History of Kung Fu-Print

History of Kung Fu - By: http://www.exercisearticles.net/penname.php

Wu Shu is traditionally the term popularly used to describe the traditional Chinese martial arts, though other descriptions equivalent to Kuo-shu, Kuo-chi, Chien-shu and Tao-fa have also been used at times. (Wu Shu is the term of late used for Chinese martial arts by the People's Republic of China).

Precisely when Kung Fu first sprouted is unknown, with historians stating that Chinese martial types most likely predate recorded history. Since the dawn of time there have been battles between man and animal, warring tribes, etc. during which clashes combative techniques were conducted and accumulated and passed down from generation to generation.

What is particular about the Chinese martial forms is that many schools or styles were created by imitating the fighting techniques of animals akin to monkeys, lions, tigers, snakes, bears, etc. The adaptation of animal techniques stems from a instinct that in order to survive in their severe natural surroundings, all animals (even birds and insects) were naturally endowed with skills for combating.

As a result techniques were born from the tiger's pounce, the eagle's sharp pincers and the elusiveness and unpredictability of the monkey. Still, it is demanding to attribute an explicit date to the real birth of Kung Fu. Some traditional historians date it as far back as the Shang Dynasty (16th century BC). Others place it in the period of the Contending States (475 - 221 BC) and the Yellow Emperor, Huang Ti. Indeed, it would appear that contemporary Kung Fu has adapted and evolved from the warring facts of China's precedent days, with distinct traces of Mongolian, Tibetan, Indian and other cultural ideologies exhibited in many styles. If there is one common reference point in tracing Kung Fu's history, it is the Shaolin Temple and the trip of Buddhism from India to China.

The subject of application training is a controversial one, and is the subject of a raging debate between the Neo-Traditional Martial Artists and Sports and traditional martial artists. In the neo-traditionalist view, martial arts training should eventually lead to and be proven by actual combat as well as being governed by a moral philosophy; neo-traditionalists often believe sparring to test techniques is either irrelevant because of their disbelief in the validity of a regulated test setting, or because the system's techniques are supposedly too dangerous to use outside of a real combat situation. In contrast, the sport-competition and traditionalist view suggests that all of the techniques in Chinese Martial Arts should be repeatedly time-tested through sparring to insure their effectiveness. An example of this approach in the Chinese Martial Arts is the tradition of Lei tai and Sanda. L?it?i represents public challenge matches that first appeared in the Song Dynasty. The objective for those contests was to knock the opponent from a raised platform by any means necessary. San Shou and Sanda represents the modern development of Lei Tai contests, but with rules in place to reduce the chance of serious injury. Many Chinese martial arts schools teach or work within the rulesets of San Shou and Sanda, working to incorporate the movements, characteristics, and theory of their style

Buddhism reached China during the period of the Eastern Han Ming Emperor (58 - 76 Ad) and soon flourished. It is estimated that by 500 Ad there were over 10,000 Buddhist temples in China and many emperors became devout Buddhists. In 495 Ad the Shaolin Temple was generated by the order of Emperor Wei Xiao Wen (471 - 500 Ad). The Temple was built to accommodate the teachings of a Buddhist monk named Batuo, who came to China for Buddhist teaching in 464 Ad. As such Batuo could be considered the first Shaolin Temple monk, though there is no record of how or what (471 - 500 Ad). The Temple was built to adapt the teachings of a Buddhist monk named Batuo, who came to China for Buddhist teaching in 464 Ad. As such Batuo might be considered the first Shaolin Temple monk, though there is no record of how or what Batuo passed down by the use of religious Qigong practice, just as there is no record of how or when he died.

The most influential person in the evaluation of Kung Fu's history through the Shaolin Temple is an Indian monk named Da Mo (or Ta Mo). Da Mo, also known as Bodhidarma, had been a small prince of a Southern Indian tribe. He followed the Mahayana school of Buddhism and was loved as a bodhisattva - and enlightened being who had renounced nirvana so as to save others. The legends of Da Mo in Chinese mythology are elaborate, to say the least. One legend has Da Mo sitting in a cave where he stared at the wall for nine years in meditation. After by accident falling asleep, he became so angered with himself that he tore off his eyelids and threw them on the ground. Tea shrubs grew from the ground below the discarded eyelids and monks have used tea ever since to deter sleep.

Dao Mo was invited to China by the Emperor Liang Wu. He arrived in Canton in 527 Ad but when the emperor hated his preaching. Da Mo withdrew to the Shaolin Temple. Upon arriving at the Temple, Da Mo found many of the monks to be sick and weak. He chewed over this problem for nine years (his nine year seclusion) and when he emerged wrote two classics: Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Varying Classic) and Xi Sui Jin (Marrow/Brain Washing Classic). The classics taught the priests how to create their Qi to an abundant level and use to it accelerate their health and revise their physicality to one of super strength. When this training was combined with martial styles, the priests found a obvious improvement in the strength and power of their martial techniques.

Northern Shaolin With the original Shaolin Temple in Northern China long since destroyed, the main branches of Shaolin Kung Fu spread far and wide through China, undergoing many revisions and adaptations. The present system, known as Northern Shaolin, specializes in long-range fighting techniques. Based on some of the original temple boxing heritage, the proponents of this system maintain that kicks are more effective than hand movements because the legs obviously are longer than the arms. -Taken from "KUNG FU: History, Philosophy and Technique"

It is believed that Da Mo can have authored the series of 18 exercises contained in a manuscript, the I-Chin-Ching, outlining the Shaolin route of Chinese boxing. The course of action that emerged from the Shaolin Temple, which is representative of the northern Chinese styles in general, was called wai-jya (wai-chia) or external family of Chinese boxing. Shaolin strove the bolster speed, strength and elasticity. It was vigorous and calisthenic and became the basis from which Karate in Okinawa and the Korean martial arts were derived. The Xi Sui Jin was hard to learn and as such was passed down secretly only to a few disciples in every generation. Sadly Da Mo passed away in the Shaolin Temple in 536 Ad but what he had started out would survive for centuries.

Very quickly the Shaolin Monks would become cherished for their combating prowess. During the period between the Sui dynasty and the Tang dynasty, in the 4th year of Tang Gao Zu Wu De (621 Ad), Qin King Li Shi-Ming had a crucial war against Zheng King Wang Chi-Chong. With Qin King in trouble, 13 Shaolin monks came to his protection against Zheng. When Li Shi-Ming subsequently became the first emperor of the Tang dynasty (618 - 907 Ad) he rewarded the Shaolin Temple with almost 600 acres of land. He also admitted the Temple the right to train its own defense force.

Such were the resources of the Shaolin Temple that martial arts training became a necessity to fortify its wealth from bandits. The responsibility of defending the Temple was given to the soldier monks known as Seng Bing. For three hundred years the Shaolin Temple enjoyed a golden period in which it lawfully owned its own martial arts training organisation. The Temple also remained open to outside martial controls, taking on what it could and incorporating these techniques and training methods into its own system. During this period one of the most legendary Shaolin monks was Jueyuan. He travelled the country learning martial arts techniques and working with other famed martial artists. When in Lan Zhou he met the well-known martial artist, Li Sou, who in turn introduced him to, Bai Yu-Feng and his son. After all four men returned to the Shaolin Temple and studied together. After ten years, Li Sou left the Temple but Bai Yu-Feng and his son persisted on and became monks. Bai Yu-Feng's name varied to Qiu Yue Chan Shi and, according to the book of Shaolin Temple record, it was he who improved the then 18 existing Buddha Hands techniques into 173 techniques. He also compiled the existing techniques contained with Shaolin and wrote the book The Essence of the Five Fist, which discussed the methods and applications of the Five Fist (Animal) Patterns. This is attestation that animal patterns had already existed for some time in the Shaolin Temple.

The Shaolin Temple would also be answerable for spreading the Chinese martial arts to Japan. In the year 1312 Ad the monk Da Zhi came to the Shaolin Temple from Japan. He studied the Shaolin martial arts (barehands and staff) for 13 years and returned to Japan to spread Shaolin Gongfu to Japanese martial arts population. In 1335 Ad a Buddhist monk named Shao Yuan ventured to Shaolin from Japan. During his stay he mastered Gongfu and returned to Japan in 1347 Ad.

The golden segment of the Shaolin Temple ended when Manchuria took over China and became the Qing dynasty. In order to prevent the Han race (pre-Manchurian) Chinese from campaigning against the government, martial arts training was outlawed between 1644 and 1911 Ad. In order to uphold their teachings, the Shaolin techniques were passed onto layman community. Martial arts training in the Temple was carried out in secrecy and the Shaolin monk soldier decreased in number from thousands to a couple of hundred. In 1911 the Qing dynasty fell in a revolution led by Dr Sun Yat-Sen. The value of Chinese martial arts was re-evaluated and for the first time the secrets of Chinese martial arts were allowed to be honestly taught to the public.

It was though a rich young noble and experienced martial artist who made the practice into the first Shaolin System proper. He entered the Shaolin Monastery and assumed the name of Chueh Yuan. He devoted all his studies to the further development of Shaolin Kung Fu and fitness training. Within a few years, he revised the 18 Hands of Lo Han and created what he called the 72 Styles, Movements or Fists (the Chinese Character used for this means all of these. As this was a very violent time, these 72 Fists were a very effective form of both Strategy and Combat.

During the Chinese civil war, Chiang Kai-Shek tried to unify they country. The battle spilled into the Shaolin Temple in 1928 and the Temple was burned for the last time by Warlord Shi You-San's defense force. The fire lasted forty days, destroying all major buildings and priceless books and documents. In order to preserve the Chinese martial arts, President Chiang Kai-Shek ordered the establishment of the Nanking Central Guoshu Institute at Nanking in 1928. The traditional name Wushu was renamed Zhong Guo Wushu or lowly Guoshu. For the first time in Chinese history, by rule of the government, all the major martial arts powers in China came mutually to share their know how. It is a shame, at the commencement of World War II, all training discontinued. China was taken over by Communists subsequent to the Second World War. All religions and all Shaolin training was prohibited under Communist rule. Wushu training was established at the Federal Athletics Institute. However this was not pure Wu Shu, but rather performance based with major portions of martial training and technique application eradicated by the government to discourage possible unification of martial artists against the government. It was not until the 1980s (it is a shame after several of the traditional masters had died) that the Chinese government realised the value of traditional martial arts training and so encouraged it

The term 'Kung Fu' does not relate to any specific form of martial art, but rather translates as 'talent' or 'aptitude'. Scholars believe that the use of Kung Fu to describe the Chinese martial form originated in Hong Kong and Kwangtung province. There are documents of the Jesuit priest, Pere Amiot, penning of the 'unusual exercises' practised by the Taoist priests.

Writen by Joy A.
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