The Spirit of Gong Fu
by Master Alan Tinnion

Training guidance and the special spiritual character of Shaolin Boxing:

Over the course of decades, my Master, declared in his lifetime a 'Living National Treasure of the People's Republic of China', taught me many Forms, Styles, and Disciplines of traditional Shaolin gong fu. The knowledge of Shaolin Boxing that he imparted to me has been a profound and enduring influence upon my work as a dedicated teacher of traditional Chinese martial arts.

The knowledge that my Master imparted to me, and the experience of teaching this to people of Western culture and others (including the Far East) has with the passage of time made me aware for many years that the real essence and dynamics of Shaolin gong fu tend towards purely spiritual goals: through the very real hard work, related suffering / endurance, and dedication that pursuit of the Arts entail these goals are attained -- they are not attained easily, and certainly not by 'short-cuts'.One has to 'taste bitter [suffer] before one can taste sweet' [attain results that are real rather than superficial].

Shaolin gong fu is therefore not a matter of mere peerless practical fighting technique. It is, rather, a uniquely effective means, perfected over many, many, centuries by the Shaolin Temple Warrior Monks for attainment of spiritual objectives; foremost of which is the Buddhist value of self-mastery [perseverance / tolerance, and freedom from worldly emotions and perspectives].

To attain real 'gong fu' is not at all an easy matter, for it entails a genuinely humble, receptive attitude, and years of dedication and perseverance in training. This said, attainment of genuine Shaolin Boxing gong fu will be understood by its practitioners to be important not so much as a fighting technique / art, but rather -- and much more importantly -- as a means to realisation of the spiritual goals of self-possession, self-mastery, and a profound awareness of the rhythms of Nature and the importance of cultivation of the Buddhist values of kindness / compassion.

The splendour of Shaolin gong fu comes only in part from the brilliancy of its styles and techniques: for those who are prepared to properly study, persevere, and train in the Shaolin martial arts the rewards are much, much, more rewarding and are of a spiritual kind.

Over the years I have taught and continue to teach many students. This has been and remains a most instructive and positive experience for me. And so, I would like to share, at this point the thoughts and wisdom of my Master -- provided in teaching guidance notes [from the original hand-written documents] -- concerning two topics: firstly, that of the motivations and attitudes to training of students, and secondly the philosophy and nature of one of the most rare arts (Luohan Ru Yi Quan) of the great heritage of traditional Shaolin gong fu.

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