Kung Fu, a Chinese term meaning well done, is analogous to bujutsu in the Japanese military tradition, an umbrella term for any activity used in waging war. Therefore it includes classical weapon training using the sword, spear, bow and arrow, work with the quarterstaff, rice flails etc., and an element of unarmed combat. The unarmed element has increased enormously and in many schools the original weapon practices have all but died out. The mainland's wu shu does, however, preserve weapon forms on an equal footing with unarmed combat.

Kung fu may be classified in many different ways: whether weapons are used or not or whether the bulk of its practice involves grappling or striking techniques. By far the larger of the two is striking systems, which can be divided according to whether they use punches which travel the full length of the arm ­long-hand boxing, or whether they travel only very short distances ­short-hand boxing. Both divisions may be further broken down according to whether the techniques are applied with great muscular effort, in which case they are said to be external. If little apparent muscular exertion is used, then they are said to be internal.

A further broad division is marked by the Yangtse River: northern schools use large, circular movements, high kicks and agile, jumping techniques whereas southern techniques tend to be short-range, use short movements and have no high kicks.

Martial arts practice in China extends back into the remote past and the earliest reference to it is found in the Chou Dynasty (1122-255 BC). Additional sources mention military demonstrations given by the sons of the nobility. These included archery, riding, sword-fighting and wrestling. Wrestling was of a combat type, rather than the combat sport seen today.

There was a flowering of martial art techniques during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) but when the Manchus invaded during the follow­ing Ching Dynasty (1644-1911), thousands of loyal martial artists joined secret societies dedicated to restoring the previous rule. This aim was never achieved.

The Republic of China was inaugurated in 1912 and the military traditions (wu shu) were renamed national art, or kuoshu. The rise to power of the Communists drove many martial artists to withdraw to Taiwan, with the defeated forces of General Chiang Kai-shek. Others escaped to Hong Kong, where they formed the nucleus of present-day practice.

No description of the Chinese martial arts is complete without mention of the famous Shaolin su Buddhist Monastery. This exists today at the northern foot of the Sungshan mountains, in the north­western part of T'eng Feng district in the Honan province of China. The monastery was built in AD 496, during the reign of Emperor Hsiao Wen (471-500) of the northern Wei dynasty.

The monastery was burned down in 535 as the wars between the north and the south raged but it was rebuilt in the reign of Sui Wenti and given the name Chihu su, meaning 'ascending the hill'. The name changed to Shaolin during the Tang Dynasty (618-960). One of the monastery's most famous visitors was the Indian Zen Buddhist monk Bodidharma (Ta Mo in Chinese). Bodidharma taught the importance of formal meditation as a way of achieving the enlightenment sought by all Buddhists. During this activity the mind lets go of all thoughts, turning inwards on
itself in the expectation of returning to a state of clear perception. However, sitting in meditation for several hours each day will not equip the monk to work hard in the monastery, so some form of physical exercise was necessary. It is claimed that Bodidharma taught martial art to the monks but this is a historicaIly unsurported assertion.

Whether he did or not is of academic interest only, for the monastery grew in reputation as a result of the fighting skill and martial spirit of its monks. The monastery supported Li Shih-min against the usurper Wang Shih­chung and when Li was made Emperor T'sai Tung, he gave the monastery extensive grants of land and privileges.

The monastery continued to develop during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), sending warriors to combat the Japanese invaders. In 1674 a force of warrior monks went to the aid of Emperor Kang and when they had done their duty, he burned down the monastery for the second time in its long history. The monks were scattered and legend has it that onIy five survived. These are referred to as the Five Ancestors and it is claimed that all subsequent shaolin teachings have been passed down through them. The monastery's status began to decline when the military situation changed, and China came under the influence of Western nations. It was burned down again during the early 20th century and its monks scattered but they later returned to help make it habitable once more. The Cultural Revolution halted progress for a time but it has now resumed and the monastery functions as a museum, attended by a small number of monks. The famous wall mural which shows monks training in martial art remains unharmed.

Not all Buddhist monks are attached to monasteries. Many received their training and then wandered through China, teaching martial art as they went. Some were great observers and picked up new techniques to add to their core of knowledge. Others originated their own variations until the original shaolin teaching had been much reworked. The students they taught also added their own variations, keeping these secret except to members of their own families. This is where the name 'family style' originates. The secrecy inherent in their teachings makes it impossible tc say with any degree of certainty how many forms of kung fu there currently are.

The monks were, of course, unarmed except for a staff, and their teachings sometimes omitted training with military weapons. These schools must be distinguished from the full-blown military traditions also found at that time. The former systems were taught to peasants, farmers and merchants; the latter to the military caste.
Shaolin techniques were hard, using a great amount of muscle power, which did not suit everyone. The Taoist schools had developed a form of fighting which did not use much muscular effort. These were the internal systems, which used fast but relaxed movements to generate power. Central to their teachings was the notion of chi, a vital force which flows through the body and invigorates it. Internal training tried to harness chi, increasing its production and channeling it to produce powerfull techniques.

References:
Mitchell, David. 1989. The Complete Book of Martial Arts. Hamlyn Publishing