The Chinese philosophy is a stretch inseparable from kung fu and a very important one. A warrior had to do with death, with fear, with their human weaknesses, which you asked, because of its role, to overcome daily also, which is not negligible, warriors intuirono soon that a mind and a forged spirit were equally important body of a well-trained, to win in battle. To force things, therefore, passed through the disciplines of philosophy and religious needs of the warriors, on the one hand most mental balance, the other for greater efficiency in combat.
Besides the monks in their spiritual search, could not disregard, if not wanted to give up the primary purpose of knowing oneself, issues that lie deep in the human soul and of course, as aggression and hatred, fear and insecurity, the insecurity in the face of death. All elements in the life of a warrior, as already said, was inevitably impregnated. Research on ourselves has always been arduous battle, so spiritual and psychological qualities of a warrior were quite comfortable, even if the enemy were the demons that celavano in their hearts and weapons used to defeat swords and fists symbolic . On the other hand in the East was not ever the laceration between body and mind that has painfully marked the West, especially from Descartes onwards, for which China has been always known that a journey of personal search was cultivating with equal importance the body that the psyche, because of their mutual understanding, narrow, influence. The East is full of paradoxes, but these are apparently only; not surprising that China hard for a peaceful mind through his ability to fight only being able to complete understanding of their aggressiveness and their fear is may be able, not to overcome them, but not to be overwhelmed and controlled. A man conscious of being able to win in any circumstance, it will be in harmony with itself and with others and not trastullerà nell'inutile off its power. And when is not perceived enemies or more contenders around him, and even within itself, which you can get very close to both praised universal love, a love that comes from spassionato not feel separated from other aspects of the creation, animated or not. Yes, the monks had also need to know kung fu to defend themselves against hazards encountered in their long wandering, but also to develop this awareness. Here's how a school fighting could represent a way to confront election themselves, as well as others. In martial arts you are to look in the eye the spectre of death and that in the long run can bring to light the hidden sides of ego in order to deal with awareness and razpusti nodes. Bruce Lee said: "Calci and fists are the tools to kill me".
The history of kung fu, which is closely linked to that of his homeland, China, alternating moments when the art was mainly aimed at other physical clash in which the practice "interior" was more important politically as it constantly alternated periods of peace and war; very often the two approaches coexisted: where, in a Taoist temple isolated between the mountains, pursued in the search of peace between the craft of a feudal village is affilavano arms to overthrow the oppressors in power. It is no coincidence, however, that the practitioners of martial arts which were not professional soldiers were always involved in the battles of Chinese history, deploying indeed frontrunner religious orders, directed by leaded seven taoiste (Turbanti Yellow, White Lotus etc. ), the Buddhist monks, Shaolin first. This is also because people who votavano a certain way, it was impossible to ignore the welfare or social values such as equality and freedom. Similarly, it should be sought at this point why very often the oppressors to command scagliarono warriors against monasteries and schools martial They feared the great power that lay "under the embers in these places, ready to explode in all its effectiveness (the Shaolin temple was set on fire three times by the armies dominant).
The philosophical systems that rise to the basis and foundation of kung fu are the same people who have essentially given the thought and not only Chinese: Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism, with the addition, even if rarely acknowledged, the aforementioned mohismo (see chapter on historical facts). Influenza child had Islamism, almost exclusively in the Chinese Muslim community, with the style cha ch'üan, lamaismo primitive, and Manichaeism with commistioni zoroastriane.

Buddhism
Buddhism was born and developed in the north of India between the sixth and fifth centuries. BC, while in China stood genes philosophical Kung-Fu Tzu and Lao Tzu and Greece were circulating the ideas of Plato and Socrates. Founder of this new philosophy, destined to become one of the most popular religions world, it was Prince Siddhartha, the first king-Suddho
Dana, the family of the Shakya (hence the nickname of posthumous Siddhartha, Shakyamuni, "the essay of Sha-kya"). He had lived up to 29 years relegated between the splendours of the palace father until one day, the pain became coscente that seemed attanagliare humanity, decided to dedicate his life to finding a way to liberate man from suffering ; Siddhartha understood that the cause of the pain was in constant yearnings of the human heart, which were of well-being, pleasure, satisfaction or whatever. The cure could be the extinction of these desires through the posting. One of the pillars of his teaching is dall'Ottuplice Trail: faith pure, pure intentions, language pure, pure action, life pure, pure effort, concentration pure, pure memory. After several pilgrimages, both material and spiritual, Siddhartha came to the lighting of 35 years, thereby the name of Buddha, which means "one who is enlightened." He spread its doctrine throughout India until death Kusinara to 80 years of age. Almost 200 years later, on Buddhism will be divided into branch Mahayana (Great Vehicle), more developed in northern Asia, and Hinayana (Small Vehicle), also known as Theravada (the Doctrine of the Antique), which spread mainly in the countries of South, like Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka and Indochina.
Buddhism first appeared in China during the first period of the reign of the Han (206 BC-220 AD) and its penetration Celeste Empire was facilitated by the opening of Silk Road, a street which called into contact extreme eastern countries like India and China with Central Asia and areas Occidenta-le. Perhaps it was precisely travelers and merchants first to circulate ideas Buddhist, which soon were followed by real itinerant monks until religious Chinese took to make travel for the purpose of erudition in India and Central Asia, while Indian priests ricambiavano visits settling in China.
The barrier of translation from Sanskrit and Pali of the sacred texts of Buddhism was then gradually overcome. The first Indian missionaries to go down in history for having established in Chinese territory, in capital Luoyang, were Matanga and Bhorana, Hinayana school. It was 67 d.C. And year after it was built to house the monastery of White Horse (Pai But Sze). Buddhism, especially given current Mahayana, reached its peak during the Sui and Tang dynasties (VI-IX sec. AD), and then, starting from around 1300, went falling into disgrace, especially since acremente contrasted Confucian traditionalism.
The current Mahayana Buddhism most famous of China was that Ch'an (become Zen in Japan), a term derived from the Pali jhnana, which means "meditation". In Chinese land it was preceded by Lao Chang School, the School Mysticism and the School of Light Interior. All three were enormously influenced by the thought of Taoists Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, so they can define an original syncretism of Buddhism and Taoism.
The first teachers of the school were probably Ch'an An Tao (312-385) and his disciples Tao Sheng
(360-434) and Chiao Seng (384-414). But the most important part of Ch'an school, much to be called the founder official was Indian-Bodhidhar
But. He was probably the son of the king of Kerala, the southern region of India, Sughanda and disciple of Prajnatara, XXVII patriarch of Buddhism, direct descendant of Shakyamuni Buddha. According to a story narrated by images on the walls of a temple of Kerala, Bhodidharma had contrariare some important bhramini (the priestly caste Hindus) with his revolutionary activities as head of numerous monasteries in the area. However, we know that this Indian priest moved on Chinese soil in 527. When they arrived in the south of the country, preceded by his reputation, he was received by the king of the time, Emperor Wu, fervent Buddhist. During the discussion with Wu and with scholars court, as well as on other occasions meeting, Ta Mo had noted that the status of Chinese Buddhism was very deteriorated, compared with the first time, and now seemed reduced to a series of blank principles academics. Contrariato from that, he traveled to the North, where homeless taken at the Shaolin Monastery in dell'Honan region.
Legend has it that Bodhidharma spent nine years in meditation sitting in a cave near the temple, after which his shadow remained imprinted on the cave wall, but he was able to understand the language of ants. The reality is that Ta Mo instructed to Shaolin many disciples, laying the groundwork imperiture school Ch'an. Bhodidharma taught that enlightenment can only occur with sudden intuition, sought through meditation techniques, breathing and concentration, which serve to create a vacuum in the minds, free from the influences of intellect. Following this direct and practical way, the mind becomes a pure mirror which reflects all that is, without feeling attachment. Easy to imagine the benefits of Ch'an for warrior: fear, anger, pain not have taken on the mind of a disciple, which thus is free to respond in the most appropriate, it is a counterattack or instant remain calm in front of the danger and death.
It accesses a different vision of reality, seizing more awareness of the present moment where life is done. It may well become detached spectators of reality, part of the emotions without being dominated. Indeed, when you will not be more victims unaware of the storms of the heart, you can live emotions in a more pure and satisfactory.
We only this, given the complexity of speech, as well as more esoteric branches of Buddhism, as happened for Taoism, influenced some schools special martial arts.
Finally, the non-violent nature of Buddhism to his followers imposed a ban kill, or even to spread human blood. This greatly influenced the code of conduct of kung fu schools, especially those more oriented Buddhist philosophy. These precepts are not present in schools derivation Taoist, where even the loss of life in combat is often seen as a natural consequence of the momentary disruption cosmic harmony.

Confucianism
Kung-Fu Tzu (Confucius) lived between the sixth and fifth century. BC, in a very turbulent and characterized by a certain social decay. The goal that Confucius was sought to give his contemporaries a system of thought that created men virtuous useful to themselves, but also to society and the state. For this, he placed the emphasis on a set of principles already more or less rooted in Chinese culture, only enfatizzandone or ordinandone some aspects. Confucius was a great admirer of the ancient sages and their writings, which often read and recommended to his disciples. It only gave a rather subjective. The most important principles of Confucianism, as exposed in the writings Lun Yu ( "Analecta", the sayings of Confucius), Ta Hsue (the Great Studio, good governance) and the Chung Yung (Righteous Medium: rules of life ):
-- Jen, that human sensitivity, a moral virtue that we can identify with that of the founder: "Do not do unto others what you do not want to be done to you. Do to others what you want done to you both. Still, Confucius himself said that "Jen is nell'amare others".
-- I, which translates to "righteousness": the principle that the second Confucians must imperare above everything in the human heart, in contrast to the temptations of selfish desires in favour of a law morally superior.
-- Hsiao, filial piety, which, in addition to family relationships and with the ancestors, it must also cover the necessary hierarchies within society and the government.
-- Finally Li, label or rites: all those schemes which must govern human actions, in particular the relationship between individuals; second Confucius, virtually every aspect of a man's life should be governed by such rites, encoded bearing in mind what had right for the good of humanity.
The man who constantly pursued these virtues and arricchiva himself with the reading of the classics, was evolved to become a complete human being. And Confucius often stressed that this progress had done for the benefit of society, because society revolves around the well-being of the world. But he, in consultation with the nourishment of the mind, do not forget to put an emphasis on the importance of physical culture, as the necessary integration of theoretical studies. He himself very loved martial arts, especially archery and the use of carts by war, most in vogue at the time. A Confucius community of kung fu, as well as Chinese people in general, should many of the principles that govern the behavior, as well as numerous rites, following which the student enters more easily in touch with the mental and spiritual most consonant with the practice. So the ceremony of acceptance of a student in a school, the relationship between teacher and students and among students of varying length, are all heavily influenced by Confucian doctrine. The same goes for the various ceremonies and anniversaries, such as greeting or almost venerante respect for the masters of the past. Another important element is that Confucius believed in the fact, seen as the will of heaven, a sort of predestined plan that can not be changed by ordinary mortals. If this vision was guilty of holding on too long nell'immobilismo different social classes, it is also true that it helped alleviate the fear and uncertainty caused by many individuals in many unstable periods of Chinese history.
A worthy interpreter theories of the philosopher Confucius was Meng Tzu (Mencius), who lived between the fourth and third century., Who spoke, of course, good creature, as critical link, in the cosmos, including the Earth in the sky. In addition, he insisted on the very virtues of sincerity (cheng) to its Confucian principles. A From the century. Develops a new philosophy called neoconfucianesimo. It further stressed the concept of Li as a guiding principle in everything in the universe, and then dealing with a kind of cosmogony, seek to build bridges between Confucianism and Taoism, otherwise irreconcilable.


Taoism
The Taoism is an array of ancient philosophical ancestral heritage of Chinese people. The Taoists have always been conscious of being the guardians of truth primordial, a treasure hidden for 5000 years. 3700 years before Christ, the enigmatic imperato -
For re-hi traspose writing those arcane text cosmogonici Yi-Ching (Book of Changes), in which, in a language that today seems initiatory were described laws underlying the constantly changing forms of the universe. The effort of Taoist mystical was always to penetrate the secret of these laws to comply with es -
If and achieve harmony
Between heaven, earth and man, between micro-and macrocosm.
The essential balance of the two energies that in the cosmos duettano and integrate continuously, the yin and the yang, which in l'yi-ching was represented by a solid line and a broken, appeared in the alternative representation of the famous symbol t ' to those who t'u. Although Yi-Ching was then catalogued as one of the Confucian classics 5, was that it arose from the genius of Lao Tzu (born, according to the usual Ssu Ma Chien, in 604 BC in the province of Honan). These, whose name means "wise old man", was the one that best defined the principles of Taoist doctrine, through a book and a second part of the Tao Te Ching (the Book of the Way and Virtue), and Chang Tai-Kan Pien ing (the Book of Sanctions Tai Chang, "es -
Evenings higher "), transcribed and completed by his students. Lao Tzu advised to adapt to the natural way of things without the intervention of disharmonious human will is the Taoist principle of wu wei, the non-acting, or rather wei wu wei, act without acting. Other names for Taoism were Chuang Tzu, the fourth sec.aC, Chang Ling and Tao Ge Hsuen, the founders of an esoteric branch of Tao, said Taoism not orthodox or heretic. Nothing more of the teachings of Lao Tzu can give an idea of Taoism. For example: "Those who know others is wise, who knows himself is enlightened." "The Tao that can be expressed with words is not the true Tao." And again, on harmony of opposites: "Everyone in the world knows that beauty is beautiful and thus admit the ugly. All recognize the good as well and in this way allow evil. And so: to be and will not be generated each other, difficult and easy complement one another, long and short are measured between them, high and low confront each other, sounds and voice harmonize together, first and then another. " The Taoism was and is a philosophy initiatory, sometimes degenerated into liturgies religious or magical superstitions for his nature, it was often hidden in the shadow of seven secret, or within bitter romitaggi mountain where the monks to consi exercise their natural alchimie far from the turmoil of the material world. These practices were of enormous importance to the kung fu, incorporating many meditation techniques, work on different internal energy (ching, ch'ie shen), as well as knowledge on the body, the human mind and nature. So many styles internal kung fu arose from taoiste ideas: first of all the t'ai chi ch'üan, then wu tang ch'üan, pa kua and others less known. How worthy conclusion, beyond the individual philosophies, a sentence of the man who was in the thirties, the 29 º abbot of the Shaolin Temple, Chen Shu: "A practitioner to become master, a true artist in martial arts, will train hard , with perseverance and obstinacy, and cultivate noble moral principles under the instructions of a good guide. In addition, the practitioner must be able to fight and hit with a smile, never be because of violence and, in case of aggression, even get to be struck before sferrare a coup. In addition, a practitioner, as an expert, will never be worthy of the teachings of his masters, if its actions are not free from evil thoughts and intentions.

Stefano Pernatsch
(Dall'Enciclopedia stretch of martial arts for sale through the portal)
The Technique

Generally speaking, the kung fu is one of the most complete martial arts, was born and grew up at a time when the fighting had to be the most effective and complete as possible, in all levels. Here then that the baggage of more traditional styles are a very wide range of shots, taken with virtually every part of the body: the hands, feet, elbows, knees, shoulders and head. The large family of kung fu styles is divided into South and North and depending on the characteristics of different peoples and places have developed the second case. It is used for example to say that the North styles are characterized by broader positions and kicked high and acrobatic, while those from South kick low and small positions, with a predilection for short trips and techniques of hand, but this is a generalization is not always confirmed. Another division, which dates from a few centuries ago, is between external styles (called wai) and interior styles (in calls). In the first start favouring el'atletismo muscle strength, while in the second inner energy and concentration. With the progress of the practice, however, this division will tend to disappear. In strict hand may take different forms in imitation of the animals or philosophical principles, so we leg of the dragon, or the leopard Tigre, dell'aquila claws, beak crane, the hooves of the horse, ol'uncino muzzle of the serpent of the praying mantis. The hand can also represent the blade of a sword or the tip of a spear, and so forth. Dell'arte of shots is also the study of vital points (tien hsue and dim mak), drawn from traditional Chinese medicine, that if beaten in particular can give results fearsome, up to legendary techniques and esoteric, like " palm that vibrates, "which seems to cause the death of a person over time, only sfiorandola with his hand. The kung fu includes several key techniques articulate, with breaks or dislocations resulting (chin na), the projections, the fight hand-to-hand, the one on the ground (not infrequently, however, overlooked by some Orthodox tradition) and falls. Some schools have specialized in the techniques of breaking distinguished from those of other martial arts for more soft and natural, body conditioning, which generally does not provide for the formation of calluses or bone deformations of the anatomical structure.
Once you have reached a certain expertise in the techniques with bare hands, we can approach to the study of weapons, which are traditionally 18, but depending on the styles can be more. Among them are: the sword (chien), the most noble and difficult weapons, and the sabre (tan tao), associated with the Tigre, a symbol of strength and courage; spear (chiang), archery (kung), 'halberd (Kuan Tao, in honor of the great General Kuan Yu), the trident (ch'a), typical of the South and also used for hunting tigers; sticks, in various shapes and sizes (pang, kun, chang kun etc.), sticks snodati two, three or four pieces (shuang and St ask kun, szu asked t'ang), steel chains (kang pien) and the double swords uncinate (shuang kou). Do not separate from all this are the breathing techniques, movement of chi (energy internal) and meditation, to varying degrees in different ways including in practice. That's why "to learn kung fu is not just a lifetime."

Stefano Pernatsch
(Dall'Enciclopedia stretch of martial arts for sale through the portal)

The Technique

Generally speaking, the kung fu is one of the most complete martial arts, was born and grew up at a time when the fighting had to be the most effective and complete as possible, in all levels. Here then that the baggage of more traditional styles are a very wide range of shots, taken with virtually every part of the body: the hands, feet, elbows, knees, shoulders and head. The large family of kung fu styles is divided into South and North and depending on the characteristics of different peoples and places have developed the second case. It is used for example to say that the North styles are characterized by broader positions and kicked high and acrobatic, while those from South kick low and small positions, with a predilection for short trips and techniques of hand, but this is a generalization is not always confirmed. Another division, which dates from a few centuries ago, is between external styles (called wai) and interior styles (in calls). In the first start favouring el'atletismo muscle strength, while in the second inner energy and concentration. With the progress of the practice, however, this division will tend to disappear. In strict hand may take different forms in imitation of the animals or philosophical principles, so we leg of the dragon, or the leopard Tigre, dell'aquila claws, beak crane, the hooves of the horse, ol'uncino muzzle of the serpent of the praying mantis. The hand can also represent the blade of a sword or the tip of a spear, and so forth. Dell'arte of shots is also the study of vital points (tien hsue and dim mak), drawn from traditional Chinese medicine, that if beaten in particular can give results fearsome, up to legendary techniques and esoteric, like " palm that vibrates, "which seems to cause the death of a person over time, only sfiorandola with his hand. The kung fu includes several key techniques articulate, with breaks or dislocations resulting (chin na), the projections, the fight hand-to-hand, the one on the ground (not infrequently, however, overlooked by some Orthodox tradition) and falls. Some schools have specialized in the techniques of breaking distinguished from those of other martial arts for more soft and natural, body conditioning, which generally does not provide for the formation of calluses or bone deformations of the anatomical structure.
Once you have reached a certain expertise in the techniques with bare hands, we can approach to the study of weapons, which A=πr^2 traditionally 18, but depending on the styles can be more. Among them are: the sword (chien), the most noble and difficult weapons, and the sabre (tan tao), associated with the Tigre, a symbol of strength and courage; spear (chiang), archery (kung), 'halberd (Kuan Tao, in honor of the great General Kuan Yu), the trident (ch'a), typical of the South and also used for hunting tigers; sticks, in various shapes and sizes (pang, kun, chang kun etc.), sticks snodati two, three or four pieces (shuang and St ask kun, szu asked t'ang), steel chains (kang pien) and the double swords uncinate (shuang kou). Do not separate from all this are the breathing techniques, movement of chi (energy internal) and meditation, to varying degrees in different ways including in practice. That's why "to learn kung fu is not just a lifetime."

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.