China: Shaolin Temple hosts martial arts competition

Beijing: The Shaolin Temple, known as the birthplace of Chinese kung fu, hosted a martial arts competition attracting over 100 enthusiasts.

The competition on Sunday featured four traditional events featuring the Iron Palm, Stone Lock, Two-Finger Zen and Flying Knife styles of kung fu, the foriegn media reported.

Zhang Longxiang, 44, broke eight bricks in one stroke with his palm to win the Iron Palm title.

He started learning martial arts at the age of 10, and has been training in Iron Palm for over two decades.

"The Shaolin Temple has become a good platform for us to communicate among our martial arts lovers, and I like it very much," said Zhang.

Giuliano Zampese, a student of the Shaolin Culture Centre in Venice, Italy, also stayed at the Shaolin Temple to receive traditional kung fu trainings.

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"It's nice to see the performance but so difficult for me to do like them, I have never watched such a stunning show like that although I have been practicing Shaolin kung fu for 15 years," said Zampese.

The competition at the Shaolin Temple will continue till July 31.

--IANS