I have been practicing Shaolin Kung Fu for a year now at www.katykungfu.com.  I have come to the general understanding that Shaolin style kung fu is a lot of low stances almost a full squat.  This builds up power over time in your legs for those amazing leaps you see in the movies (the ones without wires).  A lot of the forms we warm up with and perform are very obscure and sometimes require questioning to how it would apply in a fight.  Once the master clarifies with me on the application it usually makes it a little easier to perform because I can picture a combatant as I do these warm ups.  The warm up are continuous along a straight line with various squats and turns or kicks.  During these first 20 minutes I am absolutely drenched in sweat from the exertion...sometimes I just sweat trying to hold the best splits I can hold as our instructor comes by and pulls my leg out some more. This process has been repeated at every practice.  The official warm ups have 18 different "line" forms...I think we are close to finally knowing all of them.  Once we have a break (for water) we either practice our "Chi Na" (as it sounds to me).  This is grabs and take downs.  Or we practice our "Sanda" (as it sounds to me). This is your basic kickboxing (kicks, punches and a bit of hopping around).  The other thing we focus on is our long form.  This is a routine that eventually we are tested on.  Currently I am level 1 which simply means I passed the first test.  The first test required my two basic forms, 4 types of Chi Na's (had 2 seconds to take someone down who grabs you), and a 2 minute horse stance.  What is a horse stance? only one of the most painful exhausting non moving things I have ever done.  It requires one to step wide (passed both shoulders) and go into a sitting position (at least 90 degrees) but your back should be straight and your weight is on your heals.  The most I can do (rested) is 1:30 (that is a minute and a half).  The next test requires a 3 minute horse stance.  We dont have colorful belts at our school that distinguish our levels.  The Houston school uses different shirts but they have a lot of students. Our school in Katy is still small enough to not require a distinction as of yet.  By the way here is a video of one of our students practicing his basic staff form in his backyard.  Staff Form from a Katy student