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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Overview And History Of Shaolin Martial Arts

By Dominique Martin


Kung Fu was actually a term that was coined whenever an accomplishment is made after dedication and hard work. This should not be confused as what the usual misconception is with the actual martial art. One example would be when a person was able to successfully side kick an opponent and made them drop, it would then be called kung fu.

A lot of martial arts had been derived from teachings being branched from one another. Shaolin martial arts is the primary art that was taught in a Buddhist monastery in Songshan Mountain in Henan, China. Basically, this is the style that started it all and which other styles are being derived from.

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.

Although he turned down the offer, he was given a piece of land in order to build a temple. As mentioned, it was in Songshan Mountain which the word Shaolin literally translates to small forest. So for fifteen hundred years, this is where the art was developed and where the biggest schools had been located, as well the derivation and development of other styles.

Between the fifty eighth and the seventy sixth A. D., the relations between China and India have grown considerably. Therefore monks have been going back and forth from each country. Because of this, it became more well known in China. It was believed that an Indian monk, who is Bodhidharma, preached Buddhism during this time in the temple.

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 Although it is believed that the value for self defense has been diminished due to this form of entertainment and has been replaced by a more lavish style which one of them is Wushu.

But in 1934, Jin Jing Zhong published a book named 72 Arts of Shaolin. This is which the author listed only those authentic training methods which are designed more for self defense. These methods and practices were developed due to the scroll given to the author by Abbot Miao Xing.

The utilization of kicks, punches, and blocks are the main points to hinder any attacker to strike. But the attention is well focused on the form and the movements of the art which actually gives beauty. Also, a mixture of various closed or open handed strikes used for defense with either hard and soft techniques for the delivery of the strikes would all contribute to the 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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