Kung Fu
Kung Fu's History
Kung fu the mother of all contemporary martial arts was brought to China from India by a Zen Buddhist
monk named Da Mo (Bodhidharma). Da Mo trained the monks in China the 18 Lohan Kung
(18 Buddha Hands ) for wellbeing of body, mind, and spirit.
Kung fu usually refers to Chinese martial arts, or fighting systems invented from China.
Kung fu is a common Chinese term that have become identical with Chinese martial arts.
The enhancement of Chinese martial arts can be track down to hunting activities and
martial preparation. Over time, it transformed with the evolving Chinese civilization
acquiring philosophical bases. Ultimately, Chinese martial arts became an essential element
of Chinese culture
Yellow Emperor (Huangdi, traditional date of ascension to the throne, 2698 B.C.E.)
initiated the earliest forms of martial arts to China. The Yellow Emperor was a
famous military general who, before becoming China’s leader, wrote extensive dissertation
on medicine, astrology and the martial arts. He supposedly developed the system of Jiao di
or horn-butting and exploit it in war In spite of of these legends, Jiao di evolved
during the Zhou Dynasty into a wrestling system called Jiao li (eleventh century B.C.E.)
. The practice of Jiao li in the Zhou Dynasty was recorded in the Classic of Rites
This warfare practice integrated techniques such as strikes, throws, joint manipulation,
and pressure point attacks.Jiao lo ultimately became known as Shuai jiao, its prevailing
form. During the Han Dynasty, martial arts known as shuobo and jiandao became widespread
Jiao li became a spectator sport throughout the Qin Dynasty (221 - 207 B.C.E). In
the Song and Yuan dynasties contests were promoted by the imperial courts. The
contemporary concepts of kung fu were fully developed by the Ming and Qing dynasties
The development of Chinese martial arts is associated to its use in the military. Hand
to hand combat and weapons training were essential apparatus in the training of Chinese
soldiers.
Taoist claimed to have been practicing physical movements that bear a resemblance to Tai
Chi at least as early as the 500 B.C.E. era. In 39-92 C.E., "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting",
were included in the Han Shu (history of the Former Han Dynasty) written by Pan Ku.
Also, the noted physician, Hua T'uo, created the "Five Animals Sport" - eagle,tiger,
deer, monkey,and bear, , around 220 B.C.Taoist attitude and their method to well being
and training can be seen in the Innermost styles of Chinese martial arts.
The present-day view of Chinese martial arts are deeply influenced by the actions of
the Republican Period (1912-1949). The period between the fall of the Qing Dynasty and
the chaos s of the Japanese attack and the Chinese Civil War, Chinese martial arts
became more available to the general public as many martial artists were encourage
to openly teach their art. At that time, some considered martial arts as a means to
promote national pride and improve the health of the Nation. As a result, many martial
arts training handbooks were available and several martial arts societies
were formed throughout China Chinese societies. The Central Guoshu Academy was
set up by the Government in 1928 and the Jing Wu Athletic Association
founded by Huo Yuanjia in 1910 are examples of association that publicized
a systematic approach for training in Chinese martial arts A series of
regional and state contests were arranged by the Republican government
starting in 1932 to sponsor Chinese martial arts. In 1936, at the 11th
Olympic Games in Berlin, a group of Chinese martial artists demonstrated
their art to an international spectators for the first time. Ultimately,
those events leads to the current view of martial arts as a sport.
Styles of Kung Fu
Kung Fu can be divide into different group to distinguish them: ,internal . Kung Fu can also be categorize by locality, as south and north as well, referring to what part of China the techniques created from, separated by the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang); Kung Fu may even be classified according to their district or town. The major diversity about northern and southern technique is that the northern styles tend to stress fast and powerful kicks, high jumps and generally fluid and rapid movement, whereas the southern styles concentrate more on tough arm and hand performance, and secure, fixed stances and quick footwork. Model of the northern styles include Changquan and the sword and broadsword standard used in modern Wushu contest, and examples of the southern styles include Nanquan, Houquan (monkey style) and Wing Chun. Kung Fu can also be separated according to religion, imitative-. There are unique differences in the training between different factions of Chinese martial arts in spite of the type of categorization.