The origin of Shaolin Kung Fu

shaolin kungfu

Shaolin martial arts, also known as Shaolin Kung Fu, is one of the famous martial arts schools in China. It has a long history and profound influence. It is an important part of Chinese Traditional Wushu. The most prominent feature of Shaolin Kungfu is the combination of Zen and martial arts, that is to say, the combination of Zen and martial arts is the combination of Zen and martial arts.

Shaolin martial arts originated from the Songshan Shaolin Temple, which is the most famous temple in the world. This famous temple is located in Songshan Mountain, Dengfeng County, Henan Province. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Baduo, a monk of Tianzhu, entered the Central Plains from the western regions. Seeing that song mountain is like a lotus flower, he intended to be in the “flower” neutral temple. In the 19th year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (495 A.D.), Emperor Xiaowen, respected Batuo and hoped to build a temple in Songshan to support Batuo. Song Mountain is Taishi mountain in the East and Shaoshi mountain in the west, each of which has 36 peaks. Shaolin Temple is famous. It is under the five milk peaks of Shaoshi mountain with dense bamboo forest, so it is called “Shaolin”. It is the so-called “Wuyi temple, Temple because of Wuxian”. The reason why Shaolin Temple is famous is because it develops Shaolin martial arts. There are usually two opinions about the creation of Shaolin Kung Fu, which is generally believed to be created by the famous Buddhist master Dharma.

According to Jingde chuandeng Lu and other books in the Northern Song Dynasty, during the reign of emperor Dahe of Xiaowen in the Northern Wei Dynasty (477-499 A.D.), Dharma, an eminent Indian monk, came to Shaolin Temple in Songshan to teach Buddhism, and was honored as the first ancestor of Chinese Buddhism.

It’s said that Dharma faces the stone wall all day, sits with knees crossed, works hard on “seeing clearly” and “practises the devil painstakingly” in the deep of his mind. However, sitting still all day, his muscles and bones are tired. Dharma finds that many disciples have been sitting for a long time, drowsy and in low spirits. In order to drive away tiredness, prevent animals, keep fit and protect the temple, Dharma imitated the various movements of the working people in ancient China to exercise their bodies, and compiled the “living body method” of fitness activities to teach monks. It is said that Dharma also combines the flying, jumping, cruising, gliding and other postures of birds, animals, insects and fish, gradually forming a set of fitness and nourishing Shaolin boxing prototype. In addition, in his spare time, Dharma also practiced using shovel, stick, sword, stick and other anti-theft movements. Later generations called it Dharma shovel, Dharma stick, Dharma sword. These body-building movements, which have been imitated and supplemented by successive monks and absorbed the essence of Folk Wushu, have formed a rich and skillful Shaolin boxing.

Although it is recorded in many ancient books, it deviates from the history. Modern scholars have proved that it is just a legend. Dharma, known as the first ancestor of Zen, has no such martial arts. In history, the practice of martial arts in the temples of the Northern Dynasty had been formed before Dharma, so some people think that Shaolin martial arts originated from Huiguang and sencong, the disciples of Bado, the first generation of the founder of Shaolin Temple.

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