Intercultural pedagogies: experiencing the kungfu teaching methods at the Shaolin Temple

Abstract

AbstractThe Shaolin Temple is a unique religious institution in China. It is the most renowned temple of Chan Buddhism and, at the same time, a famed site of intensive cultivation of traditional kungfu. Besides running the kungfu program for selected Chinese youth, the Temple offers a program for foreign students interested in training kungfu in its authentic cultural setting. Founded on anthropology of education, the theories of embodiment, and the theory of practice, our research project is focused on the relationship between the Shaolin kungfu and Chan Buddhism. The aim of this paper is to describe the students’ perceptions of the Shaolin kungfu teaching methods through the analyses of their narrated personal experiences. The research is based on our 16 months of fieldwork in the Temple, which comprised a full participation in the training program as well as the formal and informal interviews and the group discussions with the students. The paper presents the students’ perceptions of the Shaolin masters’ training methods, the main kungfu principles and their sources, as well as the differences between the training approaches in the Temple and in their home countries. In addition, the study brings forth the concept of intercultural martial arts pedagogies and its application in a representative Chan Buddhist setting.