Mother of All Martial Arts? Think Again!

I added a question mark in the title because the term mother hardly applies in this context. Mother means a direct ancestor. Hence, mother of all martial arts means an art to which all martial arts in the world trace a direct lineage. This title is often given to the South Indian martial art Kalaripayattu. Being a person from Kerala, I was proud to see Kalaripayattu referred this way. However, my skepticism grew overtime and recently I have started to question the very premise of Kalaripayattu being the originator of all the other martial arts practiced in the world. I had written on similar grounds in a previous blog post and was met with violent criticism from devotees of Kalari. I don’t maintain any grudges towards the people who were abusive in their comments but I thought it was necessary to reiterate some aspects I discussed in that post for the sake of clarity. As I said before, and will say again, this article does not demean Kalaripayattu in any manner.

image of kalaripayattu
Kalaripayattu

Origin of a martial art like any other art has two levels viz. the historic and the legendary. It is hard to trace history to a time when data redundancy was much higher when compared to modern times. Further, it is often the legendary version that grows out of proportion overtime and overshadows the historic part. For example, it is said that Parasurama created the state of Kerala by throwing an axe which caused the water to recede away from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. Well, on the face of it, the story is funny and unbelievable. What kind of a person can pull off such a feat? Similarly, legends say that there existed aircrafts in ancient India such as the Pushpaka Vimana, which is quite questionable. The Vaimanika Shastra written by sage Bharadwaj was studied by the Indian Institute of Science and was proven to be just a fanciful text without any scientific credence. Legend attributes many superhuman feats to Jesus, which are scientifically impossible since he was nothing but a normal human being. Hence, legends are unbelievable without investigation.

The reason I spoke so much on legends is because the famous Bodhidharma is also a legend. The alleged creator of Shaolin Kung Fu could be just another ancient legend which went out of proportion due to poor data management. Just as I spoke about Jesus, the person Bodhidharma would have very well existed. And it is also possible that he had gone to China. But then attributing the currently existing martial arts forms to him is incredible. Especially the claim that he taught Kalaripayattu to the monks of the Shaolin monastery since he wanted them to have a fit body to cope with the strenuous sitting meditation. However, there are a few logical errors with this claim as discussed below:

1. Kalaripayattu as a martial art came into prominence during the 11th and 12th century. Some claim its existence as early as 9th century. One must understand that India was not a single country in the past. Kerala itself was divided into many small kingdoms. Fighting arts were required for survival since each of these kingdoms fought among each other. Bodhidharma was a person who lived in the 6th century, which was well before the emergence of the art of Kalaripayattu. Therefore, his attribution to this martial art is questionable and hence the claim that he went to China and taught Kalaripayattu breaks down.

2. If Kalaripayattu did not exist in 6th century, what was the art that Bodhidharma practiced? Was it called by a different name? These are questions that historians find difficult to answer. If the art that Bodhidharma practiced was an earlier version of Kalaripayattu, then it could be an ancestor to both Kalaripayattu and Wushu if that is what he taught the Shaolin monks. But then the notion that Wushu came from Kalaripayattu would not hold. Humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestor. It means that humans did not come from chimpanzees but are cousins to them. Similarly, if Bodhidharma indeed teach the Shaolin monks a primitive Indian art that is an ancestor to both Wushu and Kalaripayattu, then it cannot be claimed that Wushu came from Kalaripayattu.

3. The Chinese civilization existed in different dynasties over 2,500 years before Bodhidharma arrived and allegedly taught the more “superior” martial arts which he brought from India. It is quite hard to believe that the Chinese waited for over 25 centuries without a superior fighting art for themselves. Throughout the history of China, there have been wars both internally and externally. The need for a superior fighting system was paramount since the beginning of their civilization. They would not have waited for Bodhidharma in any case.

4. As discussed in my previous post, even after the creation of the martial arts at the Shaolin, the real application of that in combat outside the temple came much later. The events between the 8th and 15th centuries are not well documented. What were the monks doing during that period? And then from 16th century onwards the martial arts of Shaolin flourished and spread across. Either the systems of Shaolin were kept a secret during that period or there wasn’t much to show outside. There were and still are martial arts that are superior to Shaolin kung fu that were developed outside the temples.

5. The martial arts practiced in China today have little or no influence from Hinduism, which is an integral part of Kalaripayattu. If Chinese Wushu is a direct descendant of Kalaripayattu, there has to be at least a trace of Hinduism in it. I never found it and neither has any martial artist I know. Even non-Hindus who practice Kalaripayattu worship and abide by the covenant of the Kalari Gods. Even though Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk, if he did practice Kalaripayattu, there would be at least some reference to the Kalari Gods in his teachings. We don’t see them mentioned in the Shaolin martial arts at all. Hence, him being the practitioner of Kalaripayattu is quite questionable.

My previous post mentioned about several martial arts that existed before the arrival of Bodhidharma. And it is quite evident that the currently existing arts are descended from those arts and not from Kalaripayattu due to the reasons stated above.

I would also like to bring into light the concept of independent development. There is a limit to the type of movements that can be performed using the human body. We may use permutations and combinations to find out the number of movements that are mathematically possible but physical limitations drill down the number. Hence, any martial art used in war would eventually settle down to a few practically possible moves. There would of course be extra movements that are practiced to maintain flexibility and strength. Therefore, martial arts can and do indeed develop indigenously and independently without requiring an ancestor.

To summarize, the following issues need to be addressed by people who taut up Kalaripayattu as the mother of all martial arts:

a. The temporal disagreement between Bodhidharma’s arrival in China and the documented origin of Kalaripayattu.

b. Existence of martial arts in China before and after Bodhidharma. Especially those that have direct links with the martial arts practiced today.

c. Lack of Hindu Gods and teachings in Shaolin as well as other martial arts in China.

If anyone wants to address the points mentioned in this article without getting emotional, nationalistic, ad hominem or outright wrong, I would welcome the discussion. As a word of caution, unlike my previous post, if someone resorts to ad hominem in this, I would simply remove that comment without wasting time answering them.

References

1. Bodhidharma. (2013, September 21). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhidharma
2. Brief History of Gongfu. (2013, May 19). Retrieved from Wu Taiji Quan: http://www.wutaijiquan.com/wutaijiquan_history.html
3. Chi You. (2013, September 22). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_You
4. Chinese martial arts. (2013, September 23). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_martial_arts
5. Chinese Mythology. (2013, July 11). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology
6. Eighteen Arms of Wushu. (2013, September 24). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteen_Arms_of_Wushu
7. Is there a relationship with kalaripayattu, indian martial arts, shaolin kung fu, and bodhidharma? (2013, May 19). Retrieved from Mystic Banana: http://www.mysticbanana.com/is-there-a-relationship-with-kalaripayattu-indian-martial-arts-shaolin-kung-fu-and-bodhidharma.html/
8. Josey, J. (2010, January 20). Kalaripayattu – A Game of Eyes Shut And Mouth Wide Open. Retrieved from Tales and traumas of a ‘Teenage Pretty Boy’: http://my.opera.com/prettyboy/blog/kalaripayattu-a-game-of-eyes-shut-and-mouth-wide-open
9. Kung fu (term). (2013, August 20). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_fu_%28term%29
10. Kung Fu Styles. (2013, May 19). Retrieved from Learn Me Kung Fu: http://www.lmkungfu.com/styles.html
11. The Mother of All Martial Arts : Kalari or Kalarippayattu. (2007, June 23). Retrieved from HitXP – A Blogzine by Gurudev: http://www.hitxp.com/articles/sports/kalarippayattu-oldest-martial-arts/
12. Yellow Emperor. (2013, September 18). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Emperor

Join the Conversation

34 Comments

  1. Good…happy..at least we remember the names of those legends Parasurama, after so much century have been gone already.which proves truth will always stays because it is a truth. Anyway that is the only reason behind why we are discussing this .tanks for having an interest in this subject latest you have referred books and Wiki which were created 2007 onwards .The parasuramas life time was not in 6th century .Krishnas life time was about 3000 years before Jesus Christ .Rama’s life time is even before krishna’s .Parasurama and Rama they were both living at the same time last Treta Yuga .Parashurama and the saptarishi Agastya are regarded as the founders of kalaripayattu, the oldest martial art in the world. So friend it is not originated in 6th century ..Tanks.

    1. Let’s start with some simple facts. Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) originated somewhere about 200,000 years ago. According to Hindu scriptures, Kali Yuga started around 3102 BC. Dwapara Yuga had a duration of 864,000 years. Thus Treta Yuga ended around 867,102 BC. From 2 million–800,000 years ago is the time early humans started moving from Africa to spread around the globe, causing an increase in body and brain size. Now these early humans were not Home sapiens. They were much primitive. Even more primitive than Homo neanderthalensis. I believe your Lord Rama looked more like this – http://bit.ly/101d2S9. Therefore, all the epic stories are grossly exaggerated forms of some primitive folklore that existed at a time when there was no writing system and primitive humans were hunters and gatherers. The epic battles might be some tribal wars between early hominids. Therefore please don’t ask me to buy into your assertion that Parasurama, who probably would have been some primitive ape-like ancestor of us created an advanced martial art like Kalaripayattu. I am sorry.

      1. Bloody Christian Cunt, your Fuckin Genesis book says that the world was formed in 6 days 6000 years ago .Then who were the Dinosaurs who lived 65 million years ago ? Jesus Christ’s stepfathers ?Hindu scriptures says accurately the age of the earth to be 5 billion years ago. which is exactly what science says .

        1. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…. Whom are you calling Christian? I am atheist you idiot. Read my other blog posts and you will know. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I can’t stop laughing. Without knowing anything, reading anything, simply coming and calling me names. LOL!

          1. Oh means you are the wannabe type .”I will go against the flow” “I will be different from the rest”. I need attention types .

          2. I have been an atheist for the past 17 years. You continue to make me laugh. Wannabe type? Seriously? Is that the best troll you can come up with? Fine. I will give you some time to prepare. Come back when you have a better troll.

          3. Idiots like you are of no use to this world .You can say God does not exist nut then say what exists. You have to give an alternate explanation .Otherwise you are as useless as a Godman who creates golden chains and rings from thin air .

          4. Atheists don’t claim that they have all the answers. We fully accept that there are unknown questions about this universe. And we treat them as such – “unknown questions”. Believers like you on the other hand claim that you have the ultimate answer to everything – “God”. For us that very God is a bigger question than what it answers. Any rational person like me would immediately ask “Where did God come from?”. So did the universe just spring into existence all by itself or whether there was an intelligent creator? I don’t know the answer. And I am not ashamed of admitting that I don’t have that answer. By replacing God with an “alternate explanation” you are doing nothing new. It’s just like replacing one God with another. So, if you have more time to waste, by all means continue your trolling. But I don’t have much time to spare. Read my blog posts if you like to learn more about my point of view. Thanks.

          5. I agree that atheists don’t have all the answers .Buy Atheists DO claim that God does not exist .How can you say God does not exist when nobody has proved it ? Is it not unscientific method ? As per science , a hypothesis becomes a theory only when it is proved .Still you atheists have no shame in saying “God delusion theory”.Like I said when you say something which has not been proved , it only makes you look like a fool .

          6. Most atheists (except the staunchest ones) don’t say that God does not exist. It is impossible to say for certain. That being said, atheists speak in terms of probability. Agnostics are ones who give 50-50 chance for God to exist or not to exist. Atheists however are more confident that God’s existence is less likely. As an atheist if you ask me to put a number to the probability, it would be difficult but I am certain that the probability of God’s existence is very low. And there are good reasons for it. If you look at the current pre-big bang cosmological models, many of them speak about a universe that is cyclic in nature. Such a system (or systems) can exist without a prime mover (read as God). There are fundamental laws governing things and it is still a puzzle as to why those laws exist. However, attributing the existence of these laws to a creator is absurd due to the reason I mentioned in my previous comment. Now, there is a philosophical problem to God as well. I am sure that you have heard about the Epicurean Paradox.

          7. hello mr.khan, my name is kiran, i have a question for you. if a very young intelligent child prodigy, asks u “who is god, what is its definition”, may i know what will u answer that child?

        1. No no. Don’t mistake me. I don’t believe in the scriptures. I am comparing the timeline given in the Hindu scriptures to the actual timeline of biological evolution in order to counter a point made by the person named Sant. Now regarding atheism. Atheism is the state in which a person rejects the notion of a supernatural entity that is instrumental in the cycle of cause and effect in the universe. For atheists an unknown phenomenon is something that needs to be studied and understood instead of associating deities to it. As atheists, we do keep ourselves aware of the information in the scriptures because it is important to understand how faith and cultural evolution occurs.

    2. some christian ‘historians’ calculated the age of the earth to be around 6000 years old. thus making the argument moot. heh. argue with some hard facts and concrete numbers, please. ad populum is not truth just because a lot of people believe it to be true…

  2. Dear Pleasant, well writings , coz you are learned.. may be u r in the States.. or in the God’s Own Country… am least bothered.. i dont wanna simple augment the list… can you define Atheism…

  3. The facts given by you maybe true bcoz indian history is somewhat confusing in terms of originality or science. It takes highly developed mind to think the questions you think about. Many questions arise in my mind too I want to ask.
    People in India only ignore the truth bcoz it has been a disease in them. Thank you for this information.

    1. Zakir Naik is a person who denies biological evolution. Don’t post videos of such intellectually inferior morons. If you want to prove me wrong, come with proper scientific evidence. Not some stupid videos featuring crackpots like Naik.

      1. A person may be wrong , but not in all cases. If he denies biological evidence he is wrong in that case but it does’t mean he will be wrong in every case. In this video he clearly explained the existence of god. I don’t think you have watched this video,once watch it then write your comment. Atheists lose common sense when it comes to the concept of god, every one of us know that Mahatma Gandhi existed but no one of us have seen him , but it does’t mean that he was not there, similarly we have not seen god but people in the past have seen him and experienced him and they wrote in scriptures about him.They are many people who experienced god like buddha, jesus and many more. since we have not seen him we can’t say he does’t exist.And when it comes in case of scientific evidence, it is not possible because he is beyond science.The existence of god can be proved logically not scientifically,your whole life will be over but you will not find him if you search for scientific evidence.The only way to know the existence of god is yoga not scientific evidence.I hope it cleared your doubt

        1. It is a misconception among many people that atheists are advocates of “seeing is believing”. That is totally wrong. We never say that we don’t believe in god because we can’t see him. It is a false position that religious people cook up in order to discredit our arguments. It is a tactic called Strawman Argument. I suggest you stop using strawman and start with valid reasoning. To quote Neil deGrasse Tyson, “God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance”. God is a concept created by ancient humans in order to explain the physical phenomena that they couldn’t understand. For instance, when they didn’t understand thunderstorms, they created thunder gods. When they couldn’t understand ocean waves, they created sea gods. Then fire gods, wind gods etc etc. These were the products of cultural evolution and weren’t based on science. But as our societies advanced and we became more scientifically aware, many of these so called “gods” disappeared from our pantheon. Today we are aware of how thunderstorms are formed or how ocean currents are created. So we no longer rely on these “gods” as an explanation to natural phenomena. Basically the need for a supernatural entity to plug in the gaps in human knowledge is scientifically irresponsible. Now regarding evidence. There are two kinds of evidences. One is direct and the other is indirect. For example, if a crime is commited, if the detective can find a CCTV footage of the crime, that is direct evidence. However if he is not able to find a CCTV footage, he has to rely on indirect evidence such as witness accounts, fingerprints, footprints, blood stains etc. Using these evidences, the detective deduces possible culprits. Similarly when we study this universe, we rely on many indirect evidences to create predictive models. And then those predictive models are further tested against the evidence available. In the case of Mahatma Gandhi, there are plenty of direct and indirect evidences. His photographs, his video footages, the accounts of people who lived and worked with him and the book he wrote are all evidences for his existence. I never said that Buddha and Jesus did not exist. But calling them gods is not very accurate. The reason obviously is the scarcity of evidence. We do have some historic accounts of their existence and their teachings. So at the maximum, we can consider them as good teachers and good moral philosophers. Not gods. You claim that existence of god can be proven logically. I would suggest you read up on something called Occam’s Razor. I hope that will enlighten you regarding the logical inconsistency of believing in a God.

          1. First of all i would like to thank you for taking time to reply to my comments.The concept of god is not simple as many people think,it is very complex.It is a misconception that God is a concept created to explain physical phenomena.Actually we have only one god who created this universe, the other gods like sun god,thunder gods are demigods,these demigods are the ministers of the god, god created them to take care of the different elements,they can control these different elements but the process is automatic,these gods are only to take care of the different elements or phenomena,but common people with improper knowledge of the scriptures thought that gods are doing these phenomena,where as the truth is they are just like guards.Normal people don’t know the difference between god and demigods, and they often use the term god for both of them,due to which there is lot of confusion in understanding god.Regarding buddha and jesus i never said that they are gods,read my comment once again.I said that these were the people who experienced god or seen god, and this comes under the indirect evidence of the god,and if you talk about photographs we even have pictures of the god don’t you know that?.By reading Occam’s Razor book you are saying that logical evidence is not posiible, if you say like that we have many books which gives the logical evidence of god.So just by reading a book don’t say that logically it’s not possible.Logic is a thing which is different for different people for example if i say sit down, some people will sit on the floor and some will sit on the chair although the sentence is same it has two meanings ,similar is the concept in case of god,scientists say logically its not possible and spirtual people say logically its possible.Moreover concept of god is not anybody’s imagination ,it is there all over in the history of world

  4. I agree that Kalaripayattu is not the mother of all martial arts but it may be the mother of kung fu .Let me explain this with an example,curd is obtained from milk but both have different properties similarly kung fu came from Kalaripayattu but both are totally different. Damo may have taught Kalaripayattu and after that other people may have modified it into kungfu but due to this we should not deny the fact that it came from Kalaripayattu or in other words Kalaripayattu is the mother of kungfu

    1. I already explained this in my previous article, which you should read. Damo’s trip to China doesn’t explain the timeline problem. Kalaripayattu originated during the period between 9th and 12th centuries. Damo lived during the 6th century. Are you saying that Damo somehow time travelled into the 12th century, then learned Kalaripayattu and then time travelled back to the 6th century and then went to China? That makes no sense. Next aspect to this is the nomenclature. Kung fu is an erroneous term applied to Chinese martial arts. If I say that all martial arts in Japan is Karate, would you agree? Of course not. Similarly, martial arts in China cannot be generically termed kung fu. However, we have this tendency to do so. Even I do it sometimes when there is no need for distinction. That being said, the arts in China originated many centuries before Bodhidharma or Damo was even born. So, that settles the argument. Kung fu did not come from Kalaripayattu.

      1. Damo existed in the 6 th century no doubt. kalaripayattu was developed by saptarishi Agastya and Parashurama , both of them lived during the last Treta and Dvapara Yugas ,and if you say kalaripayattu originated during 9th and 12th century it is totally wrong.I think you should research again properly

        1. Sir, many websites of Kalari schools in Kerala also say that Kalaripayattu originated between 9th and 12th centuries. Kalari practitioners themselves agree with me. I don’t understand what is your problem. Anyway, I suggest you refer the timeline of human evolution before posting this kind of comment. According to scriptures Treta Yuga ended around 867,102 BC following which there was Dwapara Yuga that lasted 864,000 years. We know for a fact that modern humans or Homo sapiens evolved approximately 200,000 years ago. That is almost 600,000 years after the start of the so called Dwapara Yuga. This brings us to the question, who were Parasurama and Agastya? Were they modern humans? Apparently not. It is highly likely that these two men belonged to a primitive human ancestor. There is little evidence that such early human ancestors had any written language, let alone complex intellectual capacities required to create an advanced martial art like Kalaripayattu. They were mostly hunter gatherers with primitive stone tools. It is not possible that anyone in that era might have invented Kalaripayattu. May be it is your turn to do the research.

          1. People say many things ,we can’t blindly believe them.People even say that god exists but you don’t believe in that.I know many kalari practitioners who say that kalari is the mother of all martial arts,but we know that it’s not the case.So just because they said you can’t conclude it. Agastya and Parashurama did not invent kalaripayattu on their own,it was lord shiva who taught them.

          2. There you go again. When I showed that Parasurama and Agastya are primitive human ancestors, you went a step further and brought Lord Shiva into the picture. You are basically shifting the goal post. And frankly, I don’t have time for this. If you have a proper argument, please bring it on. Otherwise let’s end this conversation.

          3. I am not saying anything on my own,it is given in the wikipedia itself.Type parshurama in wikipedia it is all mentioned in that.

    2. The Chinese Shaolin practiced Zen Buddhism, a distinguished Chinese Taoist-influenced Buddhism. In the book Tao of Zen, Grigg perfectly illustrates Zen minus Buddhism equals Taoism.

      “If you meet the Buddha, kill him.”–Zen Master, Linji Yixuan, founder of the Linji school of Chán Buddhism.

      “The road [Tao] is generally taken to mean the path to Enlightenment; that might be through meditation, study, prayer, or just some aspect of your way of life. Your life is your road.”

      The Spring and Autumn Annals, which were composed between 800–500 B.C., reference “hard” and “soft” martial arts techniques, a division that remains a core kung fu philosophy today. The earliest term for ‘martial arts’ can be found in the Han History (206BC-23AD) was “military fighting techniques” (兵技巧; bing jiqiao). Chinese martial arts predate Zen Buddhism for over a thousand years. Some martial artists joined Tao sects, similar to Wudang, others chose to lead reclusive lives in the mountains. Some returned to their families, transmitted their art through lineage. The ambitious ones continued to serve in the military or had attained a position in a wealthy city as a civil keeper. When Zen Buddhism was established in the Shaolin temple, the temple became another popular alternative.

      In Shaolin records, the first two Chinese monks, Sengchou and Huiguang, were martial arts experts before studying religion under, Batuo, founder of the Shaolin temple. Batuo was amazed by their martial ability. They lived in the temple for a long period before Bodhidharma had step foot in the temple, introducing Zen Buddhism.

  5. Shaolin is not a martial art, it is a style, that houses martial arts. Shaolin arts had no relationship or any degree of semblance to the Indian Kalaripayattu, such as Wing chun, Changquan, Iron palm, the Mantis fist, the Drunken fist etc. The martial arts of Shaolin did not originate from within the temple, they came from the outside. The Chinese had a structured military fighting system for over a thousand years before the first Shaolin Monastery was founded by monk Batuo in 477AD, according to the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks by Daoxuan written in 645AD. Retired Chinese military men brought their combat experience to the temples when they chose to lead a reclusive life. According to Shaolin records, the first two Chinese monks, Sengchou and Huiguang, were martial arts experts before studying religion under, Batuo. Thus, Chinese martial arts existed in temple before Bodhidharma arrived at the monastery in 5th century AD. The Chinese martial arts that predate Bodhidharma’s arrival by several centuries to over thousand years include, but are not limited to, Jiao Li wrestling, Wu Yi sword arts, Shoubo military arts, Sun Bin Quan internal style, “Dao Yin” qigong, The Six Chapters of Hand Fighting, Huo Tuos Five Animal Play etc.

    In the legend, the Indian monk Bodhidharma traveled to China in the 5th century AD, where he established the earliest form of Zen Buddhism and taught martial arts in the Shaolin Monastery. In reality, this legend comes from “Yijin Jing”, a 17th century fictional qigong manual, written by a
    Taoist. Historians have discredited the manual as a legitimate source on the grounds of theanachronistic errors, absurdities and fantasy claims, In the manual, a fictional character, Bushy Bearded Hero, recorded as lineage master In addition, a popular twentieth century fantasy novel, The travels of Lao Ts’an, promoted wide spread association between Bodhidharma and martial arts. There is no clear evidence that Bodhidharma had any knowledge of marital arts, he was falsely credit for transmitting Yijin Jing to the Shaolin Monks not Kalaripayattu.

    Zen Buddhism was strongly influenced by Chinese Taoism, this why zen doesn’t exist in India because Taoism doesn’t exist in India. Shaolin is Zen Buddhist or Chinese Buddhism. Wudang employs traditional Qi Gong with the internal approach, soft generation of power while Shaolin employs Qi Gong with external approach, hard generation of power. These martial concepts predate the establishment of both Wudang and Shaolin, rooted in Chinese Taoism and Art of War.

    “There was no institutionalized combat training for several centuries after Shaolin was founded. The monks did participate in the battles that helped create the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618–907), but even then there is no evidence that they had developed a unique form of fighting. Historians believed that the monks during the Tang Dynasty simply used common Tang weaponry and were no more skilled in martial arts than any other soldiers. While the earliest records of Shaolin martial arts date from the 14th century, the monks probably started specializing in fighting with a long staff (their signature weapon) during the 12th century. Shaolin expertise in hand-to-hand combat can only be dated to the 16th century.”

    “Meanwhile, kung fu’s history can be traced back to long before the Shaolin monastery was even founded. The Spring and Autumn Annals, which were probably composed between 800–500 B.C., reference “hard” and “soft” martial arts techniques, a division that remains a core kung fu philosophy today. By the time of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368–1644), when Shaolin first became associated with martial arts excellence, kung fu was already common throughout China.”

    source:
    The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts By Meir Shahar

  6. matter of the fact is no matter what or who invented kalaripayattu or shaolinquan ( shaolin style fighting) it cannot change the fact that in modern days these arts are obselete and complete useless. want real self defense lessons practice mma or boxing. western arts are best for self defense

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