Nuns will usually have you thinking of calm and soft spoken women devoting their lives to religion. Most of us also probably conjure up the image of a Catholic nun in her black robes and white veil. This is exactly why many are taken aback when they learn about the nunnery in Nepal that values Kung Fu. Don’t be fooled because these Kung Fu nuns can definitely win in a fight. This nunnery in Kathmandu, Nepal, is the only one to have nuns who are skilled in Kung Fu.
These Buddhist nuns take a vow towards the Drukpa Order and have many practices and philosophies. Perhaps the most surprising one is that every one of the 800 nuns there are skilled in Kung Fu. In fact, these Kung Fu nuns follow a strict schedule in order to upkeep their lifestyle.
Firstly, they wake up at 3AM to meditate before going on a long bicycle ride. After that, the Kung Fu nuns train for 3 hours to hone and grow their skills. They will run up and down stairs to build stamina and strength as well as using fans and sticks to help with coordination.
Now many of us might be wondering why they practice so hard and what does it have to do with their life as a nun. The reason they work so hard on mastering the martial arts is to strengthen their minds which helps with meditating. Furthermore, it helps them to be strong and resilient in their other tasks.
In fact, they take their philosophies very seriously and always try to give back to the community. For example, after an earthquake in 2015 left much chaos, the nuns were at the forefront in helping to restore the community. This is especially important because many NGOs and government bodies were not eager to enter the villages.
