I apologize if this has already been asked but I was curious, have Shaolin Monks ever allowed a foreigner to train at the Shaolin Monastery. I have to admit I am almost completely ignorant when it comes to Shaolin Monk training itself. I know the people on Human Weapon I believe were able to participate for a time. What I am trying to get at I guess is has any foreigner i.e. non-Chinese person studied there extensively.

Oh and just to elaborate a bit more since I feel as though this is getting way to wordy, I am talking about in the past lets say 100 years. I know in there "early" history they would allow people from all over to enter the temple and that is how there martial art became so eclectic.

Either way thanks very much for taking the time to read this.

You can train with shaolin monks and wudang Taoist for a fee.

There are lots of schools around the temple...that foreigners can train at, but they are not all true monks.

I don't think Shaolin monks exist the way you think they do. Most of the schools you're thinking of do wushu and sanda. There's nothing wrong with that, but I've heard that it's much better to take a real vacation and find a place in a city to train. You can also find people in parks, because the park culture in China is quite robust and social from what I've been told. I don't think I'd pay all the extra money to go get the exact same training I'd get somewhere else for far less.

Also, don't believe everything you see on the Human Weapon, enough of it is incorrect that I would say it's like Survivor or any other reality show. It can be entertaining, but what they do shouldn't be taken as gospel.

I apologize if this has already been asked but I was curious, have Shaolin Monks ever allowed a foreigner to train at the Shaolin Monastery. I have to admit I am almost completely ignorant when it comes to Shaolin Monk training itself. I know the people on Human Weapon I believe were able to participate for a time. What I am trying to get at I guess is has any foreigner i.e. non-Chinese person studied there extensively.

Oh and just to elaborate a bit more since I feel as though this is getting way to wordy, I am talking about in the past lets say 100 years. I know in there "early" history they would allow people from all over to enter the temple and that is how there martial art became so eclectic.

Either way thanks very much for taking the time to read this.

I have the same question. Are there any (intensive) Shaolin training oppertunities for the Summervacation? Ofcourse preferably in an Monastery . If somebody could reccomend me one that would be very nice!

I'm going to repeat what I said above, your idea of what Shaolin "is" needs to be defined. Because there are no Shaolin temples like you see in the movies. Going to a Buddhist temple to be a disciple and training in martial arts are different things.

From what I've been told by people who train in CMAs, and who have spent a considerable amount of time in China, is that you should go to China and experience China. If you want to train as well, find a local school. They will be more than happy to take you and teach you. You'll learn the exact same thing. Going to experience the Chinese park culture is a good way to find martial arts as well. It might not feel "mystical," but you won't spend nearly as much and you'll have a much richer vacation experience.

As always, I am sure money will solve your problem. I have never tried, of course, but I suppose they will allow you to become a part of their training group.

There are some really good gongfu people in the U.S. Some of them look chinese and some don't. There's no shortage of people who look more American than Bill Gates who have been to China and ended up concluding that they'd have a really hard time finding anyone there who knows more than they do in their particular field of expertise.

One anecdote I heard once was about someone who went all the way overseas to train the "real Korean martial arts", and managed to find a McDojo in Korea. Came back with his arms hanging limply at his sides with a whole bunch of bad habits that they just couldnt get him to understand were bad habits because how could someone in the country it came from be wrong?

Good points, Justice. I think there is a misconception that "its always better over there." That isn't always the case. Bad instructors and bad schools are everywhere.

"Shaolin Temple" is merely a tourist trap today. Even "shaolin kung fu", today, has to be looked at with a discerning eye, as much of what comes to the various countries around the world in form of demonstrations etc., are NOT traditional shaolin at all, but modern compulsory wushu versions, or very basic form that can be learned in many different places and most of the "monks" are not monks at all.

It is unfortunate, but it is the way it is today.