As the mainstream of Chinese martial arts, Shaolin Martial Arts has the broadest scope, the longest history, and the largest variety of fist techniques. It occupies a decisive position in the culture of Chinese Martial Arts. Well goes the saying that “All martial arts come out of Shaolin; Shaolin Martial Arts exceeds in the world.”

The Shaolin Temple of Mount Song in Dengfeng of central China’s Henan Province is the birth place of Shaolin Martial Arts. During the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), an Indian monk, Batuo, came to China and was reverently received by Emperor Xiaowen. In the nineteenth year of Taihe (495), Emperor Xiaowen ordered a temple to be constructed in Mount Song as an offering to Batuo. During the Taihe years (477-499) under the reign of the Emperor Xiaowen in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Bodhidharma, the twenty-eighth Patriarch of the Buddhist sect of Chan (also known as Zen Buddhism), came from South India to visit the Shaolin Temple and teach Zen Buddhism. He was revered as the first Patriarch of Chinese Chan sect, and the Shaolin Temple was therewith honored as the “Ancestral Temple of Chinese Zen Buddhism”.

The martial arts are named after the temple, while the temple is noted for its martial arts. The fame of the Shaolin Temple has been passed on from the past to the present mainly because of the Shaolin Martial Arts it has developed. There are a variety of legends with regards to the origin of Shaolin Martial Arts. According to the legend, Bodhidharma was sitting in meditation all day long against the stone wall. In order to soothe inevitable fatigue and cramping, he followed the exercise movements of the working people and blended in with the postures of animals, birds, insects and fish, which were subsequently compiled into moves to strengthen the body and cultivate nature. They became the prototype of Shaolin Quan (fist). Another legend has it that Shaolin Martial Arts originated from Batuo’s two disciples, Huiguang and Sengchou. They were physically strong and capable of special feats with mastery in martial arts. It was these two disciples who brought martial arts to the Shaolin Temple.

These two above-mentioned legends have no historical records for reference. In fact, the climate of practicing martial arts had already been around in temples during the Northern Dynasties (386-581). Shaolin Martial Arts was created out of the Shaolin monks’ long-term practice of Chan (Zen) meditation, monasticism, temple protective measures and fitness exercises. It had absorbed the essence of different sects of martial arts in China and integrated Chinese Martial Arts with Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Through continuous development and improvement, a rich-in-content, practicality-oriented and unique-styled martial arts school was formed. With its strong, powerful and fast style, Chan-Wushu integrated cultivation, as well as extensive and profound nature, it has gathered itself a reputation and renown from all over the world. It is also known as Wushu Chan (Zen of Martial Arts).

By the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-907), Shaolin Martial Arts had already enjoyed great prestige. In the temple, strong and powerful monks were selected to undergo training for Shaolin Martial Arts and assume the task of guarding the monasteries. Later in time, Shaolin monks were also involved in political activities, and the temple began to train monk soldiers. The most legendary tale among the stories of the Shaolin Temple was the one about how the thirteen staff warrior monks came to the aid of the King of Tang.

The reputation of the Shaolin Temple was so widely spread that many heroes from different places were attracted by its fame to study martial arts together and befriend each other, which further promoted the development of Shaolin Martial Arts. According to legend, the founding Emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), Zhao Kuangyin, was a lay disciple of the Shaolin Temple who had obtained the true heritage of Shaolin Martial Arts. Zhao Kuangyin enjoyed practicing martial arts and fist fighting skills. He had never composed a variety of Tao Lu or forms. During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties (1115-1368), Master Jueyuan of the Shaolin Temple once invited martial arts master Li Sou and Bai Yufeng to teach martial arts and exchange views at the Shaolin Temple. They studied and discussed various Gong Fu, such as fist fighting, swordsmanship, staff techniques, Qin Na (catching tactics) and so on. Master Jueyuan made significant contributions to the development of Shaolin Martial Arts and was later regarded as the Revival Patriarch of Shaolin fist fighting techniques. The Shaolin Temple often invited martial arts masters from different places to come and teach martial arts at the Temple. Yu Dayou, a famous general that fought against Wo Kou (Japanese pirates) during the Ming Dynasty, was teaching the staff techniques at the Shaolin Temple.

Shaolin Martial Arts worked with other schools and made mutual improvements by learning from each other’s strong points to offset the weakness. Over time, it gradually developed into a martial arts school composed of fist fighting forms, San Da (free-style fighting), weapon forms and exercise techniques. Being extensive and profound, Shaolin Martial Arts is not only rich in content, but also teeming with sophisticated forms. According to the records of training manuals passed down within the Temple, Shaolin currently has 708 forms of martial arts, including 552 sets of fist fighting and weapon forms. Beyond that, there are a total of 156 categorized drill works such as the 72 unique feats, Qin Na, Qi Gong (inner-energy techniques), Ge Dou (grappling techniques), Dian Xue (acupoint hitting) and Xie Gu (bone-dislocating techniques).