Staff Classes on Saturdays
Real Shaolin Kung Fu Staff classes.
Buddha Zhen has been teaching Shaolin Staff since 1988.
shaolinCOM.com STAFF CLASS product page
Staff classes require at least one stripe on your Buddha Kung Fu or Shaolin Chi Mantis sash.
Staff classes require at least two stripes on your Tai Chi Youth, Shaolin Kids, or Kung Fu Bootcamp sash.
Staff classes presume you already know ALL your Kung Fu Basics in the Tai Chi Beginner book by Buddha Zhen.
Buddha Zhen created the Shaolin Chi Mantis staff classes in 1993. The staff classes are several semesters and have not been completed in less than three years by any of the Shaolin Chi Mantis, Tai Chi Youth, or Buddha Kung Fu students attending them.
Each semester of the Staff Class includes a MIDTERM EXAM. This a PASS or FAIL exam. If any student is not keeping up with the curriculum, they become a danger to their classmates. This midterm exam is intended to maintain our quality and safety in these weapons classes. Students who do not pass this exam can restart the class at the beginning of the upcoming semester.
Sword Classes of Buddha Zhen
Buddha Kung Fu classes page
Before enrolling in SCM Sword Classes, every student must graduate the SCM Staff Class.
"When I first moved to Utah in 1992," explains Buddha Zhen, "several prominent Karate masters hired me to teach them Chinese Kung Fu sword. I was unfamiliar with the Karate Black Belt requirements of the various Japanese and Okinowan martial arts styles. I presumed they were similar to the Kung Fu curriculums I had been trained under by Douglas Wong's White Lotus System Sil Lum Gungfu, and the Tai Mantis Federation of Dr. Kam Yuen. I was wrong."
"It was frustrating for myself and the Karate Masters as I had to teach them the basics of Kung Fu at the same time I was teaching them the upper body strikes moves of the sword and staff. I later officiated their Black Belt Tests and became a competitor and judge at many Karate tournaments."
"These experiences taught me the vast differences between Chinese martial arts and any other martial arts styles. I also developed my own theory of the origins of Okinowan martial arts, (which are the foundation of all the Japanese Karate styles)."
"After several years of teaching weapons classes I developed a sincere apprecation for the valuable lessons learned and developed in our 12 Step Tantui of the Chinese Jing Mo Federation. That is why I would be willing to teach students of our 12 Step 12 Week Kung Fu Bootcamp the Chinese Staff, even if they are not enrolled in our traditional Shaolin Kung Fu classes."
Halberd Classes of Buddha Kung Fu
Each student of Buddha Kung Fu can SELECT which halberd they wish to learn, to graduate Buddha Kung Fu.
There are a bunch of halberds to choose from.
Most Chinese Southern Style Kung Fu schools prefer the Guan Dao, or "Kwan Do," for their halberd training.
The Shaolin Buddhist Monks developed the Shaolin Monk Spade halberd because of their unique requirement of having to often bless and bury the dead as they travelled in China. That is why one end is a spade shovel. The crescent blade on the opposite end was added to balance the weapon for combat and remove bandits and Mongols from their horses.
The Tai Mantis Federation did not offer halberd training, so I collected my halberd curriculums from other Chinese Kung Fu Masters during the 1990s. When a "renegade monk" defected from the Chinese travelling Shaolin Monk Show in America, he sought asylum and was allowed to live in New York where he set up a Kung Fu school. Buddha Zhen contacted the renegade monk and obtained his Shaolin Monk Spade Form. Unfortunately, all of the Shaolin Temple Kung Fu programs at the renovated Shaolin Temple in China, are not the traditional Kung Fu Forms of centuries past. Even the 10 Shaolin Forms, that have been the backbone of Shaolin Kung Fu are not taught at the Shaolin Temple because of their difficulty and length. The new Shaolin Monks refer to the Kung Fu Forms we teach as, "the antiquated Kung Fu." Yep, Shaolin Chi Mantis is "old school" Kung Fu. 
