Shaolin Kung Fu

The Shaolin Kung Fu Curriculum encompasses Empty Hand, Animal and Classical External Weapon Styles. Internal Areas include; Tai Chi Chuan, Pa Kua Chang, breathing and meditation. Keep in mind that the monks of the old days did not train merely for the external progress, instead, they trained harder so their bodies could withstand longer hours of meditation. They trained and meditated until their bodies and minds became invincible, then and only then did they look for weakness in others.

How it all began

Legend has it that it all began in a small part of Honan province in China at a temple known as Shao-Lin Ssu, the Young Forest Temple. Nestled here at the foot of Sung Shan (Sung Mountain), monks, plagued by bandits, hired instructors to teach them self defense. Finding a focus in their martial training, these monks learned and grew, collecting and developing different forms and styles of fighting arts and, thus was born the legend of the Shao-Lin Fighting Monks.

It was in the sixth century that Ta Mo, known as Bodhidharma in India, crossed the Himalayas and taught the Shao-Lin monks the 49 postures of the I Chin Ching, the Muscle Change Classic. Throughout the next centuries the Shao-Lin monks added to and perfected their art, and spread to other temples. The monks of the Fukien, Shantung, Omei, Kwangtung, Wutang, and Hua Mountain Temples focused their attentions on various aspects of the art, among them Northern and Southern Fist, Shantung Black Tiger, Fist of Hua Mountain, Iron Bone Training, T'ai Chi Ch'uan, and many and varied weapons.

Shao-Lin Kung Fu exists to this day, fifteen hundred years after Ta Mo's arrival at the Shao-Lin Ssu. His 49 postures of the I Chin Ching and much of the subsequent material has survived. The Shao-Lin Art has prevailed despite various attempts to eradicate it. The Chinese Shao-Lin Centers, under the guidance of the current Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé and Elder Masters Sharon and David Soard, continue to teach this ancient art to students in the United States.

Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé

Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé was born in 1943 in Bandung, Indonesia about one hundred miles from the capital Jakarta. He began his studies with Grandmaster Ie Chang Ming as a child at 6 years of age. When he was 11, he received his first degree black belt after an all day test. He continued his training regimen until 1965 when he came to the United States to pursue a college education at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

While attending college he began teaching 'Karate', since this was long before the era of the Kung Fu, after an impressive impromptu demonstration against a number of football players who had been determined to put the little foreigner in his place. The next day, eight of the residents of the dorm where Sin was staying, visited his room and offered to pay for lessons. By the end of the year, he had thirty students. Today, he oversees over 111 schools nation wide.

Several years before Grandmaster Ie's death in 1976 at the age of 96, he promoted Master Sin Thé to the position of tenth degree black-belt and Grandmaster of Shaolin. Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé continues to train and teach this vast art to his students and faithful disciples today to ensure the art's survival.

Chinese Shao-Lin Center History

The Chinese Shao-Lin Center was founded in 1979. Classes began in the Spring of 1980. The founders and directors of the original Denver Center are 8th Degree Elder Masters David and Sharon Soard. The Elder Masters have studied the art of Shao-Lin Kung Fu under Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé for over 30 years. They have taught the Shao-Lin Art as a full-time profession for almost 25 years. David and Sharon Soard were the first westerners to be hosted in China by the Hunan Martial Arts Association. In 1987, they traveled throughout China to plan the first Shao-Lin organization student trip to the Orient. Every four years the Shao-Lin students visit China together with the Grandmaster and Elder Masters. The Elder Masters continue to train under the Grandmaster, and also continue to visit and study historic sites of martial arts interest throughout the world. In 1989, the CSC Student Training Manual was created and published by Elder Masters David and Sharon Soard and contains history and legends, essential concepts of martial arts, curriculum, and more.

The CSC Phoenix was founded in 1991 and is in its 15 year, Now Located in Tempe, Arizona. The Head Instructor / Owner of the Phoenix CSC is 3rd Degree Black Belt Jacob Rydberg. While continuing to teach and pass down the Shao-Lin art to new enthusiastic Shao-Lin, Jacob is training under 8th Degree Black Belts Elder Masters Sharon H. Soard and David N. Soard and Grandmaster Sin Kwang The' who he accompanied to China in 2004 for the 7th CSC student Orient expedition. The Instructor and Students at all the Arizona Chinese Shao-Lin Center classes/locations are preparing for the upcoming 2007 China Trip, visiting even more unique, historic and remote locations than any trip prior! Pictures of prior China trips as well as unique opportunities to train with the Grandmaster at Festivals and Seminars can be found at the Shaolin Photo Gallery.