Brief History On Shaolin Martial Arts

By Dominique Martin


The term Kung Fu was actually derived from an accomplishment of something that you worked hard for. This is instead of the widely used misconception of it being the actual name of the martial art. An example for this is when you fight your opponent and deliver a kick and made him drop, that is the actual kung fu.

Martial arts of various styles have been branched from one main style. The Shaolin Martial Arts has been the main style that a lot of others are being referred and derived from. It was initially taught at a Buddhist monastery as a primary martial art in Songshan Mountain in the Henan province of China. This is where it started and where other fighting and defense art has begun.

A Buddhist monk arrived from India and travelled China around four hundred ninety five A. D. It was during the Northern Wei Dynasty where the Emperor Xiaowen offered Buddhabhadra, also known as Ba Tuo by the Chinese people, to teach Buddhism. Although he refused this offer altogether.

Even if Buddhabhadra turned the offer down, he was still given land in Mount Songshan to construct a temple for Buddhism. This is the location of the martial art Shaolin originated and it actually translates to a small forest. This has been there until now for one thousand and five hundred years already and is the location of the biggest schools for its development and derivation into various other styles.

In between fifty eight and seventy six A. D., the relations between the Indian and the Chinese began to flourish. Because of this, the concept of the art became more prominent in China due to the number of monks being sent to and from there. Bodhidharma, an Indian monk, has more or less likely preached Buddhism in the Shaolin Temple. Although this claim has already been disputed, his arrival had made significant changes in the styles and practices in this martial art.

Recently, this has still been practiced by the monks in Henan until today. The fact is that it has also become an entertainment value for the international audience due to the beauty of its form and art. Although it is believed that the value for self defense has been diminished due to this form of entertainment and has been replaced by a more lavish style which one of them is Wushu.

Jin Jing Zhong was able to publish a book in 1934 called 72 Arts of Shaolin. This actually lists the methods and practices for training that is authentic and based more on self defense rather than for presentation. This was possible to be documented because of the author acquiring a scroll from Shaolin Abbot Miao Xing for him to use as reference.

This style leans more towards for striking. It makes use of punches, kicks, and blocks to hinder attackers from striking. What gives this a lot of attention is the form of these styles which adds to the beauty of the art. It utilizes a mixture of closed and open handed strikes for defense. The application of hard and soft techniques also contributes to this artform.

Movies or films have been utilizing this in the fighting scenes and has gained popularity internationally aside from the theatrical aspect. Also, many fitness trainers and stuntmen are training to gain skills for this for their benefit as well. A lot of institutions have already opened in order to cater this art form which serves as training for people that are outside the Henan province.




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