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 in southwest China. 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. 

             Su was raised on a strict diet with no sugar except the very little fruit he ate. Being ostracized by society he rarely left the confines of the temple and devoted his life to the arts of Shaolin. He had only traveled into the nearby villages two times before the destruction of the temple. Su Kong did not fall into a specific category or system of martial arts. The monks favored Su because of his dedication and abilities. Therefore, instead of training him in one style of martial arts, they decided to train him in multiple styles. Each master passed their knowledge on to Su Kong.  Thus, he trained in all aspects of Shaolin. 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.

 

             There was a meeting called by Su Kong with twelve representatives of Shaolin from other temples. When Su Kong entered the room the twelve Shaolin masters stood to bow.  Su did not return the bow and slowly walked across the room to the where the masters were seated. Suddenly he threw a knife into the rafters. Just then a body fell from the ceiling with a knife embedded in his heart. The confused masters asked how he knew of the assassin. He simply replied to them by saying he heard thirteen people breathing when there was only supposed to be twelve.

 

             During the rule of Emperor Kwang Hsu (1875 to 1908) the Ch’ing government had plans to destroy the Shaolin order. When learning of the plot against Shaolin the monks, students, and masters gathered as many valuables as possible and fled to the mountains. Some of the valuables include books, tablets, and art.  It has been rumored the Shaolin monks actually destroyed the temple before the Chi’ng government arrived. This was a way of securing the safety of the ones who fled to the mountains. If the government came in and saw the temple empty, they would know all the valuables had been saved.  Finally the temple was destroyed with it’s knowledge dispersed throughout southwest China. Su Kong found refuge in the mountains of the Fukien Province. Like most of the other masters he began teaching the tradition of Shaolin secretly. Since Su Kong was the only one with knowledge of all the systems of Shaolin he became what is know as the first Grandmaster or Great Grandmaster. Although there are many schools with the lineage tracing back to Shaolin our system is the only one with knowledge of the complete Shaolin order. Su Kong Tai Jin died at the age of 79 in the year 1928.

             Grandmaster Ie Chang Ming inherited the Shaolin 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 Chang Ming had Left the 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 Shaolin. They used Japanese uniforms to fool anyone who may come looking for him. Ie Chang Ming can be seen sitting in the chair in the picture.

By Daniel Mattson

             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 Shaolin weapon, empty hand, animal and internal styles. Grand Master Thé specializes in the highest animal system, the Golden Snake.

 

Please check out his website to find out much more!

Shaolin Grandmasters

Su Kong Tai Djin

Ie Chang Ming

Sin Kwang The’

Traditional

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