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Amazing Kung Fu Martial Arts History
By Peter Sundbye, Thu Dec 8th
The term 'Kung Fu' does not relate to any specific form ofmartial art, but rather translates as 'skill' or 'ability'.Scholars believe that the use of Kung Fu to describe the Chinesemartial form originated in Hong Kong and Kwangtung province.There are records of the Jesuit priest, Pere Amiot, writing ofthe 'peculiar exercises' practised by the Taoist priests of hisregion which he called 'Cong Fou'. need a kung fu training machine to practise your attacks anddefenses on? http://www.martialarm.com Wu Shu is traditionally the term widely used to describe thetraditional Chinese martial arts, though other descriptions suchas Kuo-shu, Kuo-chi, Chien-shu and Tao-fa have also been usedfrom time to time. (Wu Shu is the term currently used forChinese martial arts by the People's Republic of China).
Exactly when Kung Fu first sprouted is unknown, with historiansstating that Chinese martial forms most likely predate recordedhistory. Since the dawn of time there have been battles betweenman and animal, warring tribes, etc. during which conflictscombative techniques were executed and accumulated and passeddown from generation to generation. What is particular about the Chinese martial forms is that manyschools or styles were created by imitating the fightingtechniques of animals such as monkeys, lions, tigers, snakes,bears, etc. The adaptation of animal techniques stems from abelief that in order to survive in their harsh naturalenvironment, all animals (even birds and insects) were naturallyendowed with skills for fighting. Hence techniques were born from the tiger's pounce, the eagle'ssharp claws and the elusiveness and unpredictability of themonkey. Still, it is difficult to attach a precise date to thetrue birth of Kung Fu. Some traditional historians date it asfar back as the Shang Dynasty (16th century BC). Others place itin the period of the Contending States (475 - 221 BC) and theYellow Emperor, Huang Ti. Indeed, it would appear that modernKung Fu has adapted and evolved from the warring experiences ofChina's past, with distinct traces of Mongolian, Tibetan, Indianand other cultural ideologies exhibited in many styles. If thereis one common reference point in tracing Kung Fu's history, itis the Shaolin Temple and the journey of Buddhism from India toChina. Buddhism reached China during the period of the Eastern Han MingEmperor (58 - 76 AD) and soon flourished. It is estimated thatby 500 AD there were more than 10,000 Buddhist temples in Chinaand many emperors became devout Buddhists. In 495 AD the ShaolinTemple was constructed by the order of Emperor Wei Xiao Wen (471- 500 AD). The Temple was built to house the teachings of aBuddhist monk named Batuo, who came to China for Buddhistteaching in 464 AD. As such Batuo can be considered the firstShaolin Temple monk, though there is no record of how or what(471 - 500 AD). The Temple was built to house the teachings of aBuddhist monk named Batuo, who came to China for Buddhistteaching in 464 AD. As such Batuo can be considered the firstShaolin Temple monk, though there is no record of how or whatBatuo passed down by way of religious Qigong practice, just asthere is no record of how or when he died. The most influential person in the study of Kung Fu's historythrough the Shaolin Temple is an Indian monk named Da Mo (or TaMo). Da Mo, also known as Bodhidarma, had been a small prince ofa Southern Indian tribe. He followed the Mahayana school ofBuddhism and was revered as a bodhisattva - and enlightenedbeing who had renounced nirvana so as to save others. Thelegends of Da Mo in Chinese mythology are elaborate, to say theleast. One legend has Da Mo sitting in a cave where he stared atthe wall for nine years in meditation. After accidentallyfalling asleep, he became so angered with himself that he toreoff his eyelids and threw them on the ground. Tea shrubs grewfrom the ground beneath the discarded eyelids and monks haveused tea ever since to deter sleep. Dao Mo was invited to China by the Emperor Liang Wu. He arrivedin Canton in 527 AD but when the emperor disliked his preaching.Da Mo withdrew to the Shaolin Temple. Upon arriving at theTemple, Da Mo found many of the monks to be sick and weak. Hepondered this problem for nine years (his nine year seclusion)and when he emerged wrote two classics: Yi Jin Jing(Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) and Xi Sui Jin (Marrow/BrainWashing Classic). The classics taught the priests how to buildtheir Qi to an abundant level and use to it improve their healthand change their physicality to one of super strength. When thistraining was combined with martial forms, the priests found amarked improvement in the strength and power of their martialtechniques. It is believed that Da Mo may have authored the series of 18exercises contained in a manuscript, the I-Chin-Ching, outliningthe Shaolin method of Chinese boxing. The method that emergedfrom the Shaolin Temple, which is representative of the northernChinese styles in general, was called wai-jya (wai-chia) orexternal family of Chinese boxing. Shaolin strove the increasespeed, strength and elasticity. It
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was vigorous and calisthenicand became the basis from which Karate in Okinawa and the Koreanmartial arts were derived. The Xi Sui Jin was hard to learn andas such was passed down secretly only to a few disciples inevery generation. Sadly Da Mo passed away in the Shaolin Templein 536 AD but what he had started would live on for centuries. Very quickly the Shaolin Monks would become revered for theirfighting prowess. During the period between the Sui dynasty andthe Tang dynasty, in the 4th year of Tang Gao Zu Wu De (621 AD),Qin King Li Shi-Ming had a momentous war against Zheng King WangChi-Chong. With Qin King in trouble, 13 Shaolin monks came tohis assistance against Zheng. When Li Shi-Ming later became thefirst emperor of the Tang dynasty (618 - 907 AD) he rewarded theShaolin Temple with approximately 600 acres of land. He alsogranted the Temple the right to train its own soldiers. Such were the riches of the Shaolin Temple that martial artstraining became a necessity to protect its wealth from bandits.The responsibility of defending the Temple was given to thesoldier monks known as Seng Bing. For three hundred years theShaolin Temple enjoyed a golden period in which it legally ownedits own martial arts training organisation. The Temple alsoremained open to outside martial influences, absorbing what itcould and incorporating these techniques and training methodsinto its own system. During this period one of the most famousShaolin monks was Jueyuan. He travelled the country learningmartial arts techniques and working with other famous martialartists. When in Lan Zhou he met the famed martial artist, LiSou, who in turn introduced him to, Bai Yu-Feng and his son.Later all four men returned to the Shaolin Temple and studiedtogether. After ten years, Li Sou left the Temple but BaiYu-Feng and his son stayed on and became monks. Bai Yu-Feng'sname changed to Qiu Yue Chan Shi and, according to the book ofShaolin Temple record, it was he who developed the then 18existing Buddha Hands techniques into 173 techniques. He alsocompiled the existing techniques contained with Shaolin andwrote the book The Essence of the Five Fist, which discussed themethods and applications of the Five Fist (Animal) Patterns.This is proof that animal patterns had already existed for sometime in the Shaolin Temple. The Shaolin Temple would also be responsible for spreading theChinese martial arts to Japan. In the year 1312 AD the monk DaZhi came to the Shaolin Temple from Japan. He studied theShaolin martial arts (barehands and staff) for 13 years andreturned to Japan to spread Shaolin Gongfu to Japanese martialarts society. In 1335 AD a Buddhist monk named Shao Yuanventured to Shaolin from Japan. During his stay he masteredGongfu and returned to Japan in 1347 AD. The golden era of the Shaolin Temple ended when Manchuria tookover China and became the Qing dynasty. In order to prevent theHan race (pre-Manchurian) Chinese from rebelling against thegovernment, martial arts training was outlawed between 1644 and1911 AD. In order to preserve their teachings, the Shaolintechniques were passed onto layman society. Martial artstraining in the Temple was carried out in secrecy and theShaolin monk soldier decreased in number from thousands to acouple of hundred. In 1911 the Qing dynasty fell in a revolutionled by Dr Sun Yat-Sen. The value of Chinese martial arts wasre-evaluated and for the first time the secrets of Chinesemartial arts were permitted to be openly taught to the public. During the Chinese civil war, Chiang Kai-Shek tried to unifythey country. The battle spilled into the Shaolin Temple in 1928and the Temple was burned for the last time by Warlord ShiYou-San's soldiers. The fire lasted forty days, destroying allmajor buildings and priceless books and records. In order topreserve the Chinese martial arts, President Chiang Kai-Shekordered the establishment of the Nanking Central GuoshuInstitute at Nanking in 1928. The traditional name Wushu wasrenamed Zhong Guo Wushu or simple Guoshu. For the first time inChinese history, by rule of the government, all the majormartial arts powers in China came together to share theirknowledge. Unfortunately, at the commencement of World War II,all training discontinued. China was taken over by Communistsfollowing the Second World War. All religions and all Shaolintraining was prohibited under Communist rule. Wushu training wasestablished at the National Athletics Institute. However thiswas not pure Wu Shu, but rather performance based with majorportions of martial training and technique applicationeradicated by the government to discourage possible unificationof martial artists against the government. It was not until the1980s (unfortunately after several of the traditional mastershad died) that the Chinese government realised the value oftraditional martial arts training and so encouraged it. KFS About the author:This article was submitted by P. Sundbye who has been trainingin various martialarts for the last 11 years including Wing ChunKung Fu, Aikido, Tong Long and the Lee Total Control system.
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