Kung Fu Styles
and History
Kung Fu Styles
started in around 540 A.D. the Very Venerable Da Mo (Bodhidharma
to us in the West) brought Kung Fu Styles into China from India,
intending to preach Zen Buddhism to the monks residing in the
Shaolin Temple, in the Henan Province. His intention was not to
create new Kung Fu Styles. The monks there had already
translated the teachings of Buddha into Chinese which
Bodhidharma, on arrival at the Shaolin Temple found to be what
he considered incorrect and confused ramblings. He also
discovered that the Chinese would often fall asleep during
meditation, and offered to help them. The monks were offended
and sent Bodhidharma away. He didn't go far. Walking into
the nearby countryside and finding a suitable cave, he entered
and began meditating. The Chinese monks were aware of his
presence but left him alone.
Nine years
later he emerged from the cave and returned to the Shaolin
Temple. This time, the Chinese monks accepted him in awe, any
man who could meditate for nine years was worth listening to.
Bodhidharma began teaching them. His prime concern was getting
the monks to unify their minds and bodies, training them in body
movement, breathing and philosophy. The sets that he taught them
are generally accepted as the origin. Chambers were set up in
the monastery which tested the abilities of the graduating
students, wooden robots and other devices attacking the student
as he progressed through the stages. If he failed he would go
back to the temple to continue his training, if he passed he
would be accepted into the 'inner' chambers and taught advanced
techniques (these techniques are not always taught in modern
schools).
The art can be split
into two categories after this: The Shaolin disciple Chang San
Foong developed an alternative style named Wu Tang and
concentrated his efforts on expanding the 'soft' or 'internal'
aspects of the art. This can be accepted as the direct
descendant of methods such as Tai Chi. After this came an
explosion of different methods.
