History
Legend has it that it all began in a small part of Honan province in China at a temple known
as Shao-lin Ssu, the Young Forest Temple. Nestled here at the foot of Sung Shan (Sung Mountain),
monks, plagued by bandits, hired instructors to teach them self defense. Finding a focus in
their martial training, these monks learned and grew, collecting and developing different forms
and styles of fighting arts and, thus was born the legend of the Shao-lin Fighting Monks.
It was in the sixth century that Ta Mo, known as Bodhidharma in India, crossed the Himalayas
and taught the Shao-lin monks the 49 postures of the I Chin Ching, the Muscle/Tendon Change Classic.
Throughout the next centuries the Shao-lin monks added to and perfected their art, and spread to
other temples. The monks of the Fukien, Shantung, Omei Shan, Kwangtung, Wutang, and Hua Mountain
Temples focused their attentions on various different aspects of the art, among them Northern
and Southern Fist, Shantung Black Tiger, Fist of Hua Mountain, Iron Bone Training, T'ai Chi Ch'uan,
and many and varied weapons.
Shao-Lin Kung Fu exists to this day, fifteen hundred years after Ta Mo's arrival at the Shaolin Ssu. His 49 postures of the I Chin Ching and much of the subsequent material has survived. The Shao-Lin Art has prevailed despite various attempts to eradicate it. The Shaolin Ssu exists to this day and can be visited, as does the cave where Ta Mo is said to have meditated for nine years. The Chinese Shao-Lin Centers, under the guidance of the current Grandmaster Sin Kwang The' and Elder Masters Sharon and David Soard, still teach the art to students in the United States.
"From the dawn of history, mankind has endured great tragedy. In the face of utter loss, many never regain the spark of life. However a few brave soul's emerge from life's greatest trauma almost unscathed. They become the masters of life. Of these few, a handful transcend tragedy to become a stronger, wiser, and better human being. And those few, they are the Grandmasters of Life."Grandmaster Sin Kwang The'
The Chinese Shao-Lin Centers
The Chinese Shao-Lin Centers were founded in 1979 by Elder Masters David and Sharon Soard. The
Elder Masters have been studying with Grandmaster The' for over 35 years and teaching the art of
Shao-Lin for over 25 years. Every 4 years they, with Grandmaster The', lead the Chinese Shao-Lin
Center students on trips through out China to visit historic sites of martial arts interests.
In 1992 Grandmaster The', Elder Masters David and Sharon Soard and the Chinese Shao-Lin Centers were honored with a stone tablet that was erected at the Northern Shao-Lin Temple in the Honan Province.
In 2000 the Chinese Shao-Lin Centers were also honored with the first stone tablet erected at the newly rebuilt Fukien Shao-Lin Temple.
The Grandmasters
With Grandmaster The', the Shao-Lin schools are able to trace the lineage of this classical Shao-Lin material to the Fukien Shao Lin Temple in China where the last two Grandmasters (Chang Men Ren) were Su Kong Tai Jin (1849-1928) and E Chang Ming (1880-1976). Sin Kwang The' studied directly under Grandmaster E Chang Ming. Knowledge of the art is preserved and passed down as a sacred trust from Grandmaster to Grandmaster. In accordance with tradition, only one person can possess this title at any given time. Since the burning of the Fukien temple only three have done so. Each Chang Men Ren, in his time, has been the ultimate martial arts warrior, the supreme Wu Sen.
Grandmaster Su Kong Tai Jin
Su Kong Tai Jin was born in Fukien province in 1849 and abandoned as an infant because of the genetic condition called Hypertrichosis Languinosa, a rare affliction which causes the entire body to grow hair. Ostracized outside the temple walls, he rarely left the compound and devoted his life to mastering all the Shaolin Arts. Excelling in all his training he eventually became the Grandmaster of Shaolin, the Chang Men Ren.
When the Wu Sen of the Fukien temple learned that the Ch'ing Government had sent an army led by a traitorous monk to destroy their temple, Grandmaster Su and the council decided to take drastic action. They burned down the temple themselves and, taking their priceless knowledge with them, went their separate ways in hopes of one day returning to rebuild it.
Grandmaster Su took refuge in the mountains of Fukien province where he became a teacher of the Shaolin Martial Arts. There he passed the knowledge, training and title of Grandmaster to E Chang Ming before his death in 1928.
Grandmaster E Chang Ming
E Chang Ming was born in Fukien province in 1880. E was so impressed with Grandmaster Su's skill that he joined the old Master in the mountains to study. Eventually, E became the Grandmaster and carried on the Chang Men Ren mission of preserving and spreading the Shaolin Fighting Arts.
After the fall of the Manchu Dynasty, Chinese warlords struggled for power. One of Grandmaster E's encounters with a warlord's enforcers left a mountain of dead soldiers. With a price on his head, Grandmaster E fled China and settled in Bandung, Indonesia, where he eventually opened a school for Martial Arts.
Grandmaster E died in 1976, but not before passing all his knowledge on to the current Chang Men Ren, Grandmaster Sin Kwang The'.
Grandmaster Sin Kwang The'
Sin Kwang The' was born in 1943 in Indonesia. After an exhaustive six-month selection process which tested patience, endurance, dedication, and temperament, Grandmaster E accepted the six year old as a student.
At age twelve, after attaining the rank of black belt, Sin dedicated eight hours a day to private instruction with Grandmaster E before and after his regular school hours. Seven days a week, Sin studied many empty hand, animal, and weapon styles as well as meditation techniques.
Mastering more than 900 forms from over 100 fighting systems, Grandmaster The' became the youngest Grandmaster in 1500 years of the Shaolin history.