The Formation of Shaolin Kungfu

Shaolin kungfu is the shining jewel of Chinese kungfu. It is the Shaolin Temple's precious cultural inheritance. It is also one of the most ancient and famous martial arts systems. Because it combines the soft and the hard, it is simple, plain and sincere. The fist techniques always travel down a straight line. Your fist or palm tumbles outward or inward. It is famous amongst the martial circles. With its unique technique, Shaolin kungfu has earned its fame in the martial world. The Shaolin system is self-contained, unencumbered by too many branches. Beginning in China's Northern and Southern dynasty period (420-589 CE) Shaolin blossomed in several following dynasties: Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. After this long period of continued development, Shaolin disciplines have now spread all over the world.

Everyone knows that Shaolin is deep, broad and long. But recently within the martial world, martial arts enthusiasts have asked me the same question. Why do all the Shaolin monks have such good kungfu? Who established the Shaolin method so they could achieve that kind of ability? This question has not had a satisfactory answer until now. Even some Shaolin monks, along with other Shaolin masters, have only a vague idea.

Among all those hundreds of Shaolin kungfu forms, many bear Tamo's name, such as Tamo yijinjing (muscle tendon change), Tamo xisuijing (marrow-purification), Tamo jian (sword), Tamo zhang (staff), and Tamo fanbianchan (monk spade.) Because of these forms, some people have come to the conclusion that Tamo should have established all Shaolin kungfu. The reason Tamo made all those forms was to help the monks exercise their jing gu (tendon and bones) or that because they lived in the mountains, they had to defend themselves against wild beasts. But others would contend that this is not the true origin, since there were already famous martial monks at Shaolin before Tamo, such as Monk Sen Tao or Monk Hui Guang and others. But no matter what, those still cannot explain how Shaolin martial arts were formed.

I want every martial enthusiast to understand how Shaolin kungfu developed, so let's dig at the past. First let's examine the geographical influence. Shaolin Temple is located near the center of China. In ancient times, this area was the center of Chinese culture. It was also a region that was fought over by many empires. Construction began on Shaolin Temple in 495 CE. In the eighty years that followed, 20 emperors rose and fell.

This period of disunion was the most unstable time in the history of China. All of China was at war. Not even one day was peaceful. The people were so poor and hungry. Under these circumstances, many people took refuge at Shaolin Temple in order to survive; especially good warriors who were set up by political intrigue and had to escape. Some were generals, but because of evil governors, they had to go there. Some were just martial people who tried to help the poor, but then got in trouble with the law. They escaped and shaved their head to become a monk. Most of those people had a good martial background. Even though they had taken refuge to become a monk, they still kept their martial practice. And when they practiced, they exchanged skills and improved upon them. This is one source of Shaolin kungfu.

According to the Shaolinsibiao (Shaolin Temple register) in the Song dynasty, Abbot Fu Zhu Chansi invited the highest grandmasters from 18 martial arts systems to come to Shaolin Temple and exchange skills for 3 years. Shaolin kungfu picked up the best parts and composed a lot of quan pu (martial lyrics - the poetic names for the moves in forms.) By documenting kungfu in this way, they could pass it down the generations. Also in the Yuan Dynasty, Jue Yuan Chansi invited a famous master named Li Shou Quanshi (Quanshi means "martial teacher") from far away to come to Shaolin and teach. Li Shou invited another famous master, Bai Yu Feng to accompany him. They learned from each other and created some special forms. Later, Jue Yuan Chansi also established the ten rules for the practice of martial arts. Fu Zhu and Jue Yuan are two very important figures that developed and improved Shaolin martial arts.

Personally, I believe Shaolin martial arts have a very close relationship with Tamo's Chan (Zen) Buddhism. According to the Shaolin Temple tome, Chan Quan Yi Ti, the purpose of Shaolin monks learning martial arts is not to achieve the highest martial power. More important is that from the practice of opposites such as offense and defense, forward and back, empty and full, you will gain a deep understanding of your own psychological status and control of your mental states. The conflicts that these combinations present teach you about the nature of change and impermanence. When you practice martial arts, you must achieve a singular unity. Your heart and mind cannot be at two places at one time. Your spirit must be very focused, not beyond your boundaries. You can control your body and mind completely. Your spirit, body and martial arts all combine into one. This is why Shaolin achieved a very unique martial arts system. It is based on Chan

In conclusion, the formation of Shaolin martial arts comes from historical influences, geographical location, Chan Buddhism and other martial arts that came from all across China. These factors converged together to form this special unique art of Shaolin kungfu.