Martial Arts: Kung Fu
This site has been developed to provide information to the public Yregarding the traditions of the Shaolin order, including Shaolin martial arts (kung fu) and philosophy. It is dedicated to those Shaolin priests that risked their lives to flee a country wracked by civil war so that Shaolin knowledge might survive even if the temples themselves did not. This web site is a testament to their legacy.
The information contained herein is from eight Shaolin priests who fled China in the early 1920's and emigrated to America. Between them, they were masters of all Shaolin kung fu styles, as well as many family styles. We are in the process of describing all the styles on this web site. That process has been slower than we would like, but it is a large project to undertake.
We have had feedback stating that "Shaolin already has a grandmaster", and that if this information did not come from him it must not be accurate or genuine. To this we reply that the title "grandmaster" simply denotes one who has taught other masters, not the unique head of a system. There is a big difference between stating an individual is "a" grandmaster vs. "the" grandmaster. We feel it is presumptuous for anyone to assume they are the "only" grandmaster of the Shaolin system considering the number of Shaolin priests that fled the temples to live elsewhere - both within China and without.
There are also many who will contend that the information on this website does not truly describe Shaolin since this site does not exactly reflect the same information coming out of Honan (the place of the original Shaolin temple in China). To them we reply that the Shaolin temple system in China was destroyed near the beginning of the last century, its traditions and knowledge forcefully repressed for many years, and that its "rebirth" should be taken in the context of the environment into which and from which it has re-emerged. Are there many who really know what a comparison between the re-emerged Shaolin and the old Shaolin would reveal? How much of the true teachings were left there to be re-assembled? Food for thought....
In this web site you will find information about most aspects of the Shaolin tradition as it existed near the turn of the last century, including what kind of kung fu was taught, the history and structure of the temples, and philosophies that bound it all together.
This website contains a lot of information. We have tried to address many common and not so common questions about Shaolin in the FAQ (frequently asked questions) section, and recommend a preliminary excursion into those pages.
If you belong to a Shaolin gung fu school, we'd like to hear from you! Please leave a feedback.
We will be adding to this site periodically. These additions will be both in the form of adding new sections and updating existing sections with more detail.
Please browse on, with compassion in your heart for all beings...
Kung Fu is a broad term that is used to describe all martial arts of INDIA origin. Kung-Fu existing under many different names throught China’s history. Initially Kung Fu was called Ch’uan Fa (fist way).
The Shaolin monastery housed many fugitives from justice, and many warriors turned monk, which sets the roots of Kung Fu in the Shaolin Temple in Northern China. In fact there were five different Shaolin temples in five districts, and so five distinct styles of Shaolin Kung Fu developed.
Martial arts historians stress that Kung-Fu did not start at the Shaolin temple, but simply began to flourish under Shaolin’s influence. Kung-Fu became eventually categorised into Northern and Southern styles. In the south, Cantonese people pronounce Kung Fu as gung-fu. Southern styles use low stances and kicks and strong hand techniques because they are shorter and stockier than Northern (Mandarin) people. The Northern systems are characterised by stylish and difficult patterns and acrobatic legwork, presumably because it was colder in the North so hand movement was restricted by thick robes and the mountaineous terrain enforced the development of strong legs.
Kung Fu as one of the oldest martial arts has been a great influence to other and younger martial arts styles, such as Okinawan Karate styles and subsequently Japanese Karate styles.
In modern times, Wu-shu emerged as a mixture of circus-like acrobatics and martial arts, and in China, national competitions are held in this sport. Jet-Li is a famous exponent of Wu-Shu, popularising the art in the West by appearing in martial arts movies.
Typical Kung Fu weapons are the broadsword and the butterfly knives.
Origin of Kung Fu: INDIA
100 Kung Fu Weapons
This list is extracted from The 100 Weapons of Kungfu: From Shaolin Staffs to Bruce Lee's Nunchaku by Martha Burr and Gene Ching, which appeared in our December 2000 issue. For complete descriptions and pictures of each weapon, please refer to that issue.
The words in parentheses are the Mandarin terms using the pinyin romanization. To learn more about these weapons, refer to this article (or use our search engine.) This is not a comprehesive list.
The Four Basic Weapons
There are four basic kungfu weapons, two short ones and two long ones. All of the other weapons derive from these four. These basic four bear a slight northern accent. Some southern styles emphasize only two basic weapons: the long pole and the butterfly swords. We will, however, honor these basic four, since they are more universal.
- Staff (Gun)
- Broadsword (Dao)
- Spear (Qiang)
- Straight Sword (Jian)
Long Weapons
Long weapons are generally taller than the user and require both hands. Most of these are pole arms, and kungfu has hundreds of variations of pole arms alone. Every weird pole arm head has a different Chinese name, some of which are redundant and overlapping.
- Dagger Axe (Ge)
- Lance (Mao)
- Long Stick Axe (Yue)
- Halberd (Ji)
- Single Halberd (Dan Ji)
- Double Headed Spear (Shuang Tou Qiang)
- Snake Spear (She Qiang)
- Hooked Single Spear (Lian Dao Qiang)
- Talon, Claw (Zhua)
- Pen (Bi)
- Buddha Hand (Fo Shou)
- Monk Cudgel (Chan Zhang, Zen Stick)
- Monk Spade (Chan)
- Gold Coin Spade (Jin Qian Chan)
- Rake (Pa)
- Hoe (Chu Tou)
- Tiger Fork (Hu Cha)
- Two Teeth Fork (Liang Jian Cha, Two Point Fork or Niu Jiao Cha, Ox Horn Fork)
- Flying Fork (Fei Cha)
- Dragon Whisker Fork (Long Xu Cha)
- Three-Point Double-Blade Sword (San Jian Liang Ren Dao)
- Long Handled Sword (Da Dao)
- Kwan Dao
- Eagle Head Sword (Ying Tao Dao)
- Pu Dao
- Horse Chopping Sword (Zhan Ma Dao)
- Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon Sword (Qian Kun Ri Yue Dao)
- Cicada Wing Sword (Chan Zi Dao)
- Heaven Lotus Phoenix Tail (Tian He Feng Wei Tang)
- Wolf Spear (Lan Qiang)
- Wolf Teeth Club (Lan Ya Ban)
- Wolf Teeth Spiked-Trident (Lan Ya Dang)
- Lashing Staff (Shao Zi Gun)
Short Weapons
Short weapons can be used one handed, like a sword. Generally speaking, these are personal side arms. Many of these when used in pairs are twin weapons, although our twin weapon list is limited to those weapons that are only used as twins. Furthermore, some short weapons have soft versions.
- Nine Ring Broadsword (Jiu Huan Dao)
- Nine Hook Broadsword (Jiu Gou Dao)
- Southern Broadsword (Nan Dao)
- Ghost Head Broadsword (Gui Tao Dao)
- Swallow Tail Broadsword (Yan Zi Dao)
- Long Broadsword (Zha Dao)
- Straight Sword Piercer (Jian Ci)
- Snake Straight Sword (She Jian)
- Whip (Bian)
- Mace (Jian)
- Hammer (Chui)
- Eight Corner Hammer (Ba Ling Chui)
- Steel Fan (Tie Shan)
- Iron Smoking Pipe (Tie Yan Dou)
- Iron Flute (Tie Di)
- Cymbals (Ba)
- Iron Ruler (Tie Chi)
- Crutch or Cane (Guai)
- Fly Whisk (Fei Mao Dan)
- Shield (Dun)
- Water Parting Shield (Fen Shui Dun)
- Bench (Ban Deng)
- Two-Handed Broadsword (Shuang Shou Dao, also Bagua Dao)
- Two-handed Straight Sword (Shuang Shou Jian)
- Push Dagger (Chi Shou)
Soft Weapons
Soft weapons, or flexible weapons, have a joint or are attached to a rope. These weapons require great skill, since they are always changing. Many of these can also be hidden weapons, since they are very compact when collapsed.
- Meteor Hammer (Liu Xing Chui)
- Rope Javelin (Sen Biao)
- Flying Weight (Shuang Tao Fei Chui)
- Mother and Son Hammer (Zi Mu Chui)
- Three Section Staff (San Jie Gun)
- Two Section Staff (Er Jie Gun)
- Whip Chain (Qi Jie Bian, Seven Section Whip or Jiu Jie Bian, Nine Section Whip)
- Dragon Head Stick (Long Tao Gan Ban)
- Double Flying Claw (Shuang Fei Zhua)
- Four Section Sickle (Si Jie Tang)
Twin Weapons
Twin weapons are two mirror-image weapons, one held in each hand. In modern kungfu, the practice of twin weapons balances out the left hand with the right, since many styles have a predetermined dominance.
- Twin Broadswords (Shuang Dao)
- Twin Straight Swords (Shuang Jian)
- Butterfly Knives (Hu Die Shuang Dao, Butterfly Double Sword or Niu Er Jin Dao, Ox Ear Sharp Sword)
- Axe (Fu)
- Sickle (Lian Dao)
- Hook (Gou)
- Nine Teeth Hook (Jiu Zi Gou)
- Twin Halberds (Shuang Shou Ji)
- Twin Daggers (Shuang Bi Shou)
- Ring (Huan) or Wheel (Lun)
- Iron Ring (Shuo Huan)
- Deer Antler Knives (Lu Jiao Dao)
- Iron Comb (Tie Su Zi)
- Iron Chopsticks (Tie Kuai Zi)
- Emei Piercers (Emei Ci)
- Horse Halberd (Ma Ji)
- Unicorn Horn Sword (Lin Jiao Dao)
- Mandarin Duck Spade (Yuan Yang Chan)
Hidden and Flying Weapons
Hidden weapons are a fascinating sub-topic of Chinese weaponry. Used to expand the range of offense beyond close combat, a great number of ingenious hidden weapons were created to surprise the enemy. Small enough to be hidden in a sleeve or robe, and particularly useful in a surprise attack or when you are outnumbered, these are generally small weapons, with the exception of the bows.
- Arhat Coin (Luohan Qian)
- Flying Knife (Fei Dao)
- Flying Dart (Fei Biao)
- Sleeve Sword (Shu Jian)
- Iron Toad (Tie Chan Chu)
- Flying Locust Stone (Fei Huang Shi)
- Scholar's Brush (Pan Guan Bi or Zhaung Yuan Bi - Judge's Brush or Champion Place Brush)
- Wolf Teeth Hammer (Lan Ya Chui)
- Bow (Dan Gong)
- Crossbow (Lu)
