the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

The Shaolin Heritage documentary is the results of my research trip to the town of Dengfeng, just outside the Shaolin Temple in Henan province. I traveled there is the summer of 2019 to explore the folk styles of Kung Fu practiced in the villages in the mountains surrounding the temple. While the Shaolin Temple has been burnt down several times in history, the villages and the town of Dengfeng have maintained a mostly uninterrupted transmission of traditional martial arts.
This documentary is the first in a series of documentaries which will explore the questions of: what actually is Shaolin Kung Fu, what is its influence on Chinese martial arts in general, and where did it really come from?

I really enjoy this series, but I disagreed with the notion that the traditional teaching methods i.e. direct teaching, one on one teaching and a tailored transition method is not a western method. I would argue that the structured formalised method of teaching with classes is the product of Japanese martial arts, that this method is the result of the explosion of Japanese martial arts in the 60/70s and this formats popularity is a product of alot of people coming to CMA from a JMA background in the early years. If you look at wrestling and boxing schools. This 1-2-1 teaching method, with development being self - directed is not strange at all.

Well yes, but the documentary wasn't focused on the history of martial arts classes in the west, it was a passing statement to explain that the way a lot of these older teachers in China is informal and eclectic.

Really nice documentary Will, some of the aerial shots are great, plus content is v interesting