On June 7 the National Palace of Culture (NDK) will host a martial arts demonstration of 20 monks from the Shaolin monastery.

Some of the best trained Shaolin monks would demonstrate their legendary martial arts skills and concentration abilities as part of the Chinese culture days in Bulgaria, Darik Radio reported.

The Shaolin monks have been organising Kung Fu demonstrations ever since 1987, presenting shows in various countries all over the world.

The monastery history dates back to 495. The first group of monks to master their Kung Fu skills was formed years later, during the Tan dynasty, ruling China from 618 to 907. In its prime the monastery accommodated over 3 000 monks, but today their number is reduced to 250.

Yen Da, Shaolin monk for 11 years already, said that the monks were forbidden to kill, steal, lie, drink alcohol or have sexual intercourse with women. The austere training helped the monks build their character and taught them to be more humane, he added.