Understanding and Mastering Shaolin Kung Fu.
Origin
Legend of Bodhidharma
Based on the Jingde of the Lamp, after Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk from South India, eventually left the court of the Liang emperor Wu in 527, he at some point found himself at the Shaolin Monastery, where he “faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time”.
According to the Yì Jīn Jīng,
after Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at Shaolin temple and made a hole with his stare, he left behind an iron chest. When the monks opened this chest they found two books: the “Marrow Cleansing Classic,” and the “Muscle Tendon Change Classic”, or “Yi Jin Jing” within. The first book was taken by Bodhidharma’s disciple Huike, and disappeared; as for the second, the monks selfishly coveted it, practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the correct purpose of cultivating the Real. The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to their possession of this manuscript.
Tang Dynasty (618–907)
The oldest proof of Shaolin involvement in battle is a stele from 728 that attests to 2 events: a defense of the monastery from bandits around 610 and their part in the defeat of Wang Shichong at the Battle of Hulao in 621.
Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)
Through the8th to the fifteenth centuries, no extant source documents Shaolin involvement in battle; then the sixteenth and 17th centuries witness no less than 40 extant sources confirm that, not just did monks of Shaolin perform martial arts training, but martial training had grown to be such an essential component of Shaolin monastic life that the monks sensed the need to rationalize it by means of developing brand new Buddhist lore. References to Shaolin fighting techinques can be found in numerous literary genres from the late Ming: the epitaphs of Shaolin warrior monks, martial-arts manuals, military encyclopedias, historic writings, travelogues, fiction, as well as poetry.
Influence beyond China
Several lineages associated with Karate have got oral traditions claiming Shaolin roots. Martial arts practices in Japan and Korea, and Southeast Asia refer to Chinese influence as given through Buddhist monks.
Current improvements in the the twentieth century for example Shorinji Kempo (少林寺拳法) practised within Japan’s Sohonzan Shorinji (金剛禅総本山少林寺) still retains close ties with China’s Song Shan Shaolin Temple as a result of traditional links. Japanese Shorinji Kempo Group financial contributions towards the preservation of the ancient edifice of the Song Shan Shaolin Temple in 2003 gained China’s acknowledgement.
List of styles presently practiced at the temple
- Xiao Hong Quan – Little Red Fist
- Da Hong Quan – Big flood fist
- Tong Bei Quan – Through the back fist
- Liu He Quan – Six harmonies fist
- Taizu Chang Quan – Emperor Taizu’s long fist( this refers particularly to the 1st Emperor of Sung dynasty who was a military commander)
- Qixing Quan – Seven star fist
- Da Pao Quan – Big cannon fist
- Xiao Pao Quan – Small cannon fist
- Chang Hu Xin Yi Men – Forever preserve the heart-mind link/door
- Meihuaquan - Plum flower fist
- Luohan Quan – Arhat fist
- Tongzigong – Shaolin child training
- Dan Dao – Single sabre technique
- Long – Dragon technique
- Qi Lu Quan – Seven animal fist
- Special Shaolin Training Methods
In 1934 Jin Jing Zhong printed a book variously identified in English as Shaolin 72 Shaolin Arts Practice Method or Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin. This work lists what are purported to be genuine Shaolin training techniques which will create amazing skill-sets and capabilities; good examples associated with these types of abilities include iron body techniques (both offensive and defensive), jumping and wall scaling techniques, pole-top jumping dexterity training, pressure-point and nerve manipulation, and a number of additional feats. Many of these abilities demand between three to ten years to learn, based on the author. Jin claims to have observed numerous abilities himself or to have learned of them from the scroll given to him by Shaolin Abbot Miao Xing, although the work has a tendency to exaggerate and embellish.
Contemporary Training at the Shaolin Temple
Although the majority of warrior monks are usually centered on overall performance targeted towards the touring troupes, a lesser cadre of Shaolin warrior monks search for the traditional path which concentrates relatively more on self-defense and authenticity of techniques. In lots of ways, the modern day performing warrior monks are similar to modern wushu artists that concentrate on stunning, elaborately spectacular form as opposed to authentic martial application and fighting prowess. The 72 Shaolin Arts tend to be more indicative of the older, original Shaolin temple fighting method and concept. Furthermore, performing monks usually are not compelled to rehearse or even study Zen, despite the fact that within the temple, a minimum of a display of deference to the Shaolin traditions is required by the masters of their chosen warrior monk disciples.