Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps and Rolls – The Class I Never Wanted To Skip

A LOT OF FUN

A LOT OF PAIN AT THE BEGINNING

A LOT OF MUSCLE SORE AFTERWARDS

PEOPLE DROPPING OUT DURING THE CLASS

LIST OF SHAOLIN KUNG FU JUMPS AND ROLLS

THAT I HAVE LEARNED IN SHAOLIN KUNG FU SCHOOL

KUNG FU ROLLS

Forward Roll

easy (video in the post)

Side Roll

easy (video)

JUMPS & ROLLS

Head Flip

intermediate (video)

Kick up

intermediate (video)

Shoulder Flip

intermediate (video)

Side Fall & Twist up

intermediate (video)

SHAOLIN KUNG FU JUMPS

Forward Handspring

difficult – still learning

Flying Side Kick

intermediate

Flying Slap Kick

easy – intermediate

Aerial

hardcore

Butterfly Kick

intermediate – difficult

Tornado Kick

intermediate – difficult

Back Handspring

hardcore

Back Flip

hardcore

Legend (the level of difficulty of a roll or a jump/ how much it took for me to learn it)
N

I could do it immediately

R

I learned it during the first six months of training. It took a lot of practice to learn it.

I learned it pretty fast, but it needs improvement.

After one year, I still couldn’t do it properly. I didn’t though spend much time on training it.

I practiced it a lot for a couple of months. I managed to do it in the last days of my one-year stay in the school. It still needs a lot of improvement.

I didn’t learn it yet.
CHECK ALSO

WHICH MUSCLES ARE USED TO DO A HANDSTAND PUSH UP

MUSCLE WORKOUT IN HANDSTAND PUSH-UP

It is helpful in order to learn some of the above jumps and rolls

ROLL DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN EASY

ROLL FORWARD

前滚翻 [qián gǔn fān] FORWARD ROLLS13

Firstly, we roll forward like in the physical education class at school, where the teacher covers a program focused on gymnastic skills. To go with the flow, the next roll is the kind you do in martial arts – side roll.

SIDE ROLL

抢背 [qiǎng bèi] – roll forward diagonally S7

So… you don’t roll strictly forward anymore because you don’t want the head to touch the ground. The pressure of the fall is amortized by the shoulder and spreads subsequently to the other parts of the body. If the roll is done correctly, there is no way you hurt yourself. This explains why it is so common not only in fighting but also in parkour when you land doing a side roll after a crazy jump.

BACK ROLL TO PUSH UP POSITION

Let’s come back to primary school. Normally, the forward roll would be followed by the back roll. Here, yes, as well, but with a slight hindrance at the end called push-up.

Most girls have a lot of trouble making it and spend months learning it, or they are never successful. The guys – some of them get it in the first class, some need more time but rarely as much as girls.

So… the conclusion was simple. To make it, I needed strong arms.

 

后手翻 [hòu shǒu fān] BACK ROLL to PUSH-UP positionS13

HANDSTAND PUSH-UP

If the exercise is performed separately, meaning without backward roll, it requires both strength and balance. The muscle workout is different than in a regular push-up.

In handstand push-up, the arms support whole body weight. The workout of triceps brachii, deltoid (due to the arms position), latissimus dorsi, trapezius (which elevates shoulders), and core muscles (to keep balance) is increased.

The substitute exercise for handstand push-ups is military push-ups. It is simpler, and the weight can be adjusted according to our fitness level. This exercise can work as a preparation for handstand push-ups.

Pic. Handstand push-upS9 and military push-up.S8

REGULAR PUSH-UP

In regular push-ups, the back muscles work definitely less than in handstand push-ups (trapezius, latissimus dorsi). Still, regular push-ups can be a simpler exercise preparing to some extent for handstand push-ups.

The prone position, in which regular push-ups are performed, helps to improve torso stabilization. This is why this exercise is not only good for strengthening the upper body but also for developing a good posture. The substitute exercise for regular push-ups is a bench press.

Pic. Regular push-upsS11 and bench pressS8.

The person, who learns back roll to push-up position, cannot be a weakling. But… what became clear to me over time, and this refers not only to back roll but any possible skill you want to learn, is that the key to performing a movement is a technique, which also means the ability to use muscle power in the right moment. I tried to figure out the technique of back roll to push-up position. Many students were giving me good advice, not to mention my Master’s teachings. Still, I wasn’t able even to lift my head from the mats.

In May, after traveling with my mum, I met a new student from France, Daniel’s friend – Matt. With his encouragement, I spend a few classes practicing back roll to push-up position. We tried to break down piece by piece, where I should use the power to make it. That was a stone mile in learning a back roll to push-up position. What I got to know was that it was not only about push-up from my arms but, more importantly, push-up using my legs. The key was the momentum of kicking up. At the end of the movement, Matt caught my feet and pulled up.

– Good. Like this – he said – PUSH UP!!! To handstand. Your body – straight. Your legs want to kick somebody above you.

It took me more than half a year to actually visibly improve my back roll to push-up position. Still, I am on my way to doing it correctly.

IS IT A JUMP OR A ROLL?!

HEAD FLIP

Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps & Rolls

After back roll to the push-up position, we do a head flip. It is a typical Shaolin Kung Fu jump. At school, we perform head flip with the support of hands. However, in the Shaolin temple, some students perform it without using their hands, JUST ON THE HEAD!!! Tough guys!

When I saw the other student doing a head flip during my first Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps and Rolls class, I stopped and stared at them with my eyes wide open.

  • So… now… I am supposed to do it?!! – I thought.
Video. Shaolin monk doing head flip without using hands:

空前翻 [kōng qián fān] HEAD FLIP 

I could do a headstand – no problem. But every time I was doing it in yoga class, the teacher warned me against falling backward. Now, I was not supposed to fall back but worst – throw my legs there!!!

SUPER SCARY!!!

  • What about my neck, my spine, and my whole body? Will it follow?

Not exactly. At least not at the beginning. What was awaiting me instead was landing on my butt and spine, and pulling my neck strangely. It took me less time to learn head flip than kick up (the next Kung Fu jump). However, it was training kick up, which helped me improve the head flip.

KICK UP

Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps & Rolls

载碑    [zài bēi]    PLANK    &    鲤鱼打挺    [lǐ yú dǎ tǐng]    KICK UPS15 

The following Shaolin Kung Fu jump is a kick up. Firstly, we land from the straight position into the elbow plank. We change the position of the legs so they are in front of us, and we do kick up followed by head flip. It took me two months of intense kick up training to eventually get it. It started in January. Each Form class (a kick up was a part of my new Form – Kung Fu Broadsword) and some of the afternoon classes I dedicated to a greater or lesser extent to train kick up (meaning around 6 hours a week).

The time I spent on training it seemed to last ages. I started to doubt that I ever would make it. Then, one cold day, on the 13th of March, I managed to do a kick up from the ground. Since that moment, though my kick up still needs improvement, I can proudly say I have learned it.

SHOULDER FLIP

Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps & Rolls

The other sequence of jumps, performed during the Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps & Rolls class, is front flip with landing on the shoulders and arms spread to the sides followed by a kick up and head flip. It was one of the exercises, which I didn’t appreciate, feeling that I was just dangerously throwing my body. Fortunately, it was not included in a regular class schedule. Also, with time it became easier, and it didn’t hurt as much anymore. It doesn’t mean, though, that I started to like it.

SIDE FALL & TWIST UP

Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps & Rolls

侧摔    [cès huāi]    SIDE FALLS7    &    乌龙绞柱    [wū lóng jiǎo zhù]    TWIST UPS15

After plank and kick up, come side fall with twist up. Twist up is a name given by me. I couldn’t find an English name for this technique of getting up after a fall. If you know its proper name, let me know in the comments below. I remember before coming to China, one of the first videos I watched about Kung Fu training was “Dragon Girls”.

Write in YouTube Dragon Girls Documentary and you will find the video I am talking about or click HERE (maybe this link will work). It is really worth watching.

This documentary movie presents a few stories about young girls learning martial arts. The youngest performed a Kung Fu straight sword form with the side fall (7:41 min of the movie). Immediately, I liked it, and I wanted to learn it. Side fall didn’t give me a headache like kick up. However, I never felt any improvement while training it. Similarly, twist up.

I WANT TO BE A GYMNAST

FORWARD HANDSPRING

Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps

Forward handspring.S12

Many from Shaolin Kung Fu Jumps & Rolls movements are similar to those performed in gymnastics. Both competitive Wushu martial arts and athletic gymnastics integrate complex techniques and beautiful movements. However, the real Shaolin Kung fu emphasizes more practical application of the movement than artistic aesthetics.

The Shaolin Kung Fu jump has to be done with purpose, like kick or push. It has to be powerful to defeat the opponent. For this reason, the most common sentences used by Masters during the classes are: “More Power!!! Faster!!!”. The detailed approach, where the precise position of the hand or feet is corrected, happens after the student achieves a more practical level of the exercise.

So, when I am talking about Forward Handspring or the movements described above, like head flip or kick up, or the movement described in the following subchapter, like aerial, tornado kick or butterfly kick, the way the new students learn them, looks approximately like this:

First: observation.

Second: we follow, meaning we just try to copy what we saw, praying that we won’t break anything or – for less courageous – we make a scared face. The Master comes to us. Shows the movement as slow as possible, and we follow, praying that we survive without any injury.

Third: we never do the movement again because it hurts or – for more courageous – we keep training, and eventually, somehow, we learn it.

I was among the second one. Not so much because I am courageous. More because I am stubborn. I always wanted to learn gymnastics, but I never had an opportunity. In modern dance, my favorite exercises were those on the floor and in yoga, the upside-down asanas. I am addicted to the feeling of being in the air. Even if I still cannot do any of these jumps properly, I enjoy them a lot.

I want to know how many of these difficult movements I can learn, starting to learn at my age – 28 years old. This is what this journey is about. I have trained Forward Handspring for a year now, and I still land on my butt, or if not, I land on deeply bend legs. I know there is a lot of training in front of me. But I stay positive, and I can see slight improvements. Importantly, not only in the performance of the movement but also in my attitude towards it. It’s not so scary anymore, and it even seems not so difficult as at the beginning.

After performing forward handspring, the next Shaolin Kung Fu jumps are cartwheel and round off. The second one is also a cartwheel, but with two legs meeting each other in the air and bouncing off the ground together, preparing for the following tumbling sequences, like back handspring or flips.

AND NOW I WANNA FLY !!!

My favourite Shaolin Kung Fu jump kicks:

腾空侧踹 [téng kōng cè chuài]

FLYING SIDE KICKS7

 

腾空飞脚 [téng kōng fēi jiǎo]

FLYING SLAP KICKS3

 

Before performing the flying slap kick, we put the mats a bit higher. We run, bounce off the mats from the right leg, kick the right hand, and land on the same leg as we kicked.

侧空翻 [cè kōng fān] AERIALS3

 

I started to learn aerial in February. During the next three months, I was stubborn to learn it at any cost. I tried and tried. I received hundreds of advice from my Master, my colleagues, and Daniel. I watched videos observing how people have done it and compared my almost aerial to their full aerial. I dreamed about it. I begged. Whatever it took, I really wanted to do it. But… I couldn’t.

So, after that time, I just let it go. I still tried my best. But, my hope wasn’t there anymore, and nor was my dedication.

Also, from time to time, we have been training other Shaolin Kung Fu jumps, like butterfly kick, tornado kick (described in Advanced basics), back handspring, and once I tried backflip (both last jumps were spotted by two people).

旋子 [xuàn zi] BUTTERFLY KICKS3

 

If one man gets there with one try, try ten times.
If another succeeds with a hundred tries, make a thousand.

Proceeding in this matter,
even one who is a bit slow will find the light,
even a weak man will find the energy.”

From Kei-Hua, Kung-Fu Meditations and Chinese Proverbial Wisdom

Shaolin Kung Fu

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