Is it true that all kung fu originated from Shaolin?

Question

I heard that it was but it was also a rumor. I'm currently taking Shaolin Kung Fu lessons and I want to learn more about it.

Answer 1

i belive not all kung fu originated from shaolin, but alltypes derives some components from it.

Answer 2

Well, that's the general consensus.

There is no real written record of the origins of kung fu in China except for the legend of a man called Bodhidharma.

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk from India who made his way to China to spread the word of the Buddha. He arrived at the Northern Shaolin temple, and was disappoint in the physical abilities of the monks there. They were all rather weak and frail. Bodhidharma was concerned that this weakness wouldn't allow the monks to full immerse themselves in the practice of Buddhism, so he retreated to a cave where he meditated on the problem for nine years. Emerging from the cave with a set of exercises to help strengthen the monks and increase their chi flow. This is the basis for all Shaolin kung fu.

At this time in history China wasn't the safest of places and lawlessness ran rampant. The threat of bandit attack on the temples and traveling monks was serious. So being vulnerable to attack, the monks developed a system of self defense based on the original set of exercises handed down by Bodhidharma. Thus, kung fu was born.

Over time, other 'Shaolin' temples appeared across the land, and depending upon location, the monks modified the techniques to suite their lifestyle, environment, and abilities. Northern styles tend to use more kicks, and more complicated stances, while in the south where the ground could be unforgiven they favored simple solider stances and punches.

That, in a nut shell, is the origins of Shaolin kung fu.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Whoa, whoa. Slow down a little. Hasn't anyone ever heard of a place called Wu dang Mountain? Not ALL kung fu originated from Shaolin monks. The Taoist priests on Wu dang had their own special forms like Seven Star Sword and Wu Dang Taiji. Um, to say that all kung fu came from Shaolin would be a highly-biased and highly-inaccurate viewpoint. Kung fu came from many places, shaolin being one, but it was not the BIRTHPLACE of kung fu/martial arts.

Answer 4

No;

The Praying Mantis Style, and the Tibetan Crane Style, although both practiced at Shaolin since they were introduced there by the masters, did not originate from the temple.  The Tibetan Crane Style was invented by a Tibetan Lama, while the Praying Mantis Style was invented by someone who started out a loudmouth that the Shaolin had to shut down repeatedly, but eventually matured into a true martial artist that the Shaolin respected thanks to him adapting his Kung Fu to imitate the moves of the praying mantis, modifying them for human use.

Also, Tai Chi Chuan, although the martial portion of the various forms ultimately owe their origin to the Shaolin temple, in reality a given Tai Chi routine is a combination of Chi Kung and Kung Fu.  Ultimately, that is all Tai Chi Chuan ultimately is; Chi Kung + Kung Fu.  Specifically, wudang "immortality" chi kung + shaolin kung fu, the moves that master Shang Sang Feng allegedly felt were the most practical and easiest to master and use.  Tai Chi owes PART of its oirigin to the Shaolin temple.

There is also Shuia Jiao (chinese wrestling) which is considered "Kung Fu," its a martial art to them like any other.  Shuia Jiao is the oldest of all the forms of Kung Fu; to practice it, is to share brotherhood with legendary figures such as the yellow emperor who is said to have invented it, Quan Yu, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, all heroes of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" novel.  Everyone who learned how to use spear and sword, also learned Shuia Jiao, meaning, the heroes you read about in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" were all experts in it, including the villain Lu Bu.  Historically, Shuia Jiao, archeologists have reliably found, has been practiced since the year, roughly, 1,500 B.C.E.

While not as old as Indian wrestling, which has been practiced since the whopping year 3,000 B.C.E., because of the influence of Buddhism in Chinese society and the need for monks for unarmed combat, more than any other grappling art, Shuia Jiao has been tested countless times over a period of, now, h**l man, 3,500 years.  It is the oldest of the Chinese martial arts, and even Shaolin Kung Fu borrows throws and locks from it, as well as Tai Chi Chuan in fact, Chin Na, was originally developed by an army general who felt Shuia Jiao was ineficient.  Being an expert in it himself, he felt a more efficient martial art was needed to defeat it, hence the creation of Chin Na.

If Chin Na has all the arm locks it does, is because the general observed that a wrestler is useless if just one of his arms is compromised.  That is the oficial history, tradition holds though, that it was the Shaolin monks who invented it after feeling dissatisfied with Shuia Jiao for that very same reason.  Many western grapplers make the dangerous assumption that east asian martial artists can't grapple, and that Kung Fu is "incomplete."  In making that assumption many will find themselves in an extremely painful armlock, and odds are, the monk in question applying it, is likely VERY adept at it.

So, the straight answer is no; not all Kung Fu came from the Shaolin temple because to the Chinese sword fighting counts as "Wu Shu" (martial arts) you know.  And sword fighting has been practiced in china for, well, as long as China's history; 4,000 years.  The fact of the matter is China has a deeper tradition of swordsmanship than Japan does, and it was from China were Japanese sword forgers ultimately got the technique of folding and purifying metal, which was developed by the Chinese around 100 B.C., roughly, nearly 1,000 years before it was used in Japan.

Chinese sword fighting, is likely the most cold blooded style of sword fighting there is, especially the art of the straight sword.  The Chinese straight sword is designed the way it is for the purpose of severing the spinal nerve.  You have noticed, that Chinese straight swords generally do not have a pointed edge; the edges tend to be rounded, and it almost looks like a surgical instrument at the tip.  The reason that is, is because in a way it is; it is designed to go just under the sternum, and straight into the spinal column between the discs, and once that is severed, into the spinal nerve itself.  Such a stab will kill an adversary (or rather a victim) instantly.  And it will do so in a manner far more cold blooded and efficient, than anything found in Japanese Kenjutsu although, in Japanese swordsmanship the principle of severing the spinal nerve is also found, as one of the thrusting techniques with a Katana exists for precisely that reason here is the thing though; the Japanese Katana is heavy and cumbersume to use, whereas the Chinese straight sword can be wielded with lightning fast speed.

And hey man, I am a HUGE Samurai fan, and all things Samurai, saying this.  It may sound like I am promoting Chinese swordsmanship over Kenjutsu, I'm not; I'm just saying what I am saying, because what is obviously better, is better, and Chinese swordsmanship is better, in terms of efficiency and speed, and its purpose of ending an opponent's life because that is swordsmanships ultimate aim.  Because a scalpel is deadlier than a meatcleaver, the Chinese straight sword, the art of it, is superior.  The Chinese sword is a scalpel, but the Japanese Katana is a meat cleaver when you think about it.

Now, that the MAJORITY of martial arts originate from Shaolin?  THAT MUCH I know, is true, but even the Shaolin themselves, people knowledgeable in the temple's history are quick to point out, that sometimes the population taught them a thing or two.  For example, monk Ordator, being a Buddhist, naturally his first stop was the Shaolin temple as it too is also a Buddhist temple, different branch, but still Buddhism.  The first people to learn the Tibetan Crane style were the Shaolin, and then after them, came the emperor's royal guards.  Regarding praying mantis, that is another style that came from outside the temple.

So, most of them? Yes.  All of them?  No.

Hope this helped.

Answer 5

The vast majority of all Chinese Kung Fu comes from Shaolin Temple Boxing. There are various forms of Kung Fu that were developed by men in ancient China who modeled the movements of animals to create their own systems of Kung Fu such Praying Mantis Kung Fu and Tai Chi, but even these systems were in some way influenced by Shaolin Temple Boxing. 'Sticking Hands' is a technique present in almost every Kung Fu system and it came from Shaolin Temple Boxing.

Answer 6

All kung fu? Yes. All martial arts? probably not. There are no earlier records of chinese martial arts being created anywhere away from a shaolin temple. So if it is chinese, and all kung fu is, then it is 99 percent affirmed that it originated from Shaolin. Now does that mean that some of the martial arts that branched away haven't changed and added new and different moves? Certainly not, many other chinese martial arts have become completely independent of their shaolin roots to become almost unrecognizable as part of shaolin. Now if you are asking about other martial arts then the question is much more uncertain and even involves the very definition of "martial art." Since ancient china never actually defined its fighting systems as "martial arts," but instead named everything "dragon style," "arrow hand form" and the like there really is no historic definition for what a martial art is. So do cave drawings of two men fighting eachother in single combat count as a early martial art? Or are regimented and clearly defined techniques (like shaolin) the only thing that constitutes as an MA? If that is true then "arts" like greek pankration wouldn't count because this art was a communal/experimental one, where any practitionaer could create a new move in the ring and teach it to everyone else. This is just some food for thought, but as far as kung fu is concerned, you only need to look as far back as shaolin.

Happy Training

Answer 7

not all but some

Answer 8

Kung Fu has been around long before Buddha. So says the archaeological finds of the recent decades. Though, through popular belief it is as you ask. I would write more but I gotta run. Look up another question similar to this via my answers and you'll get a better explanation.