在香港国际散打争霸赛上，美国青年卡森惨败于特里弗之手，并被当众羞辱，为报仇雪恨，卡森萌发了去少林寺出家习武的念头。他来到嵩山脚下，结识一个叫阿诗玛的姑娘。阿诗玛带他到少林寺山门。卡森好奇心胜，误闯经堂，被赶出山门，心灰意冷◇经阿诗玛爷爷的指点，他不畏烈日风雨，在山门前打坐，终于打动少林寺主持三德和尚，破例收卡森为少林弟子。卡森入寺后，先是随师兄弟劳作，时日一久，卡森露出烦闷，听起了摇滚音乐。三德法师原谅了他的过失◇来又在练武时逞强好胜，不慎打碎神像，三德法师又原谅了他，并借机教以少林武… After being humiliated in the ring by a dirty kickboxer who pulled down his shorts and then hit him, a martial arts master decides to travel to China and enter a monastery where he may learn the Shaolin form of fighting. The film then veers into "Karate Kid" territory where the novice humiliates himself at every turn, is tolerated as a foreigner, and still comes out a champion. The monastery teaches non-violence, but everyone knows that sooner or later the student will catch up with the bad guy.