For them, the body and the mind were inseparable and both should be disciplined. In these early years, Kung-Fu practiced by the monks was a disorganised melange of local styles. Much of it was similar to Shuai-Chou, China’s wrestling style that had existed well before Christ. There was also the influence of Chang-Shou, or "Long Arm" fighting, the primal Kung-Fu style of Northern China. Some of the elements that made Shaolin Kung-Fu unique were still missing. They came with another wandering monk, BODIDHARMA or Da-Mo. The twenty eighth patriarch of Chan Buddhism, he was born in the south of India in about 448. He had crossed the Himalayas into China and arrived at Shaolin in 527 – only to be refuse entrance! The head abbot was suspicious of Da-Mo’s opposition to constant lessons in Buddhist scripture. He spent nine years outside of the temple, most of the time in meditation. When he was finally allowed in he found many monks to be in poor health due to lack of exercise. Da-Mo also observed the Kung-Fu practiced in Shaolin to be "external", based on raw strength.

Although already in his seventies, Da-Mo devised and taught three sets of exercises: LOHAN SHI BA SHOU (Eighteen Arhat Hands), YI JIN JING (Changing Tendons) and XI SHUI JING (Bone Marrow Washing). These new strengthening and breath control exercises were integrated into Shaolin Kung-Fu training, giving monks the key to use "CHI" or intrinsic energy in martial techniques. Integrated into Shaolin meditative techniques, Da-Mo’s exercises became the basis of CHI-KUNG.

Training soon began to include body conditioning methods and specialized in practices such as training on wooden stakes to aid balance and stability. Technical innovation also followed Da-Mo’s influence. Imitative techniques using fighting movements of animals were developed into forms such as WU JING KUEN (FIVE ANIMALS) which adopted the spirit and tactics of the Leopard, Tiger, Snake, Crane and Dragon. The five animals form was devised by monk JUE YUAN – Like many monks and lay disciples, JUE YUAN was a renowned martial artist before entering Shaolin. He was a famed swordsman from Southern Provinces. As the temple became known for Kung-Fu, it attracted soldiers, mercenaries and bodyguards. Lured by the opportunity to test and perfect fighting skills.

The temple did not always enjoy the favor of China’s Royal Houses. It was closed in 567 by Emperor Wu of the Chou Dynasty as part of his campaign against Buddhism and Taoism. It remained closed until his death in 581. All of China knew about Shaolin after thirteen monks armed with staffs fought decisively against troops of the SUI army in 621. The temple’s help had been sought by the QIN Prince LI SHIMIN, who rewarded the monks with permission to maintain a standing army of 500. Shaolin continued to prosper and it was granted land under the SUNG dynasty (960-1279) to build a second temple in the south of China. The southern temple was built on Nine Lotus Mountain in Fukien.

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) saw Shaolin at its peak in many ways. The monk’s explorations of herbal, Acu-Point and other traditional Chinese medicines resulted in a vast body of knowledge that still keeps practitioners in robust health, even into advanced years. Shaolin Kung-Fu was by then a rich and complete school, including an extensive range of weapon and empty hand techniques and forms. Training aids included the famous HALL OF WOODEN MEN – Rows of wooden dummies with controlled projecting limbs that could attack or retreat in response to a fighter. Most monks were then practicing Kung-Fu and Shaolin’s standing army was 2,500 strong. They drilled constantly in highly combative techniques and were probably the most effective fighters in China. This meant that Ming rulers, as had those of other dynasties, called on Shaolin for help in times of war. A milestone in the history of Shaolin is the battle at Baishawan, In June 1553. Here, one hundred monks engaged and crushed a force of Japanese pirates. Later that year, forty monks carried the day in another engagement with the same pirates. In actions such as these, monks usually fought with their principal weapon – the staff. This original Shaolin weapon was mastered during the Ming period by the unshaved disciple CHING CHUNG TAO. In a stay of just over ten years, he learnt staff forms from two senior monks and passed them on from there. It is due to him that the original staff techniques are preserved today.

If the Ming period was a golden age for Shaolin, the succeeding Ching Dynasty of Manchuria (1644-1911) brought more troubled times. The Manchurians had swept through Northern and Central China, establishing their own laws and officials.

The Shaolin order was opposed to foreign domination and began to harbor Ming patriots at their temples. While many came to hide or regroup, exchanging kung-Fu techniques was given high priority. Naturally, absorbing what was useful from the rebels also enriched Shaolin Kung-Fu. With this kind of activity taking place at the northern and southern temples, Ching officials soon became suspicious of what appeared to be armed camps in their midst. In 1674 came a turning point in the temple’s history. One hundred and twenty monks had helped to put down a rebellion, hoping they would then be left alone by the emperor Kang-His. Suspicion grew at court however and Kang-His decided to destroy a potential, if not actual enemy. His forces attacked and burned the Northern Temple. After a day of savage hand-to-hand combat, only a handful of monks survived to escape. They became dedicated to helping the Chinese patriots fight the Ching. Some of these monks and their disciples. Along with surviving Ming Dynasty nobles, fled south to the Fukien temple. Here, head abbot Chih Shan, encouraged the development of Kung-Fu with a distinctively southern flavor (It was quicker to learn, with more fighting from low stances and less high kicking. Much of it can still be seen in the Hung Gar style). Following the death of Kang-Hsi, re-building of the Northern temple began and the monks began returning in small numbers. This went without hindrance as the Ching became intent on routing opposition to them in the south. Large areas of southern China never had been under their control. A punitive expedition in 1760 completely destroyed the Fukien Shaolin temple. Unlike the aftermath of the Northern destruction, there was no hope of rebuilding the Fukien. Few monks survived, five is the total generally agreed upon. It was the vow of these monks to battle the Ching, with their exchange of passwords and banners that gives rise to the "FIVE ANCESTORS" reference that survives today in a Triad initiation rite. It was in these times that the Triads began as patriotic underground societies. Like the Shaolin survivors, they were dedicated to their aim of "Eject the Ching, Restore the Ming". The members of these Triads, such as the Hung society and the WHITE LOTUS, were highly trained fighters. Some had the benefit of training at the northern or southern Shaolin temples. Others trained under monks and their disciples that had been driven from them. Circumstances such as these saw the birth and growth of styles such as Southern Praying Mantis, White Eyebrow and Choy Lay Fut. History would soon overtake the Ming patriots (Western nations began carving up China and became the greater foe for most patriotic societies). The Ching rulers were sufficiently tied down by European armies in the early 1800's to not notice monks returning the Northern Temple to what it had been.

In the early twentieth century, a new political force arose that borrowed French ideas and American experience to oppose the western powers and the Ching Dynasty - the republicans. These patriots opposed the Ching through democratic means and began to gather strong support in cities. Violent means had failed, with the defeat of the boxer rebellion in 1900. This revolt by the urban poor, Triad soldiers and peasants was meant to restore the Ming and drive out westerners, but only served to convince many that armed struggle was bound to fail. For the monks of Shaolin, toppling the Ching was no longer the grand purpose it had been, especially as it appeared that the republic would succeed. By the 1920’s, the republic was unifying China under its rule and General Chiang Kai-Shek was charged with forcing the surrender of various Northern warlords. In their remote strongholds, those men exercised absolute power and the war of re-unification was a long struggle. One of the warlords in Henan, Fan Chung Chow, maintained links with the Shaolin temple and was particularly friendly with the head abbot. When his military situation began to deteriorate, Fan sought refuge in the temple in 1928. Nationalist troops took up positions around the temple and fired on it with artillery. This destroyed temple halls and a bell tower, ruined several statues and relics and started a fire that burnt for days. Many texts were lost, including some of the one hundred plus forms that the monks then practiced. The white cloth hall, housing many ancient frescos, survived largely intact. This massive blow preceded times that sidelined the temple entirely (The anti-Japanese war and the communist revolution). The largely ruined temple was barely populated until just after the revolution and more peaceful times. This new dynasty was just as volatile however, and Mao Zedong turned the nation on itself in the "Cultural Revolution" of the mid-1960’s. In the campaign against what was old or traditional, the cultural revolution would naturally target Shaolin. Over a few years, Pagodas were systematically vandalised while monks were victimised and scattered by red guards. At one point, only three monks remained resident in the temple, two of whom remain there holding high offices.

The better days that these men waited for arrived in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. With the death of Mao, what was old or traditional in China was now to be revived, preserved and promoted. The Shaolin Temple was again allowed to take in students. Monks were encouraged to study Buddhism and traditional medicine, and to practice Kung-Fu. As soon as this became known, increasing numbers of novices were sent to Shaolin, generally boys from peasant families. This growth was seized upon by the government, who built schools around the temple where monks and their disciples would teach Kung-Fu. The first of these schools, The Shaolin WUSHU GUILD, is used by monks to train, but also has the function of teaching foreign students. Shaolin Kung-Fu has also re-established itself in competitions, where monks have won many form and free sparring tournaments across China. The Shaolin Temple has become so public that tourists visit the halls and groups of monks tour the world to exhibit bare hand and weapon techniques, sparring and Chi-Kung. Such tours have visited the U.K. and Europe, South-East Asia and the U.S.A. 1995 saw more of this public activity as the temple celebrated 1500 years in operation. A massive festival to commemorate this took place over days at the temple and included an invitational tournament with teams from every corner of the globe.

Today, in the temple itself, there live around sixty monks with some disciples. Their days are much as they always were: Out of bed at 4:00, training or meditation until breakfast at 6:30, then training until lunch in the early afternoon. Following a short rest, training resumes again until early evening. After dinner, most monks attend meditation, but advanced fighters hold closed door training sessions. Everyone sleeps early to rise early on the following day. It is this dedication to practice, practice and more practice that has seen the fighting monks of Shaolin survive through much adversity and will ensure that they continue to do so.

© Michael Coomber

Buck Sing Gwoon

Feb 1997