History of the Martial Arts

The history of the martial arts has been handed down over the centuries by word of mouth. It has become shrouded in myth and fact and legend seem often to blur.

The most popular account traces the martial arts to the Indian Monk Bodhidharma who, in the sixth century. crossed the Himalayas on foot and arrived at the Shaolin monastery in the mountains of Northern China.

Finding the monks in poor physical condition, he started a series of exercises based on breathing techniques and a strict physical conditioning regimen. The martial arts which developed from this eventually became the Shaolin method of Chinese boxing (as popularised in many movies) and the basis of "Shaolin Kung fu.

Shaolin monks first served military purposes in the sixth century (T'ang dynasty) when the emperor appealed to', the fighting monks to help him defeat the rebel general, Wang SheChung. The Shaolin monk soldiers defeated Wang and captured him. The Shaolin temple was rewarded with the allocation of huge tracts of land and barracks to give the monks further military training.

The monks became a special detachment of the imperial army and over the centuries they were involved in many battles: - against the Japanese in 522, against the Red Turbans (an army of peasant insurgents in 1341). They were also often involved in political strife and became regarded as a potential threat to the throne. In 1674 the emperor K 'ang-Hsi sent over 3000 troops to destroy the Shaolin Temple and all but five of the monks were killed. The remaining five became known as the five ancestors and formed the notorious Triad Secret Society.