Chinese
Wushu* orginated in China even as far as the era of Chun Chiu and Chan
Kuo, but the name of Shaolin was not used until very much later.
It was during the reign of Emperor Liangwuti (A. D. 520) that Damo (Daruma
Taishi), Bodhidharma or Ta Mo, an Indian monk came to China to preach
Buddhism. After he had been received in audience by the Emperor, he
went to the Shaolin Temple of Mount Songshan and meditated there for
nine consecutive years. During his stay in the temple, he taught the
monks the art of health nourishing exercises. The three main courses
he taught were "Sup-Pat-Lo-Han-Sow" also known as the eighteen
movements of the Arahan Hands, or 18-monk Boxing, the "Sinew Changing
Course" (Eki-Kinkyo) and the "Marrow Washing Course".
These courses are believed to form the foundation of Chinese Boxing,
had a great influence on the art of Chuen-Shu, so much that Damo is
now treated as the originator of the Shaolin Style of Wushu or Shaolin
Pugilism.
During the Tang Dynasty, the monks of Shaolin temple had fought with
astonishing skill in the battle fields, and had become famous for their
skills in
Chuen Shu.
After Damo's death in A. D. 557, his disciples dispersed and the art
of l8-monk Boxing was nearly 1ost. Then during the Yuan Dynasty (A.
D. 1260 - 1368), a wealthy young man and an expert pugilist and swordsman,
surnamed Yen, became a priest and took the Buddhist name Chuen Yuan
(also known as Kiok Yuan) in Shaolin. He toured the continent to look
for men of great calibre in the field of Wushu to coach the Shaolin
Monks the arts of self-defence. In Lanchow of Kansu Province, he met
an expert, Li Ch'eng who introduced him to Pai Yu-Feng of Shansi, reputedly
matchless man in Shansi, Honan and Hopei. As both Li and Pai were great
masters of the manly art, Kiok Yuan invited them to the Shaolin Temple
to instruct the monks. The three masters combined the best of their
individual skill to consolidate Damo's 18 and Chuen Yuan's 72 movements
into 170 actions which are the basis for our Shaolin today. The 170
actions were embraced in "Five Forms Fists" : Dragon, Tiger,
Leopard, Snake and Crane which represent respectively the five essences
of man namely the spirit, bone,strength, ch'i and sinew. These essences
must be merged and synchronized into an efficient oneness. It was by
that period that the Shaolin Branch of Wushu had founded a new and effective
style.
In the years 1520-1590, the two masters of the art of Shaolin Wushu
Ching Chung Dou (1522-1587) and Chi-Chi Kuang (1522-l587) further improved
the Shaolin Branch of Wushu, and this branch is still being practised
and held in high esteem today. Shaolin self-defence movements resemble
those of various animals which are provided with natural 'gift weapons'
like 'Tiger Claw', 'Eagle Claw', 'Twin Dragons fighting for Pearl',
'Crane Beak', 'Phoenix's Eye', 'Dragon Head', 'Leopard punch', and 'Himalayan
Ram punch', and movements such as 'Lion Opening its mouth', 'Twin Dragons
Emerging from Sea', 'Monkey Grabbing the Peach', 'Tiger Coming from
Forest' and 'White Crane Preying Food'.
The words Shaolin mean 'Young Forest'. A young forest has resilience
- its limbs can give with a strong wind and rebound with force. Thus
is the essence of Shaolin art of self-defence. It does not advocate
meeting the opponent force with force. Its basic philosophy emphasizes
the ideal of giving with the adversary, to bend slightly and spring
back stronger than before, to adapt oneself to the opponent's movements
without striving or resisting.
In
1644 A.D., the Manchus overthrew the Ming Dynasty and established the
Ching Dynasty. Many underground movements and martial arts school were
formed with aim of overthrowing the foreign control of China. One of
the most famous of these school was the Shaolin Temple.
Many former officials of the Ming Dynasty took refuge at the Shaolin
Temple, disguised as monks to avoid persecution by the Manchu officials.
These former officials become the expert teachers at the temple, teaching
their martial arts to the disciples there. However, the Manchus got
to know of their activities and their whereabouts. The Shaolin Temple
was burned during during the reign of Yung Cheng (1723 - 1535) of the
Ching Dynasty. A few of the former escaped and formed "Triad Societies"
to prepare for the revolution.
THE HISTORY OF WUZUQUAN ( FIVE ANSECTORS BOXING)
A monk, Wu Siin, who belonged to a royal family of the Ming Dynasty (the dynasty which preceded Ching Dynasty) seek refuge at the "Tung Tang" Monastery and later became a hermit at Mount. Tung Yat of the Quanzhou, Fujian Province where the present Fujian Shaolin Temple is. In the Monastery, started teaching the art of Tai-Chu. He had so many students who later became expertise in the art. The zeal and enthusiasm of the students continued to grow at a tremendous rate that Tai-Chu became well-known throughout the provinces of China.
During the reign of Thung T'zi of the Ching Dynasty, Li Junren of Yung Chun District learned the arts from Kuan Yee Ren, a disciple of Monk Wu Siin from Kiang-Si. Several years later, he returned to Yung Chun province and reviewed "Pai Herk Quan" or 'White Crane' and "Houquan" or "Monkey Style". After more than l0 years of self-studies and meditation, he concluded that each of the branches of families of Chinese Martial Arts had its own subtleties and weak-points. Bearing this in mind, he set out to travel to all the provinces of China, studying and gathering all the unique aspects of the families' styles prevailing at that time, and integrating them into the core of Shaolin Wuzuquan. He started teaching the art of Shaolin Wuzuquan to many disciples. It was in the person of Li Junren that Shaolin Wuzuquan took its present shape. Shaolin Wuzuquan is a combination of 5 styles namely:
(1)
Tai-Chu Chuen
(2) Lo-Han Chuen
(3) Pai-Herk Chuen or "White Crane"
(4) Ho-Chuen or 'Monkey Style'
(5) Shyuan Nee Chuen
Li Junren publicised his Shaolin Wuzuquan broadly and accepted many as his disciples. During the reign of Kuang-Hsi (The last emperor of the Ching Dynasty, 1875-1909), Li Junren passed on his Shaolin Wuzuquan nephew the late Kan Teck Guan who amplified and further developed the arts of Shaolin Wuzuquan.
Later on, Kan migrated to Southeast Asia and spread in Singapore. Great Grandmaster Kan passed away in 1946. His sons, the late Kan Oh Hai, the late Kan Oh Cheong, Kan Oh Nam and some of his disciples continued with the teaching of the Wuzuquan in Singapore, Brunei Darusalam and Malaysia. One of his most gifted followers, Grandmaster Lim Leng Huat, who is an expert not only in Shaolin Wuzuquan but also in other associated aspects of Shaolin, is the first Chief Instructor of the Nanyang Wushu Federation of Sarawak, and an Honorary Instructor of several Associations in Singapore. He passed away in 1994. His disciple, Prof. Dr. Song Swee Hee, the present Instructor-in-Chief was entrusted with the duties to further promote this time honored traditional martial arts of Chinese origin.
* Chinese Wushu is also known as Chinese Kuoshu , Chinese Chuen Shu, Chi Chi in the past
 |
 |
PATTERN DISPLAY
 White Crane Style by Yeo Liew Yian |
 BroadSword Display by Yeo Liew Yian |
 BroadSword Display by Yeo Liew Yian |
 Elbow Strike by Yeo Liew Yian |
 Lion Opening Its Mouth by Yeo Liew Yian |
 Cudgel by Yeo Liew Yian |
 Changquan by Lai Lee Sze |
 BroadSword by Lai Lee Sze |
 Sword Display by Lai Lee Sze |
 Sword Display by Lai Lee Sze |
 BroadSword Display by Prof. Dr Song Swee Hee |
 BroadSword Display by Prof. Dr Song Swee Hee |
 Broad Sword Display by Prof. Dr Song Swee Hee |
 'Kuan Tao' Display by Prof. Dr Song Swee Hee |
 Southern Style of Shaolinquan by Prof. Dr Song Swee Hee |
 'Kuan Tao' Display by Prof. Dr Song Swee Hee |