Print this pageThe Creation of Shaolin
Around the time of Emperor Hsiao Wen of the Northern Wei Dynasty’s rein, (386-534 AD) the martial arts would begin its evolution into what we now know them to be. Around the 5th Century AD, an Indian Buddhist monk named Ba Tuo was teaching Buddhism throughout
The Shaolin Temple became more prominently known when a holy man by the name of Bodhidharma (Tamo) left his country of India for China to spread the faith of Ch’an Buddhism to the world. He travailed north into
Bodhidharma began spreading his teachings but observed that the monks of the temple were out of shape and unable to sustain meditation for long periods of time without falling asleep. He pondered the problem and created three treaties of exercise.
The Muscle Change Classic or Change of the Sinews
The Marrow Washing Classic
The 18 Hands Movements, later named the 18 Lohan Shou
These exercises helped the monks get their bodies into better shape, thus aiding Bodhidharma in his ability to effectively convey many aspects of Ch’an Buddhism.
Since bandits frequently attacked the temple and took advantage of the monks generosity, Bodhidharma helped devise some self-defense movements based on his knowledge of Indian fighting techniques. At the temple, many of the priests were retired generals and soldiers seeking salvation from the atrocities of war thus Bodhidharma's self-defense teachings were refined, added to, and improved upon. These warrior monks possessed the time and the intuitive nature to refine and synthesize the techniques into what later became Shaolin Temple Fist Boxing. [Shaolin Chuan Fa]
This was the beginning for the systematic study and compilation of martial arts “systems” as we know them to be today.