Overview And History Of Shaolin Martial Arts

By Dominique Martin


The actual Kung Fu is a term from a successful achievement or an accomplishment after doing a lot of hard work and mastery. It must not be connoted as a term for the martial art itself which a lot of people have already thought of. A simple example would be for the individual to deliver a side kick towards an opponent and make them go down and drop, then would be regarded as kung fu.

The martial arts that many people have seen are actually being derived from one main source. This source is the Shaolin Martial Arts which was taught in China. It began in a Buddhist monastery in the Henan province on a mountain called Songshan. This has been the basic and primary art and which all other styles are made from.

It has been known that a Buddhist monk from India has travelled to China during the Northern Wei Dynasty in four hundred ninety five A. D. His name was Buddhabhadra, but the Chinese people call him Ba Tuo. He gained the favor of Emperor Xiaowen but even so, when asked to teach Buddhism at the court, he refused the offer.

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 Although it is believed that the value for self defense has been diminished due to this form of entertainment and has been replaced by a more lavish style which one of them is Wushu.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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