Shaolin Kids Training: Life Lessons or Brutal Manners?

This one is an argument that has been widely popular on the internet lately. Shaolin Kids Training - how intense is it, for real?

This video was published by South China Morning Post on their Youtube Channel. Don't forget to check their content for more great stuff!

Shaolin Kids Training

Whilst most kids spend their childhood (and not only) behind school desks and tv, these youngsters don't.
Ai Ke, a 9-year-old "little" Shaolin warrior is the protagonist of the video and explains what brought him to the famous Shaolin Temple.
As the young prodigy says, his Kung Fu skills will have a double effect on his life. On one hand, he will be able to protect his family and on the other one, he might become a Kung Fu star.
Such a response speaks about the maturity of this little fella, which distinguishes him from other kids of his age.

When Li Bicheng, another young prodigy, first came to the Temple, as he says he used to be very mischievous. But that didn't last long under the patrol of his strict Master, Yan Bo.
Ai was 7 years old when he first arrived at the Temple, and in two years of hard work he developed incredible jaw-dropping skills.

Some of Ai's daily exercises include toughening body parts (such as the Iron Head), flexibility, and strength training, and much more.
Yan Bo explains that there are 72 Shaolin Skills, and Iron Head is just one of them. It can be trained every day for up to 1 hour and the final result over time is the creation of a resistant callus on one's head.
But that folks is just the tip of the Iceberg.
Yan Chen, master of the young Li Bicheng, talks about the advantages that come for these kids with the Shaolin lifestyle:

"Kids who practice martial arts have an advantage compared to those who don't because they would have invested more effort, hard work, and even tears."

Painful Training

The following is another video of the incredible training that these kids undergo.
The scenes here are sometimes almost excruciating: wrapped up over a tree trunk counting seconds in tears. Indeed they do show incredible flexibility and mental strength. But the question may remain: is it really worth it?
While some may say that such physical and mental skills are priceless for their adulthood, some others have different opinions.
First of all, there's a cultural gap between the western and eastern lifestyles, and the consequences speak for themselves. But the main question is: is this really the true will of a 6 if not even 3-year-old child?

This video was published on Daily Mail on their official news webpage.