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History of Kung Fu
In the history of Wu Su, we find that
there have been many styles, but the greatest in terms of organisation,
complete training methods, and morality came from a Buddhist monastery
called the Shaolin Temple.
The achievements of the Shaolin system made it the most popular style while
also earning Chinese Wu Su respect and dignity. Because of the revered
status of the Shaolin system and the fact that most modern styles find
their ancestry in the Shaolin
Temple, the history
of this style will receive primary emphasis. The following information came
from the Wu Tan Journal
(Chinese edition) and from several pieces of informal history.
The first Shaolin Temple was built in 377 A.D. on Shao Shih
Mountain, Teng Fon
Hsien, Huo Nan province by order of Emperor Wei. The Emperor built the
temple for a Buddhist name Pao
Jaco for preaching and worship; at that time the monks
undertook no martial art training. In 527 A.D. during the Liang dynasty a Buddhist
prince, Da Mo of
an Indian tribe, came to the temple for religious preaching. When Da Mo
came, he saw that many monks were sick and weak. To find a way to
strengthen the monks, Da
Mo locked himself in a room
for nine years of meditation. When Da
Mo came out, he wrote his
results down in two books: Shi
Sui Ching and Yi
Gin Ching. Da Mo died in 539 A.D.
The Shi Sui Ching
was primary a religious treatise explaining methods for the cultivation of
the Buddhist spirit, while the Yi
Gin Ching taught ways to strengthen the physical body.
Unfortunately, after a few generations, the contents of the first book
disappeared. They were probably lost because few people practised its hard
methods and principles. However, the Yi Gin Ching was taught in the Shaolin Temple for generations to increase
external muscular power and increase internal power.
The increase in external and internal power encouraged the monks to
investigate its special properties and characteristics to develop ways to
apply it for self-defense against thieves and robbers. The necessity of
protecting themselves against criminals was especially vital since many
monks travelled far from their temples to preach and help people.
Consequently, the learning of martial technique became a required course of
study besides religious studies. It must be remembered that the monks spent
more time in the study of Buddhism and spiritual cultivation than on
martial arts.
Unfortunately, thirty years after Da
Mo's death, a few monks with
weak morals left the temple and roamed the countryside robbing and killing.
Because of their martial technique and power, ordinary people were
defenceless. As a result, the Emperor (Chou Dynasty, 570 A.D.) ordered the
temple to close down. It wasn't until thirty years after the closing of the
temple and a new dynasty (Sui Dynasty 600 A.D.) that the Shaolin Temple
was allowed to resume its activities. To avoid any more occurrences of
immoral and unscrupulous behaviour, strict guidelines for moral education
were instituted. The teaching of martial technique and morality went
hand-in-hand.
From 600 to 1600 A.D. the martial arts through the Shaolin
Temple grew into the most complete
system of Wu Su in China
and in the rest of the world. During this period, the Shaolin monks
researched and developed internal and external power.
A clear division arose between the External
(so-called "Hard Styles") and the Internal (Soft Styles). The hard styles of KungFu remained
in and around the Shaolin monasteries, the most famous of which is in Henan Province
in China.
The soft style of martial arts (Tai Chi, Pa Kwa, Hsing-I, Drunken etc.)
could be found in the Wu
Tan Mountains.
 Click Here for information on our Introduction Courses and class fees.
"Meet
it, and you do not see its beginning. Follow it, and you do not see its
end. Stay with the ancient Way in order to master what is present. Knowing
the primeval beginning is the essence of the Way." - Lao zu
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