Located east of the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, Dengfeng Songshan Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School is nestled at the foot of the majestic Songshan Mountain, steeped in the rich cultural heritage of Shaolin martial arts. Founded in 1978 by the renowned martial artist Liu Baoshan, the school has grown into one of China’s largest private martial arts institutions, celebrated for its exceptional martial arts training and comprehensive academic education.
School Overview
Spanning over 2,300 acres with a built-up area of 2.08 million square meters, Tagou Martial Arts School operates across three campuses and serves more than 35,000 students and staff. The school adheres to a philosophy of integrating martial arts with academic education, offering a complete educational system from primary school to university, including nine years of compulsory education, vocational programs, and undergraduate degrees. Equipped with modern facilities such as multimedia classrooms, laboratories, and libraries, the school provides an ideal environment for learning and growth.
Programs and Achievements
The school offers a diverse range of martial arts disciplines, including forms, sanda (Chinese kickboxing), boxing, taekwondo, and martial arts performance, across 12 specialized programs. Its students have excelled in national and international competitions, with notable alumni such as Zhang Shuaike, who won the 56kg sanda gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The school emphasizes both practical combat skills and performance, contributing to major martial arts events and film productions, significantly promoting Chinese martial arts culture worldwide.
Party Leadership and Social Responsibility
Tagou Martial Arts School places great importance on Party leadership. It established a Youth League Committee in 1998, a Party Branch in 2003, and upgraded to a Party Committee in 2019, currently with 109 Party members led by Head Coach and Party Secretary Liu Haike. The school has been recognized as an “Advanced Grassroots Party Organization” by the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Zhengzhou Municipal Party Committee. Committed to “education first, moral development foremost,” the school fosters well-rounded martial arts talents and actively participates in community service, reflecting its strong sense of social responsibility.
Culture and Legacy
As a key hub for preserving Shaolin martial arts, Tagou Martial Arts School blends traditional martial arts with modern education, focusing on the holistic development of its students. Beyond passing down the essence of Shaolin kung fu, the school instills positive values and life principles through its academic curriculum. Each year, it attracts martial arts enthusiasts from around the world, serving as a vital platform for cultural exchange and the global promotion of Chinese martial arts.
Recent Developments
In June 2024, the school faced public attention due to an incident involving a coach allegedly assaulting a student. The school promptly responded, cooperating with police investigations, and the involved coach was subjected to criminal measures. The school emphasized that official statements should be trusted, urging the public to avoid spreading unverified information to maintain normal operations.
Conclusion
Dengfeng Songshan Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School stands as a beacon of Chinese martial arts education, distinguished by its rich heritage, rigorous training, and outstanding achievements. Moving forward, the school will continue to uphold its mission of “strengthening the body through martial arts and nurturing the mind through education,” contributing to the cultivation of exceptional martial arts talents and the global spread of Chinese cultural heritage.
