All activities / Martial Arts Training / Dengfeng
Martial Arts Training in Dengfeng
The town at the foot of Mount Song in Henan, home of the Shaolin Temple and the birthplace of Shaolin kung fu, ringed by martial arts academies that take students from around the world.
Why here
Dengfeng is where Shaolin kung fu began, and where you can still go to learn it at the source. The Shaolin Temple sits on the slopes of Mount Song, and the town around it is dense with martial arts academies, some next to the temple gate, that take foreign students for full-immersion stays of a few weeks to a year. Days start early with stances, forms, conditioning and flexibility under a shifu, split between traditional Shaolin sets, sanda sparring, and the qigong and Chan meditation that sit behind the physical art. This is training, not a show: you live on site, eat with the students, and progress through fundamentals rather than watch a demonstration. It rewards the committed student far more than the passer-through.
Best months
Academies run year round with rolling start dates, and most take complete beginners as well as experienced martial artists. Spring and autumn are the kindest for hard daily training; Henan summers are hot and humid and winters cold. Expect early mornings, sore muscles and a spartan routine.
Getting there & around
Dengfeng is about an hour and a half by road from Zhengzhou, the Henan provincial capital, which has an airport and high-speed rail. Academies arrange airport pickups and provide room and board on campus; longer stays need the right visa, which the schools advise on.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Academy
SchoolEstablished in 1978 at the foot of Mount Song in Dengfeng, near the Shaolin Temple itself, this is one of the oldest and largest kung fu academies in China. It takes international students for residential training, from summer camps and short forms courses to programs lasting several months or a year, with masters teaching traditional Shaolin styles alongside on-site lodging.
Shaolin Yongzhi Traditional Martial Arts School
SchoolRun by Grandmaster Shi Yongzhi about ten minutes from the Shaolin Temple, this traditional martial arts school takes small numbers of international students for immersive residential training. Programs run from one to three months, with four or more hours a day of forms, qigong, weapons and conditioning, full board and on-site lodging, and instruction tuned to each student's level.