The Shaolin Yau Kung Mun Chinese Kung Fu Academy’s syllabus is broken up into beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels, which are further broken up into grades.  There are ten grades to Sifu level, with 8 extra levels after that for Sifus and closed-door training only.

The syllabus includes forms, stance work, conditioning, pads & bag work, sensitivity, reflex drills, theories & principles, meditation, free sparring using techniques from forms, group fighting, weapons training, Iron Palm, Dit Dar medicine, basic healing methods, and more.  Click on one of the buttons below to learn more about what we learn.

There is a practical grading for each level that all students must pass to progress, there are also written exams on YKM knowledge.  Some people may say that gradings are just a piece of paper or another sash etc, but they make all students practice harder, give them a goal, and of course put them under pressure.  The pressure the student feels when getting up in front of the Kwoon and their training brothers and sisters, is only a fraction of the nerves and butterflies that they would experience in a street confrontation.

Each grade has a certain amount of information that has to be successfully demonstrated before moving onto more advanced training. There is no other way of getting any level without the grading, it's done one person at a time and usually takes 2-3 hours a grade.  The level 10 (instructors level) grading consists of all ten levels and requires a full weekend.  

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