The Jow Ga Shaolin Institute was founded to promote and teach authentic Chinese martial arts to anyone interested, provided they are of good moral character and have a sincere desire to learn. The Institute adheres to the teachings and moral values and standards advocated by the Founder’s teachers. When the Jow Ga Five Tigers established the first Jow Ga school, they appropriately called it: “Zhou Jia Quan Ren Yi Tang”, or the “Jow Family Boxing’s Hall of Benevolence and Justice.” Our Mizong teacher Grandmaster Lu Junhai has taught us that: “You must first be a good person, then a good martial artist.”
This Chinese poem can be found posted inside most Jow Ga Kung Fu schools around the world. It makes clear that Kung Fu is more than merely a physical discipline. It is a treasured art form that embodies moral principles, with roots dating back to the Shaolin Temple. Those who learn only the outer forms of Kung Fu have not yet discovered that the most important aspects of the art occur within the student. Because mastery of the art is a never-ending quest, we all remain students forever.
- Respect the founder, respect the teacher, respect the teachings,
- Learn kindness, learn justice, then learn Kung Fu.
- After you learn Kung Fu, you can protect yourself,
- But if you are a hero, a true Kung Fu man (person), you won’t abuse your power.
- If you meet a student and you know he is an evil person,
- Then you would not teach him even for 10,000 pieces of gold.
- And if he has no honor then you should not teach him even if he were your brother,
- But if he has honor then you should teach him even if he is a stranger to you.
- And after you learn the secret of Jow Ga Kung Fu,
- Even a piece of useless stone may become a piece of gold to you.