Kung fu academies In the last several decades, as China has risen as an international power, a renaissance in the ancient art of kung fu has emerged in the area surrounding the legendary Shaolin Temple – long renowned for its association with Chinese martial arts – in China’s Henan Province. Nowhere is this more evident than in Dengfeng, a sprawling city of 650,000 just six miles from Shaolin’s temple gates. Here some 60 martial arts academies, like Ta Gou Academy (pictured), have sprouted over the past two decades, teaching more than 50,000 students in total. (Justin Guariglia/National Geographic Stock) Learning the ancient art These schools fill their ranks with boys (and increasingly girls) from every province and social class, ranging in age from five to their late 20s. Some arrive hoping to become movie stars or to win glory as kickboxers. Others come to learn skills that will ensure good jobs in the military, police or private security. A few are also sent by their parents to learn discipline and hard work. (Justin Guariglia/National Geographic Stock) Totems of dorm life On the left, a kung fu student looks out of a window as he rests on his bed. On the right are toiletry bags and enamel food bowls lined up near a washroom at the Ta Gou Academy. (Justin Guariglia/National Geographic Stock) Crowded dormitories At night, students sleep in unheated rooms. No matter the temperature, they train outside, often before sunrise. Six days a week, 11 months of the year, the campuses come alive at dawn with legions of students dressed in identical tracksuits aligned in sharp rows, practicing kung fu. Faces forward, backs rigid, they punch and kick in unison, their voices puncturing the morning air as they repeat their instructors' cadences. (Justin Guariglia/National Geographic Stock) Painful stretches Kung Fu students partake in painful stretches; within a month of arriving, new students are expected to be able to do full splits. During drills, students jab tree trunks to toughen their hands and practice squatting with other students sitting on their shoulders to build leg strength. Coaches use bamboo to swat the hamstrings of any boy whose form is not perfect or whose effort is deemed insufficient. (Justin Guariglia/National Geographic Stock) Acrobatics Martial arts existed in China long before the 5th Century and likely arrived at Shaolin through ex-soldiers seeking refuge. The reigning philosophy of Shaolin Kung Fu rests on the belief that a healthy life turns on the principles of chan (Zen meditation), wu (martial arts) and yi (herbal medicine). Here, A student practices flips and somersaults at the Ta Gou Academy. (Justin Guariglia/National Geographic Stock) Kung fu’s long history Kung Fu students assemble for a ceremony in Shaolin. According to popular myth, a 5th-century Indian mystic taught a series of exercises that mimicked animal movements to the monks at the newly established Shaolin Temple. The monks adapted the forms for self-defence and later modified them for warfare. Their descendants honed these "martial arts" and over the next 14 centuries used them in countless battles — opposing despots, putting down rebellions and fending off invaders. Today, visitors to Shaolin witness firsthand the revival of China’s ancient martial art. (Justin Guariglia/National Geographic Stock) ___________________________________________________________________________