The book "Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin" by Jin Jing Zhong is devoted to the most enigmatic and little-known aspect of training of Shaolin monks. The book was written in 1934 with blessing and direct participation of the Head of the Shaolin Monastery Reverend Miao Xing nicknamed "The Golden Arhat", one of the best Shaolin fighters of all times. For the first time the book describes full training methods in all 72 Shaolin Arts. Being until recently for outsiders the most secret part of training of Shaolin monks, which made them invulnerable in fight, 72 Shaolin Arts at the present time become available to all who are ready to practice them persistently and with an open heart. Training methods described in the book allow to develop supernatural abilities, far beyond abilities of an ordinary man. The book has been translated from the Chinese language for the first time.
The 72 Shaolin Arts are methods of preparing the body and the
mind for action under extreme conditions (first of all, in conditions of
real-life hand-to-hand combat). If you train only hand-to-hand techniques
and do not pay attention to special training, you will never achieve the
highest mastery and your movements will lack the real force. "The fists are
like flowers, and the legs like embroidery needles", laugh the old masters
at such "techniques". The 72 Arts of Shaolin are the foundation of the
utmost mastery in all styles of Kung Fu.
72 types of the Shaolin Arts represent an example of personal experience of
monks from the Shaolin Monastery in the Songshan Mountains. This experience
was obtained by hard exercises in combat arts during many epochs. Many
hundreds of monks gained outstanding results and brought fame to Martial
Arts of Shaolin for ever. All of them attained such unusual abilities
thanks to special secret practices traditionally called "72 Arts of
Shaolin". They are the base and essence of the Shaolin Combat Training.
Chronicles of the Shaolin Monastery (Shaolin Si Zhi) preserved for us many
names of monks-warriors from Shaolin who attained mystic heights of mastery
and obtained superhuman abilities thanks to indefatigable training and
diligent observance of true methods.
For instance, monk Hong Wen who lived in the XIII-th century sat into the
stance MA, put a stone slab weighing 50 kg on his head, stood a man on each
knee and stayed so until a huge incense candle, as high as a man, half
burned off. His disciple Jue Yuan could dodge several spears thrown at him,
broke stone slabs with his fist, knocked a hollow in a wall with his
finger, ground pebbles into powder in his palms, handled all kinds of
Shaolin weapons with skill.
Monk Zhi Yin who lived in the XV-th century came to Shaolin at the age of
sixteen. He gained such a mastery that he could easily move a stone
weighing 500 kg with a push of his leg, break trees with kick, drive piles
into ground with his heel, knock down several people at once with a kick.
Monk Shu Ran who lived in the XVII-th century perfectly mastered the art of
"Light Body" QING GONG, jumped out of one pit into another, could jump up a
wall or a high pole, and for it he was nicknamed "Genuine Master of Gong
Fu". His contemporary, monk Shu Qing mastered the art of "Diamond Finger"
to perfection, with his finger he could pierce a wooden board as it were a
straw mat and crush stones into sand with blows of his elbows.
The XIX-th century also knew a lot of true masters. Monk Ji Hui gained
outstanding success in exercises for hardness YING GONG. He crushed huge
stones with his elbow like with a diamond pestle and broke thick wooden
beams with an arm blow. Besides, he was proficient in the art of "Golden
Bell", blows of a big iron hammer did not hurt him at all.
Monk Hai Fa beat off arrows shot at him, was able of dodging spears pointed
at him from a few sides. Besides, he mastered the method "A Leg Weighing
1000 Jins", he could crush a stone with a "trampling" blow and kill a man
with the "Iron Fist".
Monk Zhen Yue ran up a sheer wall of three meters high and mastered the art
of "Light Steps". His disciple Ru Bi achieved some success in "Hard Art"
YING GONG and additionally he perceived the "Luohan's Art" LUOHAN GONG and
could fight against several armed enemies in pitch darkness.
For the first time the book describes full training methods in all 72
Shaolin Arts. Being until recently for outsiders the most secret part of
training of Shaolin monks, which made them invulnerable in fight, 72
Shaolin Arts at the present time become available to all who are ready to
practice them persistently and with an open heart. Training methods
described in the book allow to develop supernatural abilities, far beyond
abilities of an ordinary man.
