I recently had the unique pleasure of being part of an historical event, the first ever Shaolin Temple International competition. The event took place on July 30 and 31 of this year. Though the competition’s name is 72 Shaolin Specialty Skills (Shaolin 72 jidasai 少林七十二技大赛), only four of the specialty skills were present during this competition. The four categories of the first ever Shaolin tournament were, shi suo (stone lock 石锁), iron finger skills, knife throwing and brick breaking. Competitors came from various parts of China with a total of 116 participating in the first ever Shaolin competition.

Preceding the actual competition was a ceremony held within the famous Shaolin Temple walls. In attendance were hundreds of visiting spectators, Shaolin students, as well as military personnel and journalists covering the event.

The competition was held outdoors in one of the many open fields that surround the Shaolin Temple. The area was simply a flat open dirt field with a stage in the far rear corner. It rained on the first day, making for a messy environment with lots of muddy shoes and some dirty clothes. I came equipped for the day’s event – backpack, camera, large water bottle, snacks, umbrella – with the plan of covering the event for two martial art media platforms. This would turn out to be more challenging than I expected.

The competition took place on the stage, which was immediately swarmed with spectators and journalists all cramming to get photos and videos of the event. Unfortunately, I am only five foot nine and not the most aggressive person, and had to resort to any means possible to try and get the photos I needed in order to make this article and others.

A shi suo competitor.

 

Two divisions took place simultaneously on the stage. On the left was the shi suo division. Within the Shaolin curriculum there is a unique brand of strength training that uses the shi suo, which is a stone or metal tool shaped like a traditional Chinese lock that comes in various weights and sizes. Shaolin has different methods for training with the shi suo, including solo routines similar to forms.

Within this competition, several isolated movements were performed, gradually increasing the weight of the shi suo. Competitors had several tries to get it right before being eliminated from the contest. On the other end of the stage was the brick-breaking division. Competitors first had to break two grey bricks (common in China) with a knife-hand strike. The bricks were supported by two small iron tables. The number of bricks increased from there, with the winner breaking eight bricks with a single strike.

Brick-breaking competitor.

 

Between trying to get a better vantage point by climbing a slippery wet hillside and trying to work my way to the stage, I was approached by several media personnel for interviews. With pencil and old school pad in hand, one reporter (with the Zhongzhou news website) asked me about my personal background as well as my feelings on the event. The other two interviews were videotaped, one by Vice China, the other by Xinhua News. The interviewers asked me about my personal views on Shaolin Kung Fu, as well as its place amongst the popular sport fighting systems currently popular today.

The second day of the Shaolin 72 Specialty Skills competition had nicer weather and focused on iron finger skills and knife/dart throwing. On the left of the stage on this sunny afternoon were the iron finger contestants, and on the right the knife-throwing contestants.

The first section of the iron finger skills consisted of doing four-finger push-ups (two fingers of each hand). The contestants were to perform as many as they could with proper form on a small mat. The winner of this division performed fifty fingertip push-ups. The second test of the contestants' iron finger skills came in the form of four-finger handstands (two fingers per hand). The winner of this event held a handstand position for fifty seconds.

On the right side of the stage was the knife-throwing division. Competitors had to throw a knife or dart (their choice) from the distance of five to eleven meters into a specially crafted target consisting of a large wooden plank supported by wooden beams. The contestant had five throws from each distance to attempt to score the most points.

Following the competition were some spectacular performances. Notable was a martial arts master from Guangdong province who performed some truly remarkable feats atop a round table, such as two-finger handstands on two tea cups, and dropping into splits and returning to a standing position without the use of the hands. While watching the master's flawless tabletop performance, one had the feeling that the table could collapse of tip over at any moment.

After the performance, the Abbot Shi Yongxin of Shaolin Temple presented the winners in each division with their awards. The event was all-in-all a great success and is sure to grow in the future, possibly adding more divisions and giving Shaolin practitioners a chance to show their skills in a happy and positive environment.