Shaolin/Main

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* Pic
* Cinematic

**Shaolin** is a playable hero class in For Honor.

## Overview

The Shaolin are fierce warrior monks known for their fluid fighting style and their prowess with the staff.

The Order of Shaolin was formed long before the Cataclysm, when the first monks established a monastery and shared their martial skills with their followers.

After the Cataclysm, civil war enveloped the Empire, and the monks honed their warrior skills to preserve a spirituality that was quickly disappearing from the world. If that meant a clenched fist, then these warrior monks would be ready.

Today, they spend their days praying, training, and fighting. They hold their prayers close to them at all times and deliver their message with a spiritual force that’s unmatched.

## Armor

The only armor the Shaolin wears are a pair of bracers and greaves. Other than that, he wears the robes and artifacts of his monastery, with tattoos of prayers covering his body.

## Weapon

**Staff** - A simple but long ranged weapon, the staff is a weapon that should not be underestimated for its humble looks as it is capable of pummeling enemies in an array of swings and thrusts.

## Trivia

* The Shaolin's staff is not static, and has proper physics that allow it to bend flexibly during certain emotes and attacks. This physics can be seen particularly when Shaolin rides on top of the staff during certain Executions and Emotes.
* Shaolin was referred to being an Assassin class on the June 14th, 2018 episode of Warrior's Den. However, this was a misspoken statement, debunked in other official news and webpages that came later, stating that he is meant to be a Hybrid.
	+ Thus, it is likely Roman, the caster on Warrior's Den who mistakenly called Shaolin an Assassin, meant to say that Shaolin is a hybrid between the Assassin and the Vanguard classes.
	+ This mistake may have also come from the fact that Shaolin was the only Hybrid Hero with a Reflex Guard, a Guard type that only Assassin Heroes had. No other Hybrid Heroes was given the Guard Type, even if they were an Assassin Hybrid of some kind.
* The Shaolin is based off his namesake, the Shaolin monks.
* In promotional art, Shaolin is shown using the Lacquered weapon set instead of his default Ringlet weapon set.
* Some of the Shaolin's designs and gear are a reference to Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, from his shouts when fighting to the inclusion of monkey masks as one line of visuals.
	+ Shaolin would eventually receive a Hero Skin fully based on the hero in the form of Monkey King Wukong.
* The "Qi" (pronounced ch'i) in Qi Stance is a vital force that is believed, by those of traditional Chinese culture and other East Asian cultures, to exist. This vital force or energy is said to flow through and/or links all matter and living things.
* The Shaolin possesses moves and stances that are part of Shaolin Kung Fu.
	+ In Qi Stance:
		- Top Light or side Heavy is the Gōng Bù (弓步; "Bow Stance") stance. However, his stance is too high with the body weight leaning too far over the bent knee (causing the knee to go past the foot), which are incorrect for the stance. Sometimes the back leg's knee is also bent, which is also incorrect for the stance as that knee should be straight.
		- Side Light is the Bàn Mǎ Bù (半馬步; "Half Horse Stance") stance, a modification of the Mǎ Bù (馬步; "Horse Stance") that shifts the body's weight partially towards one leg than being equally distributed.
		- Top Heavy is the Fú Hǔ Bù (伏虎步; "Taming Tiger Stance") stance, also known as the Pū Bù (仆步 "Flat Stance") stance. However, the upper body is bent over, where the proper use of the stance sees the back perpendicular to the ground and the body lower so that the entirety of the front leg is very close to the ground.
	+ Some moves in the Shaolin's moveset come from the staff form known as "Yīn shǒu gùn" (阴手棍; lit. "Yin hand staff"), a staff form typically taught to beginners as their introductory to the staff. Some of such moves include the Opener/Chain Top Heavies (including Shadowstep), Elegant Lotus (Side Lights from Qi Stance) and Lotus Leap (Top Heavy from Qi Stance).
* In his quote for Sun Kick and Flying Kick, the Shaolin recites the short form of the Nianfo (念佛), a term commonly seen in Pureland Buddhism. It refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha (also known as "Amida Buddha"), with its purpose being to practice mindfulness, especially during meditation, and allow the chanter to obtain birth in Amitābha's pure land. In other religious practices of Buddhism, it has other uses, such as being a greeting between monks.
	+ The standard form of the Nianfo in Chinese is "Ná mó ēmítuófó" (南無阿弥陀佛), while the shortened version is "Ēmítuófó" (阿弥陀佛). Although there are no direct translations of these lines, one common translation of the standard form is "(Amida) Buddha blesses you."
	+ The standard form of the Nianfo used to be the line for Sun Kick and Flying Monkey before it was shortened. The use of the shortened form occurred prior to January 2020, without any explanation as to why it was changed.
* Elegant Lotus initiated to the left from Qi Stance (Light) will trigger any of Shaolin's quotes, including the two exclusive ones to this specific command.
	+ An Elegant Lotus from Qi Stance (Heavy) or to the right does not use any quotes.
	+ Meanwhile, Astonishing and Bounding Blossom both also initiate random quotes when successful in their Superior Block.
	+ It is unknown if these are bugs.
* Due to having four, although randomized and non-customizable, Emotes when holding Qi Stance, Shaolin holds the most executable Fighting Emotes possible during gameplay at six. This surpasses Highlander and Medjay, who each feature a single Fighting Emote when in Offensive Stance and Axe Mode respectively, thus having three Fighting Emotes during gameplay.
* Shaolin's body is tattooed with Chinese characters, as mentioned in his Armor description. While they are noted to be "prayers," many of them have been found to instead be lines from poems or references to pop culture.

### Executions

* The execution "Flurry of Blows" is likely based off "Liánhuán Quán" (連環拳; lit. "rolling fist" or "chain punch"), a technique observed in some martial arts where the focus is to overwhelm the opponent with a flurry of punches.
	+ The execution is likely specifically inspired by a scene in the first movie of the Ip Man film series. At one point in the movie, titular protagonist Ip Man fights against ten black belts of Karate; near the end of the scene, Ip Man beats down to the ground the second-to-last black belt with a flurry of punches.
* The execution "Maximum Shaolin" may be a reference to Seven-Sided Strike, a move that the monk class could use in the RPG Diablo 3. The following link is a short video demonstration of the move in the game: here.
	+ It could also be a reference to the Sun Wukong's ability to summon clones of himself to attack his enemy.
	+ This also could be a reference to the similarly named "Maximum Spider" Super move used by Spider-Man in the Marvel Vs. Capcom franchise, where Spider-Man rapidly attacks the target from all angles before delivering a final blow, similar to Shaolin's execution. A short video demonstrating the super move in game can be found here.
* The execution "Feng Bo" (風伯) is the name of the Taoist deity of wind.

## Quotes

* **Chinese:** 就让我超度你吧 (Jiù ràng wǒ chāodù nǐ ba) - **English:** "Let my prayers put your soul to rest."
	+ Death Point Strike
* **Chinese:** 金刚伏魔 (Jīngāng fú mó) - **English:** "*Vajra* conquers the Demon."
	+ Lotus Leap
* **Chinese:** 阿弥陀佛 (Ēmítuófó) - **English:** "Buddha (blesses)."
	+ Sun Kick and Flying Monkey
* **Chinese:** 金刚不坏 (Jīngāng bù huài) - **English:** "*Vajra* is invincible."
	+ Qi Stance (Enter from Light Attacks) into Elegant Lotus (Left)
	+ When Superior Blocking with Bound Blossom or Astonishing Blossom
* **Chinese**: 南無阿弥陀佛 (Ná mó ēmítuófó) - **English:** "Buddha blesses you."
	+ Qi Stance (Enter from Light Attacks) into Elegant Lotus (Left)
	+ When Superior Blocking with Bound Blossom or Astonishing Blossom