Shaolin Kung Fu, also known as Shaolin Wugong (少林武功 - Shaolin martial discipline) was developed by the Shaolin Monks and Kung Fu Masters guests of the monastery, over the course of over 1500 years, as a complete training philosophy for the body and mind, becoming one of the 'three treasures' of Shaolin culture: Chan, Wu and Yi (Chan philosophy, martial arts and traditional medicine). The Master-Monks fused martial, gymnastic, therapeutic and philosophical arts, creating a complete discipline, aimed primarily at the maximum development of physical and mental abilities, which can be used if necessary in defence and combat situations.
This millenary evolution has led to a discipline that ranges from rigorous physical preparation programs to meditation, from soft health practices to harsh conditioning and resistance methods, from particular fighting techniques developed by observing the animals that populated the forests surrounding the Temple (such as the tiger, leopard, snake, eagle, ...) to philosophy.
The Shaolin discipline therefore combines the most serene calm with the most explosive action, in a union that becomes a path towards harmony of the body with the mind. Over the centuries, the martial skill of the monks and the Shaolin culture became legendary throughout China, ensuring its survival despite many difficult historical periods.
Recently the modern evolution of Kung Fu WuShu, in Shaolin as throughout China and the world, has in some cases distorted the essence of the traditional discipline, whose objectives should be the maximum development of the practitioner's physical and mental abilities and the martial concreteness. The Shaolin discipline should therefore always maintain its cultural integrity; furthermore it is characterized by the indissoluble union between physical - 'martial' training and mental - 'philosophical' training, which makes it unique in its completeness if practised according to traditional canons.
