The Shaolin Temple Abbot asked my brother and myself to come to the West because he didn’t want so many Western students coming to the East. I teach with my heart. I teach the same in my books and DVDs as I learnt at the Shaolin Temple. Even when studying under a master, we don’t receive that much personal instruction. We mostly self-practice. No one is there to hold our hand.

It’s important that you don’t dream your life away. f you really want to learn Shaolin as a martial art then start with this book and these 3 DVDs. This is your starting point. I’m your guide. I will  help you as much as I can with the limitations of my knowledge, resources and skills.

Last weeks article was about what a novice monk learns when they first step into the temple. This weeks article is about the first few months of training.

The stances and kicks are your foundation. Don’t underestimate them. Make them as strong and solid and precise as you can. Every Shaolin form whether it’s kung fu or Qigong is made up of these stances and kicks. Your forms are as good as your stances. The Shaolin forms are designed to awaken every cell in your body. They activate the muscles in your body in a very fluid way.

The next stage of your training is linking the Five Fundamental Stances into Shaolin forms, and being able to do the Five Fundamental Kicks much faster. We also introduce some fighting kicks.

3 Ways To Train Like A Shaolin Monk

• Vary Your Speed – Slow your movements down then pace them up. See how fast you can do them before you become sloppy. This will give you an insight into how well you know the movements.
• Dig Deep – A person looking for water doesn’t run around everywhere but stays in one place and keeps digging. It’s the same with your practice. Stay with it. Shaolin Monks practice each Shaolin kick more than a hundred times a day.
• Forget Instant – Yes, I’m guilty of this myself because I call my books Instant Fitness and Instant Health. In some ways, it is instant because we’re one breath away from being calm. But for lasting health and fitness, this takes a change of lifestyle.  The very meaning of Kung Fu is something which takes a lot of time to master.

Train with Shaolin Workout 1 on one day then Shaolin Workout 2 on another day and spend one day slowly mastering the forms and the kicks. This training is exactly the same as a Shaolin Monk. If you train 6 times a week and begin your training with a run, it will take you 3 months for your body to transform into a martial art’s body. Let me know how you get on. And if you like my articles, please share them.

Instant Fitness: Shaolin Kung Fu Workout

Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout

Shaolin Workout Bundle DVDs ( choose NTSC if you’re in the USA)