Origins of the Shaolin Wing Chun

Chinese ideogram for storyThe Shaolin Wing Chun Nam Anh school teaches the Wing Chun style of Kung Fu. Its lineage goes up to the Shaolin Temple itself, craddle of Buddhist Kung Fu.

Origins of Kung Fu

The roots of Kung Fu can be found in antique writings dating back to the period of Warring States : they reveal the existence of fighting techniques, with and without arms. Battle accounts of that time illustrate the detailed organization of the armies and the dreadful efficacy of those warriors. These techniques originally developed for military purposes were taught by heteroclites, requested ad hoc by the emperors since Kung Fu schools did not yet exist. It would take many a century for the Kung Fu Schools to come into being as a structured organization whose commitment was to maintain, propagate and develop the martial arts.

Bodidharma

Under the philosophical influence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, two great Schools were created : that of Shaolin and Wu Tang. The first is buddhist and the second is taoist. The buddhist School dates back to the sixth century A.D., well before its taoist counterpart which appeared in the eleventh century. The arrival of the learned Indian buddhist monk Bodidharma at the Shaolin Temple marks the beginning of Shaolin Kung Fu. Born in 483 A.D., the third son of a brahman king of the Sardili clan, well educated according to his time, he was proficient in the arts, politics, sutras and warfare. He was not quite thirty when he left the princely comforts to dedicate his life to attaining enlightenment.Having become a reputable monk, he went to China to propagate the teachings of Buddha as had done many of his Indian predecessors during the era of the Three Kingdoms. Welcomed at the Kuan Temple in the province of Guangdong (Canton) toward 527 A.D., the Governor of Guangdzou recommended Bodidharma, alias Tamo, to Emperor Liang Wu. Legend reports that the Emperor did not appreciate Tamo’s discourse, making but a brief stay in Nanking.
So, he headed for Luoyang, his pilgrimage ending at the Shaolin monastery, a few kilometers away from the capital. As he had taught Chan Buddhism (more commonly known as the Japanese Zen) for several years, Bodidharma established that the very poor health condition the monks were in, would not allow them to raise their consciousness and attain enlightenment. Their life style emphasized meditation at the expense of the physical body. Concerned, he withdrew to a cave and meditated for several years. As legend tells it, these nine years of isolation gave him the inspiration for the three books which are still considered as the most ancient proof of a systematic body of knowledge of the martial arts in China.

These treaties dealt with the three dimensions of the human being according to the traditional concept of the Orient : the physical, the energetic and the mental planes of the body. The first such work, the Book of the transformation of muscles and tendons (Yi Kin King in Cantonese dialect), illustrated the basic exercises for reinforcing the body and increasing the suppleness as well as techniques for combat. The second, the Book on the cleansing of the marrow, Imageconcentrated on energetic exercises. And finally, the third collection was dedicated to spiritual exercises. When Bodidharma returned, he taught these techniques for training both the body and the mind. Once the monks had made this a matter of regular training, their bodily condition and health had been improved. They now had enough strenght to do their day’s work and were vigorous enough to perform their spiritual exercises. Learning combat techniques allowed them to be able to defend themselves against assaults on their monasteries in times of war, and against thieves on the roads. Destroyed and often rebuilt, persecuted by some emperors and valued by others, torn between buddhist, taoist and confucianist lobbies competing for imperial favour, the Shaolin Temple not only survived centuries of political intrigues, but was able to become politically, economically and socially important. It was reknown for its powerful combatants, defenders of the poor and the oppressed. They won fame in many great battles and so instilled imperial history with their glorious deeds.

Thiếu Lâm Tự

At the beginning of the Tang dynasty, the monks played a decisive role in the subjugation of General Wang Shichong by Li Shimin (reign from 626 to 649 A.D.). As an expression of his gratitude, the Emperor (also known as Tai Tsung) gave the monastery more land and authorized them to have their own army. The temple became more illustrious, more prosperous and ultimately a great centre for training in the martial arts during the Yuang and Ming dynasties.

Emperor Chian LungAt the beginning of the Ching dynasty, under the reign of Kan Shi (1661-172 A.D.), the Shaolin Temple remained a powerful center of learning. Its reknown attracted a good number of students, thanks be to an emperor who encouraged the development of all religions. Among these students, many were supporters of the demised Ming dynasty. Trained in the most efficacious combat techniques, these rebels quickly became a serious threat to the government. Emperor Kan Shi severely repressed the Shaolin Temple when it proved to be a center of resistance for the Ming dynasty. His grandson, Emperor Chian Lung (1736-1796 A.D.) organized new punitive expeditions against the temple : stories of betrayal and of the growing number of rebellious secret societies connected with the monastery contributed to the total destruction of the temple and to the massacre of the monks and nuns. Only five great masters survived the butchery, the « Invincible Five » : Jee Shin, Fung Tao Tak, Mieu Hien, Pei Mei and Ng Mui.

“The Invincible Five”

Most of the Kung Fu styles known today originate with these five and are inbued with their legendary feats. They lived out very exciting times for the martial arts, when the pressing need to train combatants quickly required the reform of traditional methods. Numerous schools came onto the scene : some claimed to offer the most effective unarmed techniques, others the quickest training or simply put more emphasis on particular techniques. Among the « Five Invincibles », Ng Mui is the main link between the Wing Chun School and the Shaolin Temple.

Yim Wing Chun

After the annihilation of the monasteries, Ng Mui escaped to the South where she sojourned from monastery to monastery in the provinces of Fujian and Yunan. One day, in a neighbouring village, she met a young girl by the name of Yim Wing Chun : although we cannot specify if this is her birth name or her martial arts name, it signifies « to sing spring » and inaugurates a new era for the martial arts. The most popular accounts report that she was the very pretty daughter of a soya merchant named Yim Shee. One day, a local officer decided he wanted to bethrothe her. His advances rejected, the officer imprisoned Yim Shee. Yim Wing Chun fled and met with Ng Mui who accepted to tutor the young girl. The wedding was delayed, allowing Yim Wing Chun the time to learn certain Kung Fu techniques. When she returned to the village, she announced that it was impossible for her to marry a man who was not her equal in combat. Amused, the officer responded to the challenge : Yim Wing Chun, although victorious in the fight, could not save her father from the officer’s rage. She escaped to find her master who taught her advanced techniques of Shaolin Kung Fu. After several years, their paths separated and Yim Wing Chun became a famous warrior. She raised armies and participated in rebellions against the Ching. She married in time a former student of Shaolin, Leung Bok Chau, and passed him her arts. Lung Ba Cau preserved, developed and taught the style named Wing Chun in honor of his bride. To be continued…