Book Review: Shaolin Gong-fu : A course in Traditional Forms
by Gene Ching - Head Shaolin & Tai Chi Chuan Instructor

It is our most asked about title and rightly so. A three-volume, 1926 page, cloth bound book series from Shaolin arouses the curiousity of anyone interested in Chinese Kung fu. But what is it? What is the Shaolin Temple Tagou School?

To be frank, Tagou is the largest school at Shaolin Temple, perhaps the largest school in the world. A conservative estimate of its student body ranges from 2000 to 7000 students. It has dominated the competitive fields of mainland China in both Wushu, San Shou, and traditional forms since 1978. The head teacher is one of the most respected old masters of Shaolin, Liu Baoshan. Now you maybe wondering about Liu. Is he a real monk? In fact, he isn't a monk at all. If Shaolin Kung Fu was limited to the monks alone, there wouldn't be very much of it, since there are less than 150 monks at this time. Fortunately, you don't have to be a monk to have excellent Shaolin Kung Fu, or else the rest of us would be shut out. Grandmaster Liu was born into a martial family and practiced Shaolin from childhood under the watchful tutelage of his father Liu Jingwen. He was recognized as one of the top ten masters of Dengfeng county in Henan, where Shaolin is located. Together with his family, Liu has built one of the most massive martial arts schools on the planet.

Tagou is slightly off the beaten path. Most of the training fields are not easily visible from the main road, so many tourists never see its magnitude in full swing. The training yards a nothing more than large open spaces, some of them paved, but most of them are just dirt fields. Since most tourists only spend a few days at the temple, they usually overlook one of Shaolin's most phenomenal sights, the daily Tagou classes.

When Tagou is in session, it is an awesome spectacle. In 1992, as part of the annual Shaolin Martial Arts festival in Zhengzhou, Taguo offered an overwhelming performance of "Shaolin Magnificence" where 1000 students executed synchronised shaolin sets. Anyone who has actually witnessed Tagou firsthand will testify that the immensity of this school is beyond belief.

The book was initially intended to be a closed-door textbook. Only Tagou students would have access to this tremendous work. However, one of the most positive results of the post-Cultural Revolution Shaolin Temple is a new attitude about sharing Kung Fu. In the past, Shaolin masters feared that its most treasured secrets would fall into the hands of the immoral. Today, the masters realise that Shaolin Kung Fu is a treasure that can be shared with the world. The hardship of the discipline not only weeds out the villainous, the process of training can convert evil-doers into good people. As an ancient saying of Shaolin masters goes "Study Shaolin style in great depth, then absorb fthe special qualities of other styles. Set for your high ideals. Study for wisdom and train the body. Never fear evil. Always fight for justice" This reflects implicit morality of Shaolin practice. In accordance, Taguo released this handsome book series to Wing Lam Kung Fu to distribute to the Western world. We are pleased and proud to be albe to offer this tremendous work to you. No martial scholar is complete without it!