Many martial art styles call themselves “Shaolin”. To what extent are they actually connected to the Shaolin monastery?
Ever since the seventh century such styles as “Shaolin monkey”, “Shaolin praying mantis” and others could be encountered in China. Today various schools that call themselves “Shaolin” can be found in provinces never visited by a Shaolin monk. There is a modern sport variation of Shaolin fist style. All of the above is easily explained by the fact that the name “Shaolin” has become extremely popular and many schools consider it very prestigious to be called “Shaolin”, even though in reality they might not have any relation to the Shaolin tradition. Without question, they all have a right to exist, however, only the martial art taught at Shaolin Monastery is considered that of the “true” or canonical Shaolin school. It is called “Chzhentzun ShaolinQuan” – “Shaolin fist of the true family”.
