One could say that martial arts' began with the evolution of man. The early cave men chasing each other with wooden or bone clubs. In fact, wherever man was, there was sure to be confrontation, all of which required some form of thought out plan of attack. For this short article I will focus on the early history martial arts of Asia, and China in particular.
The whole concept of Kung Fu', which literally means energy and time is related to an individual's dedication to his craft, whether it be some type of talent (music, writing , etc), or skill (as in fighting, dancing, or playing sports). It's roots are in Chinese tradition, and no other society has supported a system of the martial arts like the Chinese. If a person is a respected individual in his craft, based on the many years that person devoted his/her time to it, they are said to have Kung Fu'.
An Indian Buddhist prince, Da Mo came to spend some time at the first Shaolin temple in Huo Nan province in 527 A.D.. When he saw many of the Shaolin monks were weak, and sickly, it is written that he locked himself in a room for nine years for meditation and to find ways to help the monks. When he emerged he wrote two books of techniques which he thought may be helpful. The monks took to practicing his ideas, but found one of the books exercise techniques to be quite strenuous if actually practiced continually. Years later, only one of Da Mo's books became the principle guide to help the monks achieve strength and internal power.
While developing themselves physically through the years, the Shaolin monks devised fighting techniques based on real and mythical animals to go along with their strength training. It was needed to defend themselves against bandits and other threats ( since many monks traveled the countryside helping people and preaching). Eventually, after all the trials and tribulations of the Shaolin temple ( various temple closings due to dynasty changes), many things came about. Although the monks became well respected for their morals, their helping others, and their fighting skills as compared to ordinary people', there were many incidents where renegade monks ran afoul of the Shaolin Way. These monks roamed the countryside killing, looting and teaching their skills to equally bad ordinary folk. On the other hand, many traveling good' monks taught ordinary people they thought to possess good moral character, as was the requirement to learn these martial skills. Many martial arts styles evolved from these occasions.
It was a monk from China who taught the Japanese the soft way of the Ming people', or Judo. The monk had spent his life in Japan during the Ming dynasty. The Japanese developed Judo from his teachings, and went on to develop other forms of martial arts, which added to their arsenal of fighting techniques.
Throughout Asia, many who became proficient with their fighting techniques began teaching others as they roamed about. The arts historians have said derived from the early Shaolin monks, came to Korea, Vietnam, and many other parts of Asia. The principles behind the arts, good moral character, discipline and helping others were also important. The allure of the arts were the ability to adapt to any fighting situation, sometimes using what ordinary people' considered unconventional , but controlled methods to subdue or defeat opponents.
I won't get into the many styles that came about from these practices. I will say that as a basic principle, the person who could last the longest in a fight (through breathing techniques), had more effective techniques ( fist, feet, blocking, and simultaneous counter attacks), and possessed extraordinary flexibility often made them victorious against opponents of many sizes, strengths, and number.
Through meticulous research, the Shaolin monks had devised a fighting system that many people thought made them superhuman.' On the whole, these monks spent more time in the practice of Buddhism than in learning to fight. As the arts spread to the countryside, those who weren't quite as religious dedicated more time to developing and modifying their techniques, many of which comprise the modern Kung Fu'
as we know today.