16 Shaolin Training Exercises
By Reed Jones 2014 -- takumiwarrior.com --
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Contents • •
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Introduction Vision and Hearing Exercises – The Suspended Gold Coin Exercise – The Hanging Pearl Exercise Strengthening Exercises – The 100 Layers of Paper Exercise – The Wooden Dummy Exercise – The Iron Head Exercise – The Iron Shirt Exercise – The Jumping Centipede Exercise – The Flying Meteor Exercise – The Circle Ruyi Exercise – The Diamond Finger Exercise – The Twin Lock Exercise – The Pulling Out Nails Exercise – The Ringing Around A Tree Exercise Stretching And Breathing Exercises – The Supporting the Sky Raising the Earth Exercise – The Looking Back Exercise – The Catching Emptiness, Striking at Emptiness Exercise Conclusion
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“One must not use his Strength for deception of people. One must not rise over other people. One must not use this Art for suppression of people.� - Jin Jing Zhong.
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Introduction This is a short series of simple exercises which are meant to be done on a daily basis. They are based on the techniques described in “Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin� by Jin Jing Zhong. I hope you enjoy them and they help you understand the mind set and training techniques of the Shaolin masters. Disclaimer - Please be careful if attempting some of the things described in this book. We recommend not attempting anything found in this book that seems above or beyond your personal limits. We accept no responsibility for any injuries you experience after reading this book.
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Vision and Hearing Exercises “ Eyes and ears serve the man like a scout on a horse: the eyes observe, the ears hear and (one can) be the first to react (to deliver a blow before the enemy did). If you are engaged in a deadly fight where hundreds positions follow each other, fully rely on your eyes and ears, this is the very first rule.� -Shaolin monk Chun Mi:
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The Suspended “Gold” Coin Exercise The goal of the suspended coin technique is to strengthen vision, hearing, and your reaction to “sudden attack.” This can be done with any coin, or round metal object roughly the size of a quarter. Begin by cutting a hole in the coin and running a string through it. Attach the coin to a beam or other object so that it hangs, suspended in the air like a tire swing, just above the level of your eyebrow. You then push the coin so that it swings away from your eyes, wait until it comes back. While the coin is swinging toward your eyes you simply try not to blink. This is harder than it sounds. The masters of Shaolin say that this increases your eyes ability to recognize sudden movements, changes in surroundings, etc… And overall increases your eyesight. The second method involves standing in front of the coin, so you can’t see it, and doing the same process, this time attempting to hear the coin move towards you.
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The “Hanging Pearl” Exercise Similar to the suspended gold coin exercise this involves an object attached to a string. This time you suspend two objects on either side of your head; one in front and one in back. After meditation you swing the two objects and, with your eyes closed, try to hear them moving and feel their motion. It is considered mastery to be able to reach out, eyes still closed, and grab the object with two fingers. Note- The training of Shaolin monks involved training with many small, concealable weapons, such as sharpened coins, chop sticks, etc… This is a technique that was used to gain the ability to notice when an opponent attempted to use one of these small hidden weapons.
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Strengthening Exercises
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The “1000 Layers of Paper” Exercise In this exercise you attach a stack of 1000 sheets of paper to a wooden block. The block is placed at the level of the waist. You train yourself by hitting the block of papers with your fist, fingers, elbows, palms, etc… Alternating between left and right blows. Over time you will develop strength in your fists, fingers, palms, and elbows. As well as higher tolerance for pain.
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The “Wooden Dummy” Exercise This exercise is considered invaluable by the shaolin masters. Take a wooden log and dig it into the ground about 3 and a half feet, or deeper as needed. Wrap the wood in cotton and leather, usually leather on the outside. And you treat this as your punching bag! Note- I believe in modern times this could easily be replaced by an actual punching bag, but sometimes its fun and worthwhile to do things in a traditional matter isn’t it?
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“Hitting a wooden dummy is a method for training of energy and force, it is necessary to exercise indefatigably and diligently from sunset till sunrise. The exercise helps to collect force into a whole; wind, snowfall, thunder, and lightning equally take their turn.” - Shaolin GAO SENG Zhen Xu ”.
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The “Iron Head” Exercise This exercise trains your external power. The exercise is as follows: Wrapping several dozens of layers of a soft fabric to your head, hit you head against a wall. This is to be done everyday, a few times a day. Only with light force! One does this over time slowly increasing the force and strengthen the head, while slowly releasing layers of the fabric. -Warning take caution with your head it is your most valuable body part. Don’t abuse it.
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The “Iron Shirt� Exercise This exercise is similar to the iron head. Begin by wrapping several layers of fabric around your waist, then massage the wrapped spots with force. Bend and unbend your elbows from time to time. Do not hold your breath. The next step is to practice hanging by your arms while on your knees, and releasing your grip so that you fall. Making sure not to hit your head, make the weight fall on your waist ,elbows, etc... As with the iron head exercise, you continue this overtime slowly taking off layers of the fabric.
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The ‘Jumping Centipede” Exercise This exercise strengthens your arm and legs. In a push-up position bend the waist to raise the lower part of you body. At the same time push both arms of the ground with force. The toes of both feet also push off the ground. It is basically the same as a pushup, but rather your training your self to “jump” off the ground.
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The “Flying Meteor” Exercise This exercise is focused on mastering kicks. You begin by tying 3-4 medium sizes stones to a branch or beam. You then practice kicking the stones one by one. The goal is to be able to kick the stones without missing, and without the stones hitting your body. Once you can do this well it’s considered mastery.
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The “Circle Ruyi” Exercise The purpose of this exercise is to increase your fingers’ grip. This is a hard one to explain but I’ll try my best. It requires the use of rings of different weight, coins could also work. You start by gripping the ring with all 5 fingers. Hold you fingers out so that all are pointed but still touching, this is the positions your fingers should be in. You then rotate the ring or coin with your fingers. As you get better you start to slowly remove fingers, so eventually you may be spinning the object with only two fingers. (Believe me it’s harder than it sounds.)
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The “Diamond Finger” Exercise In Jin Jing Zhong’s book it is said that mastery of this exercise means the ability to pierce somebody's skin with your finger. To begin it is necessary to strike at objects with your forefinger; tree trunks, walls, etc… The goal here is to begin to develop calluses on your fingers, similar to when you learn to play guitar. Your fingers will get cut and sore, but will strengthen over time.
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The “Twin Lock” Exercise This exercise strengthens both muscles and bones. It is very simple, you simply cross or lock your arms, strike them together, and then repeat. You are supposed to continue this process of hitting your arms together until “a loud knock is heard (when you hit them together…)” This is also aimed at building calluses and is also said to increase your blood circulation.
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The “Pulling Out Nails� Exercise This exercise increase calluses, finger strength, and grip. You begin by nailing nails into a board, try different sizes of board and nails until you get something that feels right for you. Then you simply practice pulling out the nails with your thumb and forefinger. This is extremely hard. Note- Jin Jing Zhong who came up with this method would get the wood wet and wait for the nails to rust before doing this, definitely not recommended for a newbie.
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The “Ringing Around a Tree� Exercise This exercise builds your overall strength in the arms legs and stomach. You being by choosing a tree which you can reach all the way around. Everyday you reach around the tree and attempt to uproot it by lifting it out of the ground. Obviously in the beginning this will be impossible, but it builds your strength in your whole body. Jin Jing Zhong states that doing this for three years one may achieve mastery, which means eventually completely brining the tree out of the ground.
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Stretching and Breathing Exercises
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The “Supporting the Sky, Raising the Earth� Exercise This is a daily exercise. First you stand straight sticking out your breast and drawing in your buttocks. Look straight ahead as if you are holding back a fit of anger. Fingers closed, arms and legs straight, knees closed, heels and toes joined and touching each other. Slowly move both arms from the body and without bending the elbows, raise your arms to make a ring over your head. Palms facing upwards, raise your arms up will all your force (slowly) and look at the backside of your hands. Then, legs and knees still straight, move your upper body forward until your palm touches the floor. All movements should be done slowly.
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The “Looking Back� Exercise Standing straight turn your head to the right slowly looking backward and trying to see the heel of your left foot. When you turn your head your breast stick out, and your shoulders should not be tilted. Afterwards try and see the right heel. This exercise should be done slowly.
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The “Catching Emptiness, Striking at Emptiness� Exercise With the feet set apart, clench your hands into fist and press them against your waist. Deliver a strong punch with your right first with the palm faced down, while the left fist remains in place. When you punch open your hand as if to grab something and then return it to your waist in a fist. Alternate between hands.
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Conclusion I hope this short ebook gave you some insight into the minds and training routines of the shaolin masters. When training always remember that you can substitutes materials and supplies for things which are readily available to you. And always be sure to be careful and not push your limits. Thanks for reading, and if you haven’t already be sure to subscribe to takumi warrior to gain access to tons of other material for learning and entertainment. Subscribers get access to exclusive discounts on all the martial arts weapons in our store.
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Works Cited “Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin.” Jin Jan Zhong. Andrew Timofeevich 2004.
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