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Originally posted by Lifetime: Finally someone who understands Chinese Martial Arts. I cant stand it when people say that Jet Li or Jacky Chan "does Kung Fu" And I believe that the Shaolin didnt teach only martial arts. For them it was a form of self-defence, they were monks first, warriors second, or not at all. And unlike the way BG2 potrays them, most were proficient in not only unarmed combat, but in impressive displays of weaponskills in a large number of blades and polearms, each variant needing years of study and practice to master. Yep I guess I should as I'm from China. Hmmm, BG2 calls the Monk energy Kai. It's is actually spelt Qi. Shaolin are monks and there mastery of martial arts is secondary and coincidental. They dedicate their lives to it and many emerge from the monastry as evil and power hungry adventurers. Back in medieval days, China was very much like the Forgotten Realms, minus the monsters and magic. You either travelled the realms as a group (solos are usually VERY powerful) to enjoy the scapes, make poems and drink a lot! Others belonged to sects, (whether occult or righteous) and had specific small quests (such as hunt down some petty thief in their area). The sects MOSTLY lived in harmony despite their differences, each had it's unique school of martial arts and are forbidden to use any other schools. Shaolin is the strongest because it's by FAR the largest and most of its monks are very strong. Raiding tombs is defintely EVIL in China and lawful adventurers will hunt you down. Plus, the whole idea of a quivering palm on a dragon's ass felling the beast is just ridiculous