School of Shoaling Monastery

2009

The martial arts tradition of the Shoaling monastery is more than 1,500 years old. According to the legend, it was started by Bodhidharma, a Buddhist patriarch from India, who taught his followers exercises and energy gymnastics that is commonly known now as the Shoaling Qigong.

Over the years, the Shoaling monks have created about 1,500 styles and kinds of Wu-Shu and wrote a great number of books on medicine and philosophy. Together with that, the Chinese masters of martial arts contributed in creating a system that includes the whole range of hand-to-hand maneuvers and techniques of working with the traditional kinds of weapons.

The monastery became popular and the glory of its heroes reached the most remote corners of China. The Shoaling monks were fighting in Chinese armies many times, defending the ideals of the good and the justice. About 30 schools were opened around the monastery - they are the worldwide famous training and study centres that teach the Shoaling heritage. The ancient knowledge of Shoaling is now available to all the sincerely interested and the monastery, as in the ancient times, professes the principles of spiritual and corporal harmony.

The senior coach of Shoaling is Master Shi Yang Lu. He was born in the family of a famous Wu-Shu master. He took orders in 1985 in the monastery where he had been persevering in studying the Buddhist philosophy and practice of Wu-Shu for over 10 years with his teacher, Shi Yunsin.

In 1998 he won a gold medal at the International Festival of Martial Arts in Canada. Since then, he has been responsible for training the team of Shoaling monks and has taken part in editing and publishing Wu-Shu books. In 2003 he took charge of a specialized Wu-Shu school at the Shoaling monastery. Since 2004, foreign Shoaling Wu-Shu centres have been developing and supported under his guidance in France, America, Germany and other countries.


Direction of the Festival

Festival's page on the Official site of the Guild of Purveyors to the Kremlin