How to get to Shaolin for a foreigner

Do not rush to buy a ticket or look for a “service” how to get the Shaolin Temple. Look for your master.

Even if you speak Chinese, you are in good fit and sincerely want to master traditional kung fu, it’s not means that you will be accepted as students with open arms. “Open the door” to Shaolin will be obtained only with the help of a master who will transmit from heart to heart spiritual knowledge will help to understand the inner meaning of martial arts.

Perhaps you are trying to plan your time and find out how much you need to master kung fu. Planning here pointless. You walk through the swamp, feeling for every bump and not being sure what you find next. If so, move on. If not — get stuck and come back home.

How did the the way begin?

Since ancient times, the gate of Shaolin, and with it the secrets Kung Fu, not everyone was open.

The monks believed that only he was able to study in the walls Temple, who will further increase its fame. Only the most worthy laity distinguished by composure, patience, courage and intelligence could fall into Shaolin.

There have always been some semblance of entrance tests, to prepare for which it was impossible: there were no collections of answers or special books with the correct algorithm of actions. Monks rated the applicant by criteria known only to them. The doors of the Temple either opened, or the one had to go home with nothing.

How to become a Shaolin student today

If you are looking for an answer to this question not on sites travel companies, so you are interested in the Temple is not just how An architectural complex with a rich history.

You are interested in wushu as a cultural layer, as an ideology, as a door to the world of traditions. You want to become a part of this tradition, to learn something about yourself that is revealed only in the process of deep work on the body and spirit. And you’re on the right way.

The stories of people coming to kung fu are different. But in all there is a moment when a person understands that what pulls him to Shaolin stronger than that which holds in his country.

• Some are content with buying a plane ticket and figuring out where they’ve landed and what to do next upon arrival.
• Others study the Chinese language and history, engage in martial arts like Wushu, travel to Shaolin as part of an organized group, and decide to stay, captivated by the depth that unfolds before them.
• Some, during their journey through China, arrive at the gates of the monastery and patiently wait for weeks on the steps until they are allowed in.
• Others plan everything in advance, find a kung fu school, a spiritually suitable master, reserve a spot, come for a couple of weeks to “look around,” and end up staying for years.

It is impossible not to admit that Shaolin is covered in a mysterious fleur due to the large number of Hollywood films about martial arts, therefore, many people come here unnecessarily, romanticizing this place.

How to test yourself and understand whether the desire to study traditional Wushu is so great that you are ready for years of ascetic life and complete immersion in another culture?

Whether you are new or experienced master of martial arts, whether you want to stay for a month or a year – you can come to study Chinese martial arts with prominent Shaolin masters Kung Fu.

If this is your path, you will go further with kung fu in your heart.