Yan Shou Gong · 延壽功 · The Art of LongevityA 36-form Nei Gong system created in the early 1980s by Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong and Grandmaster Yap Cheng Hai, distilled from the Shaolin arts of Luohan Ruyi and Wu Ji Quan — now taught by Master Yap Boh Heong through a six-module program.
Yan Shou Gong 延壽功 — the art of longevity — condenses two Shaolin Nei Gong arts, Luohan Ruyi and Wu Ji Quan, which were taught only to the temple's senior monks, into thirty-six short forms: each takes twenty to thirty minutes to learn and two or three minutes to practise.
Jin is elastic power, stored and released by the muscles, tendons and fascia like a drawn bow — and released loose, which the tradition calls Song. Yi is intention: not an energy itself, but the focus that controls how the energy is generated and released. In the Shaolin model Master Yap teaches, they are learned in order — strength, then Jin, then Yi, then Qi — and no level can be skipped.
Grounding: a stance that holds when it is pushed. Rooting: the push is sent into the ground and the ground's reaction is brought back up through the body. Centering: the centre line stays still while the body moves, so a force can be yielded to and the position regained. They are the first milestones, and each depends on the one before.
Thirty-six forms, each about twenty to thirty minutes to learn and two or three minutes to practise. The founders condensed the long Shaolin forms on purpose, so that people with work and families would actually train.
A partner applies light pressure and the structure either holds or it does not. Grounding is tested with a single finger pressed against the chest. Testing turns 'I think I am rooted' into something you can feel — Master Yap calls that experience a landmark.
Each module teaches the next six sets together with the testing methods and applications for the sets taught before it — Sets 7–12 open with the tests for Sets 1–6.
Third-generation master of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu
Master Yap Boh Heong is a third-generation master of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu and the son of the late Grandmaster Yap Cheng Hai. Following the passing of Grandmaster Yap Cheng Hai and Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong, he assumed responsibility for the transmission of Yan Shou Gong and now teaches it internationally.
Each module teaches six sets and builds on the sets taught before it. The complete program is planned as six modules; the final two are in development.
The complete program is planned as six modules; the final two are in development.
The complete program is planned as six modules; the final two are in development.
Taught progressively across six course modules. The four published modules teach Forms 1–24; Modules 5 and 6 are in development.
The names of Forms 25–36 follow Grandmaster Yap Cheng Hai’s historical 36-set listing. They may be updated when Master Yap approves the later course modules.
In the lineage's own account, Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong came to Malaysia towards the end of the Second World War and, in the early 1960s, taught his first disciple, Grandmaster Yap Cheng Hai — Master Yap Boh Heong's father.
Together, in the early 1980s, the two grandmasters created Yan Shou Gong, distilling it from Luohan Ruyi and Wu Ji Quan — the two Shaolin Nei Gong arts Grandmaster Chee had learned last, from a monk of the Shaolin Temple.
Yan Shou Gong is a traditional practice for health and martial cultivation. It is not medical treatment and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or care. If you have an existing health condition or are recovering from injury, consult a qualified practitioner before beginning.
Yan Shou Gong is a Nei Gong system of the Southern Shaolin tradition, taught as a structured series of course modules.
