.
. . named for the famous Shaolin Temple in the Honan province of China,
where martial arts were developed and practiced by Buddhist monks for hundreds
of years, 
Shaolin
Chuan generally refers to a wide variety of "external" Chinese
martial arts, (although some of these arts actually also came from Taoist
and Muslim sources.) They are also sometimes collectively referred to as
"kung fu" in the west. Over 300 documented styles exist. Traditionally
they have been distinguished as either northern or southern Chinese. While
it is difficult to categorize all the branches of such a large tree, we
can say that generally, northern styles tend to use larger, softer movements
and are designed more for a long range type of 
fighting,
while southern styles use smaller, harder movements and emphsasize close
in-fighting. Although the word "chuan" literally means "fist"
most systems also train with traditional Chinese weapons. Some of the "external"
Chinese arts included in the Smiling Tiger curriculum are:
The
southern Hung Gar system, famous for its solid stances, powerful hand strikes,
and fighting techniques based on the traditional five animals, (tiger, crane,
leopard, snake, and dragon.)A southern Tam Tui system, (both northern and southern versions exist) known for its powerful low kicks and long range hand techniques.
The
Choy-Li-Fut system, of both southern and northern origin, famous for its
diversity of fighting techniques,(including the traditional five animals
mentioned above,) and for its battlefield effectiveness.