At the Confucius Institute on the 25th of September, we held a public lecture with a practice session to get familiar with the martial arts of the legendary Shaolin Monastery and its traditions. This topic was presented by the speaker Tomas Lapinskas, the official representative of the Shaolin Monastery in the Baltic States.
The lecture consisted of two parts. The first part was a theoretical part, during which the speaker shared his personal story and impressions from his first trips to China. Tomas also told about his search and discovery of authentic Shaolin martial arts and the connections he has established with the monastery. During this lecture, the listeners got acquainted with the history of the origin of Shaolin Monastery and martial arts, as well as how Shaolin martial arts are portrayed in various films and television series. Listeners were also introduced to several Shaolin monks who live to this day. For example, Shi Yongxin, an abbot of Shaolin Monastery - he was Tomas Lapinskas’ teacher.
After the theoretical part of the lecture, the participants of the event had the opportunity to practice in a free introductory class of Shaolin martial arts. During the practical part of the lecture, several actions of Shaolin's martial arts have been taught, which best reflected Shaolin's style and basic principles. Also, these actions were performed separately, so that participants could understand when they could be applied in the fight situation.
We hope that this lecture was interesting, and you have learned more about Chinese culture. We also hope that you liked the practical class of Shaolin style.