It was back in 1998. Shi De Cheng had informed me that he knew about 80 different Shaolin forms. Now, making a list of all of those would be difficult, given the language differences. He had claimed to practice them on a regular basis. The reason for this? The transmission of information from master to disciple, in an exact fashion, as he had learned them from Shi Su Yun, Of all the monks I had met in Shaolin to this point, DeCheng was more of a Shaolin encyclopedia than most. The man knew a lot, and he was proud of the fact that he could remember, and, more importantly, teach the forms exactly as he had learned if. Shi Su Yun not only taught him the forms, as he had learned them from his master, but also taught him the importance of tradition, and maintaining the sanctity of the forms.

The following is a list of the commonly taught traditional forms at Shaolin, historically through this century, as per Shi Su Yun, via Shi De Cheng. Granted, there are others, but these are the most well known, and most accepted.

It should be known, that in the years after 2000, more and more iterations and changes to these forms, plus, the creation of new ones, took place. This was in response to the increase in competitions in China, and the need to alter the traditional forms to make them more stylized and competition capable.

Shaolin Traditional Hand forms

Xiao Hong Quan
Da Hong Quan
Lian Huan Quan
Tong Bei Quan
Xiao Luohan Quan
Da Luohan Quan
Mei Hua Quan
Qi Xing Quan
Liu He Quan
Nan Quan
Xin Yi Quan
Lian Hua Quan
Yanqing Quan
Rou Quan
Chang Hu Xin Yi Men Quan
Xiao Pao Quan
Sa Pao Quan
Wu Xing Ba Fa Quan
Gui Ding Qiuan
Zhao Yang Quan
Cha Quan
Chang Quan
Di Tang Quan
Damo Quan
Jiudi Shi Ba Gun Quan