Tranquility = Balanced Body
Peace= Balanced Mind
Spirituality = Balanced Life
Our student motto: "Truth, wisdom, and courage.™"
Our school slogan: "The ultimate self-defense is self-awareness.™"
What's His Name?
Buddha Zhen (pronounced "Jen") Shen-Lang established the various Shaolin enterprises
in 1984,
in Los Angeles, California. Over the next ten years Shaolin Chi
Mantis was refined by constant teaching and research into its current
evolution.
Still using Chinese sashes, the Shaolin curriculums were organized into a ranking system, similar to the Japanese martial arts.
With an ever present awareness of the Shaolin Monastery concepts, Shaolin Chi Mantis is probably more like its Buddhist origins than any other Gongfu (Kung Fu) system outside of the Northern Chinese Temple on Mt. Songshan.
Bodhidharma Who?
Bodhidharma was an Indian Buddhist Monk who settled at the Shaolin Monastery and devoted his last years
to writing several books aimed at balancing and developing the mind
and body to enable spiritual growth and awareness.
These first exercises, such as the 18 Luohan Movements, similar to Tai Chi, became the basis of Chan and Zen Buddhism. Sadly, very few Zen Buddhists actually practice or develop their minds and bodies as Bodhidharma intended. These exercises were meant to enhance spiritual meditation. Today, most Zen Buddhists still try to meditate without these original or similar exercises.
When Bodhidharma settled at the Shaolin Buddhist Temple, he was dissatisfied with the Monk's meditation abilities and sought to develop their physical stamina and Chi energy flow. Were Bodhidharma, also referred to as "Da Mo" by the Chinese, to see today's Zen practitioners inefficiently meditating and ignoring his exercises -- he would probably be very discontent.
Shaolin Chi Mantis has proven that these original concepts, which MUST INCLUDE SOME KUNG FU and TAI CHI, not only improve meditation, they also cure drug addiction, mental diseases, physical maladies, and improve the quality of the person's life.
At Shaolin Chi Mantis, balancing the "MIND / BODY / SPIRIT" is more than a slogan, it is achieved.
