Category Archives: kung fu

Create The Life You Want: 4 Easy Steps From The Shaolin Temple Of Zen

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I’ve just come back from teaching the Shaolin Summer Camp in China. My sisters were there to help with the cooking, my three year old daughter and my wife were there, and my students – for that time – were also part of my family.By creating a safe family environment, it took away all feeling of competition. This is really important. Especially if you want to win. The great basketball coach, John Wooden, never talked about winning. he talked about his players being the best they could be, both off and on the pitch.

P1010899Once my students were there, they had no choice. Too much choice makes us unhappy. It’s been proven by scientists. This is why Buddhist disciples and monks take precepts. Having too much choice makes the mind busy and then it doesn’t focus on the things that are important.

We started every day with a run up the mountain. Some students said they couldn’t do it but I told them they could. By the end of 4 weeks, no one questioned running up the mountain. They ran and their stamina had increased dramatically.

We trained in traditional Shaolin forms, Qigong, fighting, and stamina. No one can be good at all of these exercises but when the body is training three times a day, it’s good to vary the workouts. But the real training was the training of the mind. I hope that what everyone brought home with them was the greatest Shaolin teaching of all.

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If you really want to do something you can. You can create the life you want. 

It just takes 4 easy steps:

1) Give yourself the right environment – that doesn’t mean you have to move your body but move your mind so it’s in the right place.

2) Give yourself no choice – you’ve made your choice, stick to it.

3) Compete Only Against Yourself – Don’t compare yourself to others. Focus on challenging yourself.

4) Don’t think about winning – think about being the best you can be.

With this focus, whatever the outcome, you’ve already won!

 

Shifu Yan Lei teaches a graded Shaolin path ro kung fu and Qigong. Click here to find out more about his books, DVD and downloads.

 

Why The Modern World Is Bad For Your Brain And What Shaolin Monks Do About It

kung fu, martial arts, modernworldbadforbrain, peace, qigong, shaolintempleofzen, theorganizedmind, zentechniques, , , , , ,

yellow mt3-00085 Most of us love our smart phones. I use mine all the time to keep in touch with my family in China. But the constant multi-tasking of texting, emailing, social media and apps is over stimulating our brain and increasing the production of the stress hormone cortisol according to Neuroscientist, Daniel J Levitin, who has written a new book about his findings. So does this mean we have to throw away our smart phones? At The Shaolin Temple we tread the middle way, using Zen techniques to keep us tranquil and focused while still being a part of the modern world. Here I share with you seven Shaolin tips to help you stay calm in a crazy world IMG_0815

  1. Take Small Regular Vacations  Turn your mobile phone to aeroplane mode or switch it off completely two hours before you go to sleep. The same goes for when you workout, meditate, and eat your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These small, regular vacations from your smart phone will restore your inner peace.
  1. Drink A Cup Of Tea  Instead of drinking your plans, thoughts, and worries, drink a cup of tea. You will find it far more refreshing. Concentrating completely on this one action helps you come back to yourself. Being Here Now is a great way to banish stress and anxiety
  1. Workout Zen Style   Everybody needs to workout. Not only does it make us feel better but it’s good for our brain. If you’re not a martial artist then find a workout you love and make it your meditation. How do you turn your workout into a meditation? By simply concentrating on your breath and movement together and letting go of everything else. Modern research is showing that meditation leads to a more focused, tranquil and happier way of being. And who doesn’t want that?
  1. Make Everything You Do Your Last  In martial art’s there is only the present. Live now. Take care of now and you take care of your future. Give yourself completely to everything you do. Leave no energy left in reserve. Only then can you take in fresh energyShaolin Temple
  1. Balance Yin & Yang  Health and fitness are like two wings of a bird, you need both Kung Fu (or anaerobic/ aerobic exercise) and Qigong (or an internal practice such as yoga). Exercise can prevent many illnesses from developing but we also need a restorative mindful practice to ground us and give us inner peace. I use my Qi to defend myself from kicks or bricks, you can use your Qi to defend yourself against ageing and ill health
  1. Ring The Bell Of Now  Thich Nhat Hanh, the great Buddhist Zen Master advises that every time we hear a bell – whether that’s a ringing phone or a church bell – we stop and breathe for three breaths. Try it and track your impatience.
  1. Little Reminders  A peaceful brain is a happy brain. Practice small steps of nourishment each day: one cup f tea, ten minutes of switch off, a fully engaged workout, 5 minutes of Qigong. These small moments will re-centre you and lead you to the health and happiness that is your natural birthright.

Shifu Yan Lei is a 34th generation fighting disciple from The Shaolin Temple of Zen. He teaches a graded path of Shaolin Qigong and Kung Fu. He is teaching a Shaolin Summer Camp close to the Shaolin Temple in China.

Your Pathway To Zen

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There’s an ancient Buddhist story about a wrestler who wore a precious jewel in his hair. During a match, he received a blow to his head. Without him realizing it, the jewel dropped into his wound. When the wound healed, the jewel was covered by a scar. Every day the wrestler looked for his jewel, never realizing that it was inside him all the time.

This is the same for all of us. Peace and enlightenment are not and never have been outside our mind. All we have to do to access this great peace is come back to our natural state of being.

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Just as the wrestler lost his jewel through acts of violence. We lose connection with our natural peaceful state when we give into anger, aggression and other emotions that don’t increase our or other people’s happiness.

Modern life puts a strong focus on looking outwards at some future time when things will be better. What we want – whether that’s peace or a better life – is always out there and one step away. But what this teaching instructs is: we already are what we want to become. It’s already within us. If we look beneath our hurts, disappointments and wounds, we can rediscover our jewel.

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Whenever I feel disconnected from myself or my mind is turbulent I practice Qigong or Rou Quan and it doesn’t take long before my mind goes back to its natural state of peace.

Daily practice of Qigong changes the neural pathways in our brain. The founder of Zen, Bodhidharma gave us a roadmap that shows us clearly how to use Shaolin Qigong and Kung Fu as a pathway to Zen. This spacious peaceful state of mind is not only reserved for Shaolin monks but for everyone, those of any religion and those of none.

Habit energy drags us down. So set yourself small reminders that you’re on the path of the Urban Shaolin Warrior. This can be uplifting pictures and quotes from people that inspire you or – like the Shaolin Monks do – wear a Jade amulet or mala so the reminder is with you all the time. And practice Shaolin at least four times a week, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day, this is much more beneficial than a long once a week practice. And don’t forget to share how you get on in the comments below or by tweeting me.

Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout is available as a book worldwide & in the USA & Canada an ebook on apple & amazon.

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Qigong as a DVD and download and Kung Fu as a DVD and download. 

Rou Quan is available as a DVD ( bottom of the page)

Jade wrist malas and amulets come from Shifu’s province in China.

A Shaolin Disciple’s Daily Workout, Diet, and Meditation

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yellow mt4-00029What’s your daily workout like?

My training day starts with either a 10 or 12k jog or interval running, sprinting 800 meters then resting for 800 meters and doing this 4 times or varying my runs like I show in my youtube video. I then do circuit training, the same as on my DVDs though I mix the punches and kicks together. It’s important to sweat when you’re training. Only this is true training. In the afternoon I do bag work, and pad work if there’s someone at the temple to hold pads. I finish off with Iron Shirt Qigong and combine Iron Shirt conditioning with the Instant Health Massage using a metal brush so that I cleanse my bones.

Qigong Massage

Can the average person hack Shaolin training?

Shaolin is for everybody. Of course the average person doesn’t have 4 hours a day to train but a lot can be accomplished in one hour five days a week. This is enough to be healthy and fit. If you’re not close to a school and train from my DVDs then all you need to do is define your goal and make a program. The best DVDs for fitness are the Bootcamp and Circuit Training DVDs but you need a level of fitness before you can embark on them. Like all things, take one step at a time. Most people have no desire to do hard Qigong but they  have a desire to have more energy and increase their longevity so they do Eight Treasures.

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 You’ll talk about the Shaolin Monk’s diet in another post, but how important is diet to you?

The more you do Shaolin martial arts, the more you tune into your body and the harder it is to eat badly. If you’re craving unhealthy food, don’t worry about it, start working out the Shaolin way and the cravings will go away of their own accord. Before I train I eat a lot of noodle and vegetable with some meat then a banana, which is a great thing to eat before training as it helps to keep sugar levels up. We don’t use ovens in China but something new I’ve discovered in the West is roasted sweet potato. Very healthy and a better carbohydrate than potato. I eat fruit and nuts through out the day. I tend to cook two days food in advance so when I come home and I’m hungry my food is already prepared.

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How focused are you on Buddhism and Zen meditation?

I’m a simple person. I feel that many Western people read too many books and this makes their mind complicated. My master gave me one sutra, The Hui Neng Sutra and he told me not to sit in meditation but to make training my meditation. Zen is about experience, not knowledge. When people do kung fu or Qigong forms, they get a taste of this Zen experience and then there are no questions. The important thing is not to look outside, but work with where you are and what you have here and now. There’s no need to go to the temple, the temple is right here and now. But you need to be still to find it.

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Shaolin Qigong ( available as a book, DVD and download)

Also available on the apple store and amazon as a kindle.(USA only, UK to follow in 2015).

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Shaolin Kung Fu available as a download and DVD.

7 super-effective training tips from the Shaolin Temple of Zen

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Shaolin Temple Medicine BuddhaThe world of traditional physical exercise is beginning to catch up with what Shaolin martial artists have known for thousands of years. Fitness is not just about burning calories and sweating. It’s about being healthy from the inside out.  Here our 7 super-effective training tips from the Shaolin Temple.

 1. Skip stretching before your workout, your ligaments will thank you.

Stretching before a warm up has no benefit and doesn’t bolster performance.  Start with a gentle warm up and when the muscles feel warm and loose do two types of stretching: static and dynamic. If you already train with my DVDs, downloads or books then you’ll be already doing it this way.

2. Your body is smart already

Shaolin Qigong and Kung Fu helps you go beyond your small individual self and find a connection with the fabric of the Universe. It doesn’t give you anything new; it simply connects you with your body’s internal power and automatic wisdom.

3. Not all workouts are created equal.

A person can look strong but this doesn’t mean they’re healthy. Body builders may be inflexible and internally weak. Yoga practioners may be flexible but ask him or her to perform a martial art’s kick and they have no power or speed. The Shaolin Workout is a full body workout which addresses every single body part and integrates flexibility and strength with power and speed.

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4. Balancing Yin and Yang is the key to health and longevity.

A bird can’t fly with one wing. You can’t be 100% healthy and fit without a balance between Qigong and Kung Fu. This is the two wings of a bird. Qigong is your Yin training, which melts the barrier between your mind and body while kung fu is your Yang training, which pushes your limits and raises your awareness of your unlimited capabilities

 5. Self-massage matters.

The Shaolin Temple has a long tradition of self-massage, which is one of the oldest healing practices. Massaging with the bamboo rods of the Instant Health Massage Brush combines sports, acupressure and deep tissue in one massage. Because the self-massage is convenient and cheap – it’s just the cost of a brush –  you can do it on a daily basis after you’ve finished your training or if you’re pushed for time, a few times a week.

IMG_07516. What you give, you receive.

Food is medicine and fuel for your body. What you give to your body, you receive. You give it fast food, you receive energy slumps, sluggishness and sugar drops. You give it wholesome food, you receive high energy, vitality and stable sugar levels.

7. No Mud, no Lotus

Lotuses grow from mud. It’s the same with you. All of your problems, all of the stuff you don’t like about your life make up the mud so that your lotuses can take root and bloom. Beautiful lotuses can only grow from the un-beautiful. Everything you experience can help you to become a happier person. The Buddha said, “It’s your mind which makes the world, speak or act with a pure mind and happiness will follow as your shadow. ”

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Shaolin Kung Fu as a download and DVD

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Shaolin Qigong as a download, DVD, and book

5 Fundamental Training Tools Of A Shaolin Kung Fu Monk

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horse stance-00021A house can only stay strong with good foundations. It’s the same with your kung fu. The movements in Shaolin Workout Volume 1 are your foundation. If you were to get on a plane and study at the Shaolin Temple in China, these are the movements you would learn.

These exercises were created thousands of years ago so why do Shaolin Monks still study them? Because they’re the only movements  where every muscle is engaged and you’re simultaneously building flexibility, strength, endurance, balance, and power in one fully integrated unit. They then teach you how to move in your modern life, whether that’s carrying your groceries home or climbing the stairs to the subway. Everything becomes part of your training: total mind-body wellness.

horse stance-00044The tools you need for total- mind body wellness are the same tools you need as a Shaolin martial artist.

  1. Stamina – Shaolin stamina training consists of short bursts of intense exercise. Research has shown that it’s one of the most effective ways to build fitness levels and lose weight.
  2. Flexibility – Shaolin Monks stretch the whole body from the neck down and include dynamic stretching as well as static.
  3. The Five Fundamental Kicks – These kicks are one of the reasons Shaolin Monks are so flexible. Don’t underestimate them. They open the hips at the same time as stretching the leg. (I practiced hundreds of them every day as a boy at the temple and still practice them today. They are a great warm up for fighting kicks and bag work.)
  4. The Five Fundamental Stances – Stances work the legs as hard as any squat or lunge and there’s a purpose to them, self-defence, internal and external strength, as well as acting as a gateway to the forms.
  5. Traditional Combinations – These ancient forms come from nature. They awaken the body, helping us to let go of our small self and experience a connection with the very fabric of the Universe. They bring us closer to the meditation experience of Zen.

We call it the Shaolin Workout but we could call it the Zen Shaolin Workout because all of the movements are done with your heart and mind fully engaged. horse stance-00005 If you’ve been training with my DVDs and downloads for many years, always remember to go back to Shaolin Workout Volume 1 and go through the fundamentals of your training.

If you’re just starting out then do Shaolin Workout Volume 1 for about 6 weeks before moving onto the next one. Don’t get too comfortable. It’s imperative to vary your routine. Once you know the moves and you can go through the workout then  work with Volume 2 and Volume 3 so your weekly warrior training will look like this: Monday – Workout 1.  Tuesday – Workout 2.  Wednesday – Workout 3.  Thursday – Workout 1 . Friday – Workout 2 or 3.  Saturday – Self-training without the DVDs.

The training is designed to transform you into a martial artist. This means you become fighting fit, flexible, have strong willpower, inner confidence, sharp reflexes, peaceful sleep, an abundance of energy, look younger than your years, and there is a glow to your skin and eyes.  

Shaolin Workout Volume 1, 2 and 3 are available as a download and DVD

Join the Shaolin Warrior Facebook page for students studying with Shifu Yan Lei around the world.