Sachitra Mahendra

The famous martial art word Kung Fu is more correctly known as Gong Fu, according to the Shaolin brothers. The word generally refers to skills developed by hard work, basically needed for self defence, and other activities like hunting and military discipline.

Shaolin Kung Fu is a collection of martial arts. As legends have it, Mahayana Bodhisatva Bodhidharma was placed in a Shaolin Temple after he left court service. Bodhidharma is said to have been facing a wall and kept silent.

Yì Jin Jing, a notable manual of Shaolin Kung Fu, describes the origin of Shaolin style in the following way.

“After Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at Shaolin temple, he left behind an iron chest. When the monks opened this chest they found two books: the “Marrow Cleansing Classic,” and the “Muscle Tendon Change Classic”, or “Yi Jin Jing” within.

The first book was taken by Bodhidharma’s disciple Huike, and disappeared; as for the second, the monks selfishly coveted it, practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the correct purpose of cultivating the Real.

The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to their possession of this manuscript.”

These two books, over time however, were declared as forgeries by Shaolin historians like Tang Hao. Chinese martial arts were widely practiced even before the arrival of Buddhism. Bodhidharma’s immediate followers, Huiguang, Sengchou and even Huike are said to be military men before embracing the sainthood. Chinese monasteries were also effectively large landed estates that drew large amounts of income.

However many sources indicate that martial arts existed long before Bodhidharma in China. Shuai Jiao and Sun Bin Quan is recorded to have been dated centuries before Shaolin Temple. As the legend goes, the regime of Yellow Emperor, a famous general, had compiled volumes on medicine, astrology and martial arts.

In 509 BC, the philosopher Confucius proposed to Duke Ding of Lu that communities should be able to practice literary arts along with martial arts; Kung Fu was practiced among the military and religious sects by ordinary citizens. A combat wrestling system is mentioned in the Classic of Rites (1st c. BC). This combat system included techniques such as strikes, throws, joint

manipulation, and pressure point attacks. This became a sport during the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE).

Martial arts are mentioned in Chinese philosophy too. Passages in the Zhuangzi , a Daoist text, refer to the psychology and practice of martial arts. Its

eponymous author is believed to have lived in the 4th century BCE. The Tao Te Ching, often credited to Lao Zi, is another Daoist text with principles of martial arts. According to one of the classic texts of Confucianism, Zhou Li, Archery and charioteering were part of the “six arts” of the Zhou Dynasty (1122-256 BCE).

The Art of War, written during the 6th century BCE by Sun Tzu, deals directly with military warfare but contains ideas that are used in the Chinese martial arts. Those examples show that over time, the ideas associated with Chinese martial arts changed with the evolving Chinese society and over time acquired philosophical basis.

On the Shaolin style of martial arts, the oldest evidence of Shaolin participation in combat is a style from 728 CE that attests to two occasions: defence of the Shaolin Monastery from bandits around 610 CE, and their subsequent role in the defeat of Wang Shichong at the Battle of Hulao in 621 CE From the 8th to the 15th centuries, there are no existing documents to corroborate the evidence of Shaolin participation in combat.

However, the sources dated between the 16th and 17th centuries indicate that not only did monks of Shaolin practice martial arts, but the practice was considered an essential element in Shaolin life paving the way for a new Buddhist system.

Various literary sources provide evidence of martial arts practice in Shaolin: epitaphs of Shaolin warrior monks, martial-arts manuals, military encyclopedias, historical writings, travelogues, fiction, and even poetry. However these sources do not specify any style originated in Shaolin. These sources are contrary to those of Tang period, and refer to Shaolin methods of armed combat.

The fighting styles practiced today were developed over the centuries. Some include Bagua, Drunken Boxing, Eagle Claw, Five Animals, Hsing I, Hung Gar, Lau Gar, Monkey, Tiger, Bak Mei Pai, Praying Mantis, Fujian White Crane, Wing Chun and Tai Chi Chuan.

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