|
ABOUT SHAO LIN CHAUN FA
Shaolin Ch'uan Fa * means "The way of the Shaolin fist",
and stands for an ancient Chinese defense method.
Shaolin Ch'uan Fa originated in India about 5000 years ago. It
is said that Buddha was so impressed by this martial art, that
it was adopted by the Buddhists. Although Buddhism preaches love
and serenity, it also needed to protect it's laws, which couldn't
always be done with words.
In the 6th century, a monk named Bodhidharma brought Buddhism
to China. China was divided in several small kingdoms in those
days. Since Bodhidharma's ideas about Buddhism differed quite a
lot from Chinese traditional Buddhism, he wasn't welcome in most
kingdoms. Finally he was accepted in the kingdom of Wei, and he
settled in Shaolin-ssu, a small monastery in what is now called
the province of Honan (Henan).
There he preached meditation and unique exercises to keep the
body in shape and the mind pure. These exercises evolved to very
efficient fighting techniques, later called "Shaolin Ch'uan
Fa". It proved very useful in later centuries, as the monastery
was attacked several times. In the beginning the techniques where
secret, but soon the monks became famous as the best fighters in
China, and the monks started to train the farmers, who where suppressed
by the emperor. In later centuries Shaolin Ch'uan Fa (also referred
to as Shaolin Kung-Fu) became the national martial art of China,
and several different styles evolved throughout the country.
In the beginning of the 20th century Shaolin Ch'uan Fa was brought
to Japan by Kung-Fu master Doshin So. He traveled through China,
and combined all different styles in one method: Shaolin Kempo.
Kempo is the Japanese expression for martial-arts, or fighting
skills. From there Shaolin Kempo spread all over the world.
|
