We trace our history all the way back to the Fukien Temple in China. This is where a very important person came to be. Listed below are our Grandmasters of our system and some breif history behind them.
Shao-Lin Kung Fu is a martial art developed in the sixth century in the Honan Province of Northern China by Buddhist monks as a means of self defense and of disciplining mind and body. Centuries of practice and application have formed a system unparalleled in combat as well as mental and physical development.
In Shao-Lin Kung Fu you will learn a series of movements to develop agility, endurance and various fighting techniques. The animal forms are based on observation of the movements and behavior of animals. Tiger, Dragon, Praying Mantis, Monkey and Crane are some of the animal forms taught. Weapons are also a part of martial art training-Staff, Spear and Broadsword are a few of the weapons used in Kung Fu.
The Legend of Bodhidharma 
Ferociously ugly, with piercing blue eyes and wild curly hair, the Indian monk Bodhidharma is known as the founder of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism and of the ShaoLin fighting arts.
Sometime around 500 A.D., Bodhidharma traveled by ship from southern India to eastern China. He traveled hundreds of miles, crossing the Yangtze River and the Himalayan mountains, eventually finding his way to the ShaoLin temple in the Honan province. When the monks would not admit him, he went to a nearby cave and meditated for 9 years, finally boring a hole in the wall of the cave by the fierceness of his gaze. With this feat, the monks admitted him to the temple, and he taught them his direct, meditation-based form of Buddhism, which involved long hours of sitting still. But he found that the monks were weak, unable to withstand the pressures of static meditation, so he taught them breathing exercises and physical techniques which gave rise to ShaoLin Kung Fu as we know it today.
The ShaoLin Temples:
Many of the monks in the ShaoLin temple were retired soldiers and generals. Under the pressure of frequent attacks by bandits, the ShaoLin monks combined Bodhidharma’s teachings with the martial arts techniques of the Chinese warrior class to create a unique and highly effective method of combat. The development and refinement of these combined techniques gave the ShaoLin warrior monks a far-flung reputation for martial arts prowess and fighting abilities. The Fukien temple became the second temple of ShaoLin around 650 A.D. Through the centuries, the fortunes of the ShaoLin monks rose and fell with the political and dynastic changes of Chinese history, and other temples became part of the ShaoLin system. With their superb fighting skills, the ShaoLin monks were alternately courted and renowned by those in power who wished to have the monks on their side, or vilified and suppressed when those who feared them came to power. The temples were burned and rebuilt, burned and rebuilt, but the knowledge of the art survived while the monks continually added to and improved upon it. For the most part, the temples prospered, becoming widely known as centers of learning and philosophy as well as martial arts. Gaining admission to the temple was difficult. Young students were expected to wait outside the temple gates for what must have seemed an eternity to them while their temperament and attitude was observed by the monks. Once admitted, they endured years of service and menial chores before being accepted as disciples. Once accepted, they would receive an unparalleled education in philosophy, fine arts, and the martial arts. In order to graduate from the temple, they had to exhibit phenomenal skills, and pass through 18 testing chambers. If they survived the first 17 (and there were those who did not), they would have to grip a burning-hot iron cauldron with their bare forearms, which would brand them with the raised relief of a tiger and a dragon. For hundreds of years, the ShaoLin masters developed new styles and forms of combat, bringing back to the temples variations and innovations in the martial arts that they had encountered in their travels. Their arts flourished in the temples during the Ming Dynasty. But this golden age did not last. In the mid 17th century, Manchurian invaders began to systematically and brutally take control of China. Internal rebellion contributed significantly to the fall of the Ming Dynasty, and the betrayal of an insider was the cause of the almost utter destruction of the Honan temple in 1647 A.D. Many monks fled to the Fukien temple, where they continued to support the resistance fighters. This, in turn, led to the destruction of the Fukien and other temples and the outlawing—punishable by death—of the practice of ShaoLin Kung Fu. Outlawed, the ShaoLin continued to teach in hiding and in exile. It took many years before the temples were reopened in the early 1800's, and even then, they could be used only for religious purposes. The disastrous Boxer Rebellion of 1900 caused another wave of escaped resistance fighters, many of whom were ShaoLin monks. They scattered to the United States, Australia, Korea, Indonesia, and other countries. The third burning of the ShaoLin temple happened in 1927. In recent years, the government of China has come to realize the importance of the cultural heritage of ShaoLin, and reopened the temples.
The Grandmasters: 
By Jason Smith
The ShaoLin schools under the ShaoLin Grandmaster Sin Kwang Thé trace their lineage back to the Fukien temple through a succession of three remarkable ShaoLin Grandmasters.
The first of the three Grandmasters was born in Fukien in 1849. He came in to the world covered with hair from head to toe. His horrified parents, convinced that they had given birth to a demon, abandoned the infant in a forest near the Fukien Temple. A passing monk rescued the newborn and presented him to the Shao-Lin Masters. The Masters realized that it would be nearly impossible to find a family willing to adopt such a child, so they decided to raise him themselves. They named him Su Kong T'ai Djin.
Great, Great, Grand Master Su Kong Tai Djin-In the year 1849 a very special child was born. Unfortunately this child was born with the rare disease hypertrichosis languinosa, which covers the entire body with hair. His parents were superstitious as were most Chinese at that time. When they saw his affliction they thought he was a demon and left him in the forest to die. A Shaolin monk passing traveling in the forest came along the child and took him back to the Fukien Shaolin Temple. There he was raised by the monks who named him Su Kong Tai Jin. They trained him in martial arts and quickly discovered he was an exceptional human being. Each master passed their knowledge on to Su Kong. He was the first to master over 200 different empty hand systems and over 140 weapon systems. Some of his specialties were in sixth sense training and Chi Ma (Death Touch) training. After several years of extensive training Su Kong became the first Grandmaster of Shaolin and one of the first to master all skills of the seven Shao-Lin temples.
Great Grand Master Ie Chang Ming-Inherited the Shao-Lin forms, techniques and training as master of the Fukien Temple under Su Kong Tai Djin. He received the title Grand Master after the burning of the last temple. During his time at the temple, Ie Chan Ming had Left teh temple one day only to return there shortly after. He decided to take a short cut through a field only to find out that there was an army camping there. Ie chang noticed that he was quickly surrounded by about thirty military members and that they had began to taunt him. then, they started to beat on him. Noticing no other way out after they pulled their weapons on him, he defeated them all leaving them dead on the ground. The military then put a hit out on him so, Ie Chang left China to settle in Indonesia, where he began to teach Shao-Lin. They used Japanese uniforms to fool anyone who may come looking for him. Ie Chang Ming can be seen siiting in the chair in the picture.
Grand Master Sin Kwang The'-Began his training at the age of five under Ie Chang Ming. At 28 he became Grand Master after learning the entire body of Shao-Lin weapon, empty hand, animal and internal styles. Grand Master Thé specializes in the highest animal system, the Golden Snake.
Elder Master Garry Mullins-is an 8th degree black sash certified by Grand Master Sin Kwang Thé. He is one of only four people in the world to attain this rank. Master Mullins has studied with Grand Master Sin Thé since 1973. His training includes various forms of physical conditioning such as Mayflower Post, Iron Hand, I Ching and five animal training. He is also skilled in the internal systems of Tai Chi Chuan, Pa Kua Chang, Hsing I and Chi Kung; as well as many 36 traditional Chinese weapons. Elder Master Gary has been inducted to the Black Belt Hall of Fame by USA Martial Arts.
Associate Master Mike Mullins-is a 5th degree black sash who has studied exclusively with Master Garry Mullins and Grand Master Sin Kwang The' for 17 years. He has a powerful and aggressive style, the Tiger forms are his specialty.
Associate Master Kevin Mullins-is a 5th degree black sash who has studied exclusively with Master Garry Mullins and Grand Master Sin Kwang The' for 15 years. The Dragon forms, with explosive kicks and fluid movements, are his specialty.
Associate Master Allen Collins-is a 5th degree black sash who has studied exclusively with Master Garry Mullins and Grand Master Sin Kwang The'.
E-Mail us at: CrazyDragon@Kingsport-Shaolin.com
