Shaolin monk Shi Yan Zhi
Shaolin monk Shi Yan Zhi entered the Shaolin Monastery at the age of eight. In his early years, in addition to school and Shaolin Kung Fu training, he primarily had to help with the daily chores around the monastery. Yan Zhi was mostly responsible for kitchen duties. Thus, the Shaolin monk is not only an excellent Kung Fu fighter today, but also a skilled vegetarian cook.
Yan Zhi is responsible for the teachers of the young students at the Shaolin Monastery. His day begins at five in the morning. Before sunrise, he and his students climb to Bodhidharma's cave – a climb of over a thousand steps, all at a run. Afterwards, they have breakfast, consisting of nutritious rice porridge. This is followed by three hours of Kung Fu training. After lunch, which is primarily rice, the children go to school, and Yan Zhi dedicates himself to his personal practice, such as Buddhist chanting, meditation, Kung Fu exercises, and so on. After dinner, which is again rice, there is another three hours of training. Then it's lights out for the night.
Shi Yan Zhi specializes in the nine-section whip. A hallmark of this Shaolin monk is his mastery of the double nine-section whip. Yan Zhi is one of the few monks who possesses outstanding talent in both hand-to-hand combat and forms. He thus has a broad knowledge of Shaolin Kung Fu.
Shaolin monk Shi Yan Zhi has visited Switzerland several times (2002, 2003, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and has already made friends at the Chin Woo martial arts school in Uster. The students enjoy strolling through the town with him. However, conversing with the monk isn't always easy. This isn't just because most people don't speak Chinese. No, the monk owns nothing and isn't the least bit interested in the many things offered in our department stores. All the more interesting, then, is sitting with Yan Zhi in a restaurant and philosophizing with him.