Victor Wembanyama Trained With Shaolin Monks in Central China

Victor Wembanyama visited a monastery in central China and trained with Shaolin monks, ESPN reported. Two staffers from San Antonio accompanied Wembanyama to the monastery. Hundreds of fans gathered outside the temple on the day he arrived, holding cell phones.

Videos of Wembanyama training went viral worldwide in real time during his stay. Wembanyama wore Shaolin monk robes and shaved his head during the visit. He ate the same strict vegetarian diet as the monks.

His team arranged for a Sprinter van to take him outside the monastery walls several times a day for high-protein meals from a local restaurant. Each morning Wembanyama rose at 4:30 to train. Monks had him run through forests near the monastery or along an uneven 200-meter hillside track.

He performed frog jumps, sprints, and one-legged hops uphill and downhill to build balance and stamina. The monks taught him the Shaolin 13 Fist Form. Master Yan'an stated that Wembanyama hit his head on trees along the path and had to lean forward to go under them.

Master Yan'an designed Wembanyama's martial arts training to emphasize controlling his center of gravity. The group walked and climbed for about an hour during a moving meditation in darkness and silence. Wembanyama meditated with 100 other monks several times a day.

Some meditation sessions lasted up to 90 minutes, determined by the length of a burning incense wick. Wembanyama slept in three single-size beds pushed together to accommodate his frame. He was 21 years old and is 7-foot-4 tall.