The practice of war arises when a man wanted something in contention with another man, and since then there has more abandoned. Given the fact that firearms are a recent discovery all things considered, especially in the East, we can not exclude that the martial art is born with the man. However, the historical evidence of the existence of a real combat discipline old times closer to the present and, as far as China, are difficult to distinguish from the legend. In fact, the documentation came up to us is very little or unreliable, such that the historical treatment is necessarily, in our opinion, uncertain.
At age protohistoric, at the time of mythical Yellow Emperor Huang Ti (about 2697 BC), the legend tells of a violent form of combat, the ch'ih yu-hsi, where contenders wore pokrivala equipped with horns, with whom tried to trafiggersi; the same Huang Did it served to defeat the evil monster cornuto Ch'ih Yu, allegorical figure that could conceal a cruel head of the military. More likely it was a struggle based on tested, call you go, survived in a ritual until recently. Archaeological finds instead go back to 1700 BC, in the form of tanks painted with scenes of fighting with bare hands.
With the advent of the Chou dynasty (XI-III sec. BC), appear first on historical martial arts in "Book of Rites", for example, there are numerous descriptions of tenzoni based boxing, the fight , fencing and archery. The name then in vogue for martial arts with bare hands was chi-chi, hitting with skill, military branch minority compared all'arceria or use of the wagons of war. This was a period of great cultural fervour, with the presence of essays that will influence forever thinking Chinese, martial arts included. Among them Kung-Fu Tzu (Confucius), the Taoist Lao Tzu and the great strategists Sun Tzu and Wu Tzu. But contemporary of Confucius was a very wise little known in China itself, the teacher Mo Ti. These, who founded a philosophical system of considerable interest and complexity, it was also a great warrior, a leader of a group of riders that repre -
Tò perhaps the acme of capacity in March -
Tions of Chinese history. It was in the turbulent period of States Combattenti (V-III sec. BC), and these warriors prodi called yu hsie, wandering knights "of the war were very professional inquiry, in the pay of local lords. The famous historian Ssu Ma Chien (lived around 204 BC) speaks to us of yu hsie as individuals of great moral courage disinterested
And determination warrior. Often, when the army where a group of yu hsie was part, was defeated, wandering knights sought refuge in isolated villages on steep mountains or in the quiet of the temples. Here, they could create, under their wise guidance, schools martial and seven warriors, contributing to the confusion between martial skills and philosophical esoteric research that was an integral part of their lives. The Taoists temples, which at the time practiced a doctrine still permeated dall'animismo Chinese autochthonous (Taoism is one of the oldest forms of thought originating in China) were fertile ground for the development of broad philosophy and that is the basis of Kung fu. Sorsero so arts at the edge of magic, mysterious names as shu black art, literally "technical-art"; yin sen shu art to rid the body or Mou Shan shu art of the mountains mou. E 'should be remembered, however, that teachers who took the limelight these arts attingevano to ancient practices like the mists of time, that they were not that the most recent custodians.
So we come through a swing of revolts and years of peace, prosperity to the great Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). During this period martial arts with bare hands who were called ch'iao, skills and talent, or shou somewhat, and when it affects a handful; dates instead the century. D.C. The invention on the part of Kuo I shou chang, long hand, a style that has a good chance of being a direct antecedent of the Shaolin temple boxing. Spodestati the Han, began the "Period of Three Kingdoms" (220-280 AD), during which martial arts were significantly refined and many heroes will rimpinguarono legends. Shortly before this time, the doctor Taoist To Hua (141-208) codified "the game of 5 animals", a series of physical exercises and energy that took inspiration from five animals (other historical second animals would have been 10): The Tigre, bear, deer, monkeys and cranes. And 'This is one of the first witnesses of inspiration for a physical practice to the animal kingdom, that custom dear to become masters of martial arts.
The next step in the history of kung fu to the event ever more popular; This is the appropriation on Chinese soil in 527 of the Indian priest Bodidharma, 28 º patriarch of Buddhism, which was erroneously considered the initiator of Shaolin kung fu . Shaolin Szu (the Monastery of the Little Forest) stood on the slopes of one of the sacred mountains of China, Song Shan in the province of Honan, which was built in 496 by Wen Ti to accommodate the Indian monaco Ba Yours and probably had already housed within its walls some monaco expert in the art of combat, or some expert warrior, attracted by the recent rifioritura of Buddhist doctrine. What most likely did Bhodidharma (Ta Mo in Chinese), in addition to a decisive turning point in Chinese Buddhism with the consolidation of Ch'an sect, was credited to the Shaolin techniques inspired yoga, to help the monks better endure the exhausting meditation sessions. In this respect, we attribute to Bhodidharma two treaties clear matrix anatomical physiological: 'The Chin Ching "Treaty on the movement of tendons and" Hsi Sui Ching "Treaty washing bone marrow. There still seems so impossible that Ta Mo knew of fighting techniques, since he son of a king and more coming from one of the historical homelands of ancient Indian martial arts, Madras, in Kerala. Even more likely it appears that in those years, between all that way-Vai Indian monks in China intent to spread Buddhism and Chinese monks to study in India, there has been some exchange of knowledge martial.
Either way, a hundred years after the disappearance, shrouded in mystery, of Ta Mo, began to resound throughout China as being formidable fighters of Shaolin monks. The physical and mental training as dall'ascetismo monastic probably gave fruit. Meanwhile, in the whole history of the monastery, it was safe for robbers repented and converted warriors or hunted. All experts in the art of war, who were able to compare with what is practiced among the monks. So the baggage of Shaolin kung fu grew, as well as his reputation, to reach the summit between 1500 and 1600. The stories of saying that it was not at all easy to be allowed to study in Shaolin Szu, and that once admitted, the novice was tested and humiliations that would have discouraged even the strongest, all with the aim of the personality test.
The was then shaved his head, which a senior monaco, during a special ceremony, applied for burns through a pasta plant warmed by a stick of incense. That was the mark indelibly suggellava the choice of monaco. At that time it was not easy to penetrate the monastery, and even leave without the blessing of superiors, as the access roads to it were costellate of infide deadly traps. The Shaolin priest could leave the temple only when teachers, it had judged ready. At that point, according to legend, he had to overcome one final, terrible test: 36 rooms. Was this a path between the secret of the temple, which had monaco go to reach the portal that led outside. There would have found a heavy bronze cauldron filled with hot coals, which went on its flanks of inlays in the form of dragon and Tigre; nell'afferrarlo to move from, the mark of the dragon and Tigre would be imprinted on a fire his forearms, to seal forever on membership. But each of the 36 rooms concealed deadly pitfalls, against which the monaco should fight to prove its value and its preparation. According to a more realistic version of history, the monaco faced 36 brothers, each of which would combattutto in different ways and without exclusion of strokes.
One of the first styles of Shaolin you memory is the Sho Pa Luohan Shou, 18 hands of the disciples of Buddha, under whose name should be also moves come down to us. Famous were also 32 technical t'ai tzu chang ch'uan, the boxing long the Great Ancestor, developed by Yin Chao K'uang (X sec.). At the same dynasty belonged also the famous Chinese general and hero Yüeh Fei, able in the spear and creator of AR tuan chin, the Eight Pieces of Broccato, a gymnastics energy that prepares the body to kung fu. There will also attaches leggendariamente the creation of the famous style internal hsing-i. But the style that is more easily brought to the monastery is the wu hsing ch'uan, the five forms of boxing, which had followed, as it did Hua To, the way to fight the 5 animals: the dragon, tiger, leopard , the snake and crane. It was codified in the sixteenth century. Chueh from monaco Yuan, having benefited from the recommendations and amendments to the Shaolin style, Sou masters Li and Yu Feng Pai. The 70 technical shape wu hsing original are, as if they know, lost, and the forms are all homonymous current constitution far back.
Meanwhile think were some forms somewhat 'soft most of Shaolin, like rou ch'uan, pugila -
To soft and mien ch'uan, handful of cotton, precursors of interior styles, in fact, to assist the real division between interior and exterior styles, we will wait for the Ching dynasty (1644-1911). We are here to another crucial point in the history of kung fu: from 1644 to 1911, China was dominated by the Manchu, a rough population barbaric North who conquered by force of the imperial throne, spodestando the last Ming emperor. Since the early moments between the Chinese people rose hotbeds of revolt and resistance to foreigners.
The religious orders warriors deployed in the front line, and monasteries became centers of training and shelter for the rebels. This is not to escape -
To invader, which, in addition to banning the death penalty the practice of martial arts and the use of weapons in 1736
Destroyed, and was the second time the Shaolin Monastery. The diaspora of the monks escaped the attack, which followed, led them to disperse throughout the Chinese territory. They secretly gave to train the people, wherever they were, in view of the rebellion anti-Manchu. This caused on the one hand the wide spread among the civilian population of martial secrets, which for centuries had been reserved only for carefully selected individuals, the other caused the dispersion of the masters on a vast territory, leading to the further fragmentation of knowledge and styles. At the same time, undoubtedly with the input of these clandestine monks and clan warriors, there was a flourishing of secret societies, born to oppose the excessive power of the rulers and care for the oppressed people.
They were the precursors of modern triads, then degenerate to the status of criminal gang. Thanks to this diaspora, however, many styles North could reach the southern provinces. In this respect there is a story, relayed in the sphere of kung fu that the monks escaped the destruction of the Shaolin Temple of 1736 found refuge in the south, in the region of Fuchien there and built a second temple (according to some authors of the Shaolin Temple Fuchien had already exist, as well as other homonyms belonging to the same order), which created the Shaolin school South (Siu Lam in Cantonese), which had to influence the formation of certain styles of the time. But a few years later, the temple of Fuchien followed the fate of the first and this time only 5 monks survived to give birth to new styles of South Shaolin. Among them the fat choi them, hung gar, and the gar mok. Moreover it was during the Ching dynasty nefanda emerging at the forefront of history many styles still known as the t'ai chi ch'uan and the pa kua for internal school, pak hok, pak mei and wing chun for the southern school.
The Ching dynasty fell following a rebellion in 1911 and a year later was proclaimed the Republic.
Once again, martial arts risorsero a new life, backed away by the government, which came to found a Nanching a great Navy kung fu Nanching Kuo Shu Kuan, where they were called to teach some of the greatest masters of .
Great masters, whose name still shines in the annals of the various schools. But the story had a new Serbian storm for martial arts homelands: starting from the power of the Communist Mao Tse Tung (1 October 1949), the governmental offices have tried to reorganize the vast panorama of indigenous martial arts, epurandole by most martial techniques and thus creating a sports exercise, a kind of gymnastic choreography by martial characterized, first, very spectacular, the other by a greater care for the healthy aspects of the practice. This discipline, which has returned to the name wu shu, is now regulated in China People, the Ministry of Sports and taught by instructors of physical education employees by the Ministry itself. Very little to do, then, with the wisdom of warrior 'ancient kung fu (or, as mentioned, wu shu old).
The establishment of Communism in China and the consequent Rivolu-Cultural represented a dark period in the history of Chinese martial as a result of ferocious persecution which were submitted by the traditional masters, which were consequently forced to scrub or all ' Emigration, if they had not chosen to comply with the new laws. Only in recent times the situation seems to go decidedly improving, with a revaluation of the rich historical heritage of the kingdom of half. Meanwhile, art hedonistic reached the shores of the West. It was the beginning of the 70s when the film screens all over the world were crossed by meteor Bruce Lee. An ambitious young man who knew the language quickly move as much as his hands, he showed to the whole world as a little Chinese, thanks to a technique called exotic pieces were easy to anyone intralciasse the road. Coming from a few years at the school wing chun of the famous Yip Man, Lee Shao Long (Little Dragon Lee, this is his Chinese name), a fighter of great talent and choose from living, brought to the fore in the community of young martial arts Western, the name kung fu, Chinese martial arts. Bruce Lee, as well as film star and cult phenomenon, the law may come into this gallery as one of the last creators of a valid way of fighting, which in reality is specified as himself, a non-style, which uses all what is useful without ever pastoie crystallize in the form of a default. One son style of the times and needs modern, precisely for this reason that goes beyond the limits of traditional kung fu here Treaty.
Lee nevertheless opened the door to good teachers who, emigrated from the motherland China or neighbouring countries, have begun to wear, and hesitation among some misunderstanding, the authentic kung fu gyms in the white devils (the nickname affibbiato by the Chinese to Westerners). The United States, because of previous ties dating all'800 were privileged territory and as regards Europe, the French may well boast of having been the first to approach the Asian martial arts. Without exclude contacts by European armies during military campaigns. Think first to the motion of xenophobic Ho Ch'uan (Fists of Justice
And Armo-nia), known in the West as a revolt of the Boxers, precisely because of conduct by practicing kung fu. These (especially those who, coming from shantung, followed a form esoteric style ch'uan mei hua), the first to face the battle, autosuggestionavano with mystical practices, so impenetrable to be considered by the bullets of large artillery and departmental Westerners. As a result, when the boxers are tossed to white between files rifleman, it was not the supposed invincibility, but the soldiers were literally European abbacinati almost superhuman capabilities demonstrated by these men in combat. Recently then made his appearance outside of China People also already mentioned sport of wushu modern, supported with promotional emphasis by the government in Beijing and welcomed everywhere (even if the first real appearance had it in the Corsican Olympics Berlin, 1936). First choreography based solely on the individual athlete or fighting preordered, with bare hands or arms, discipline for a few years has been enriched in a sector that deals free of combat sports, sanda. The encrypted for wushu competitions are also divided into North styles (chang ch'uan) and South (nan ch'uan) with the addition of categories reserved for so-called imitation of styles and interior styles. Even in a lot of kung fu, wushu or traditional, is now developed sport, which in reality would be a contradiction in Orthodox schools are well aware. Again, there are competitions form pairs or single, with or without weapons, and combat free races, but generally the rules of attribution of points differ from those of modern wushu, insofar as the intent differ ideals of the two arts.
Stefano Pernatsch
(Dall'Enciclopedia stretch of martial arts for sale through the portal)

(This article was translated by a machine translation software and not by one person)