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The Evolution of Oriental
Martial Arts
Extract from TAI CHI CHUAN
TREASURE OF MANKIND by Soon Tuan They
Most Martial Arts
teachers claim that their art was created or passed down by an Indian monk
called Bodhidharma who came to China in 525 A.D.
This belief is based on a preface written by Li Chin for a book called
"Yee Chin Ching" which has been dated at
circa 628 A.D. He claimed that these arts were passed down by "Bodhidharma", the founder of Wushu.
The earliest
known edition of this book was in fact printed in 1827, a period when many
books were written in the names of certain gods, heroes or influential
people. No statement of Bodhidharma on the arts of
"Yee Chin Ching" can be traced in the
original Martial Arts texts (inside or outside) of the Shaolin
Temple (the temple in which Bodhidharma was claimed
to settled) and yet many texts, techniques and pictures have been created
based on this misleading tale.
Martial Arts are the
product of a complex society, where no single individual can be accredited as
their creator. China
is a country formed from over fifty different races. People fought and killed
each other as one culture struggled for precedence over another, or because
justice was then a matter for each individual. Techniques were collected and
passed down by the survivors and perfected by their successors throughout
history. During the thousands of years
of warring history, China
has made Wushu a profound form of art.
Amongst the many chapters
of the "Book of Han" written by Pan Ku (32-92 AD), thirty chapters
describe bare hand, kicking and weapon combat techniques, etc. Some stone
carvings of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-22 AD) have recently been discovered,
which illustrate a well developed system of Wushu present in the Nanyang region of the Honan Province
during that period.
The flow of Chinese
culture, most especially of Wushu from China
to Japan,
took place a long way back in history.
In 238 AD two
"five foot long swords" were given as a gift to Japan. These are believed to have
been modified and developed into the present sophisticated Japanese Katana.
In 1962 a Chinese sword made between 184-189 AD was
found in a grave in Japan.
During the beginning of the Ching
Dynasty, in about 1558, Chen Yen Pin went to Japan at the age of thirty-one to
teach Martial Arts at the Shyo-koku Monastery. Three of his students, Miura Yoshitatsu, Fukuno Masakatsu and Isokai Jino Saemon, formulated the
arts they learnt into Jujitsu, which in 1882 was further modified by the
Founder of Kodo-Kwan, Jigoro
Kano into Judo. Morihei Uyeshiba
a practioner of Jujitsu ,
fencing and spear fighting, incorporated his martial arts understanding with
the philosophy of Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism
and Buddhism. He aroused a great interest when he began teaching in Tokyo in 1927.
This art, developed by Morihei
Uyeshiba, has similar principles to the art of Tai
Chi Chuan with a heavy emphasis on the use of the
centre and lever principles, and is named Aikido.
Most forms of Karate were
developed from the martial arts practised in the Shuri
(called Shurite), Naha
(called Nahate) and Tomari
(called Tomarite) areas of the Okinawan Islands. Karate "the way of Tang
Chinese hand" was later changed to "the way of empty hand" by
the Gichin Funakoshi, the first person who brought
karate from Okinawa to teach in Japan. The Nahate
is now presented as Goju Ryu
Karate. Goju Ryu Karate
was brought over to the Islands by Kanryo Higaonna (1853-1916). As
a boy Kanryo Higaonna was
fascinated with the stories of China. In 1874 Higaonna went to stay in the Hokkien
Province of China for fourteen years. He studied the White Crane System from
Master Ryu Ryu Ko
(Liu Liu Ko). "San Chin", an advanced kata of Karate, is still the foundation set for the White
Crane, Wu Chu, Tai Chu and Chu Kar systems.
Like the Japanese arts,
the Korean Martial Arts were also greatly influenced by the Wushu of China.
Geographically Korea is situated in North East China and in
108 B.C. the Han Chinese Emperor, Han Wu-ti,
successfully sent his army to take over Korea. The natives quickly
adopted Han Chinese Culture but due to the natural cycle of birth, growth,
maturity and decay, which has always followed the inauguration of new
dynasties in China, Korea broke away and reunited with China several
times over the millenia. During the Sui Dynasty
(581-617) Korea was
divided into three separate kingdoms which not only refused to submit to Han
rule but also attempted to expand their territories into China itself.
In 650 A.D. the Tang Dynasty Emperor sent 100,000 soldiers into Korea, thus reclaiming it for China. In
fact, some Koreans still called their Martial Arts "Tang Soo Do" meaning the way of Tang (Chinese) Hands.
In 1895, China was forced to sign an unfair treaty with
Japan which included
relinquishing all her interests over Korea. During the thirty-seven
years of Japanese occupation, the Koreans were forced to practise only the
Japanese Martial Arts.
In 1937, General Choi Hong Hi, the father of TaeKwon
Do, went to Japan,
to further his education. During this time he began to study Karate, under Mr
Kim. In 1954 he consolidated the art he had learned as a child, with Karate
and Kung Fu, forming the base of modern day Tae Kwon Do. In 1965, he was
posted as the Korean ambassador to my country, where he recommended to his
government that the name of Korean Martial Arts be changed from Taesoodo to Taekwondo.
Due to the differences in
physical, environmental and cultural conditions, these techniques of fighting
developed into systems with individual style and flavours. Today there are
129 styles still practised in China.
Some appear to be brutal and hard. Some are simple and linear. Some are more
sophisticated, graceful and artistic. These are categorised into northern and
southern systems, each capable of working as an effective combat system.
However, we are now
living in a much more stable environment where to kill each other is no
longer necessary and certainly frowned upon. A more modern way of practising
these arts is to adapt them as sporting hobbies where the main object is to
encourage healthy living and harmonious society to hand down to our children.
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