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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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