Kung Fu is Chinese term for "martial art," it can also be called "Wu Shu." The holy Shaolin temple of the Buddhism was established about 1600 years ago on the mountain of Sung. It was the symbol of Buddhism power in
China, and it also represented the ultimate domination of Buddhism over other religions in the next 1000 years in
China. Shaolin temple was built during the feudal age when warlords divided and ruled each region of
China separately. It was the time when murderers, bandits, and thieves were commonplace. In order to repel threats from outside world, the
high priests of Shaolin temple research and devised many unique and powerful martial arts; monks were trained with martial arts as protector of holiness (at that time, all those that opposed buddhism principles were said to be "unholy"). Legend has that Shaolin temple devised powerful techniques such that allow
people to punch through concrete wall, to regenerate and heal at faster rate, and to walk on the surface of
water like dragonfly.
All these martial arts have come together as what we called "Shaolin Kung Fu." However, after centuries of warfare and disasters, much of Shaolin Kung Fu were swept away and forgotten. What we are learning now, the modern Shaolin Kung Fu, is the remnant of this ancient martial arts that once shaken the foundation of the
world of martial art in the far east. Although Shaolin Kung Fu had lost it former glory long time ago, it still remains as one of the most prominent and most powerful martial arts exist in the
world today. Martial arts
like Karate, Judo, and
Tai Kwan Do are actually variants of the techniques that originated from Shaolin Kung Fu. Suffice to say, no other martial arts in the world is as
rich in techniques and as effective as the Shaolin Kung Fu.
