the temple system during the 17^th century. One day while tending his garden, Wang Lang observed a fight between a mantis and a locust. His fascination led to years of study and the adaptation of the mantis movement to the human form. The mantis added speed and patience, powerful forearms, close-quarter fighting and pinpoint accuracy combined with the erratic footwork of the monkey. Through the centuries the mantis systems has grown to include the Northern and Southern styles, the 7 Star Mantis, Yin Yang Mantis, the Monkey Mantis, the Secret Door Mantis and many other styles both in and out of the temple systems.

The bird styles of Shaolin were made famous at the Omei Temple. The original style, the Shaolin Bird, was a conglomerate system - the Tai Peng system – combining the natures of many birds into one system, blending balance and grace with powerful leg and hand techniques. Out of the Omei Temple evolved the famous White Crane system, with its rapid leg attacks, open finger techniques and the infighting of Wing Chun. From this same system came the legendary Eagle Claw system with its deadly hands and flying techniques. Over the centuries new styles with specific techniques were brought into the Omei system, styles such as the Black Crane, the Phoenix, the Swallow, and the Golden Cock or Chicken.

For a thousand years, the monks of Shaolin used meditation to develop their internal energy and raise their level of consciousness. It was not until the advent of Chen San Feng in the 12^th century that the internal and external were combined into a fighting art. Since that time, chi training as an enhancement of fighting skills has become the secret of Shaolin.

Tai Chi Chuan , the Grand Ultimate Fist, a Meditation in Motion- Chen San Feng, a Shaolin monk, first developed Tai Chi as a fighting art. While on his travels from the temple at Hunan to the Taoist retreat at Wu Tan, he is said to have witnessed a battle between a snake and a crane. He became so fascinated by the ability of the snake to defend against the straight line attack of the crane that he incorporated the circular, coiling movements of the snake with his chi kung training to create a fighting art that has survived over 700 years. 

Chen San Feng’s original tai Chi was a 13 posture form based on the 5 elements and 8 pathways. Over the centuries the temple style has grown into family arts such as the Yang Tai Chi and Chen Tai Chi that we now teach. The Tai Chi system also includes classical weapons training such as the Tai Chi straight sword, using elegance and finesse, precision cuts and extended thrusts. The Tai Chi broadsword is heroic and flowing, a sweeping blade, powerful but soft. The Tai Chi Iron Fan is graceful yet powerful. The beauty of the fan holds a bladed rib, soft and elegant but deadly when opened.

Pa Qua Chang – The octagonal Palm. A circular and flowing fighting art based on the eight trigrams of the I Ching ( Book of Changes) blends the Yin and the Yang into a never-ending circle. The origins of Pa Qua are shrouded in the mystery of the Shaolin temple at Wu Tan, but its roots can be traced to Tung Hai Chuan, a traveler from Hopeh Province in the North who taught Pa Qua to the Imperial household in the early 1800’s. In his travels, Tung Hai Chuan came to the aid of two Taoist priests and in return was given a divine training.

The hardest of the hard, the softest of the soft.