Asian martial arts (origins)

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Theories of the origins of Asian martial arts range from the highly diffusionist to models which show greater recognition of independent invention.

Contents 1 Origin theories 1.1 The theory of prehistoric origins 1.2 The theory of Greek origins 1.3 The theory of Indian origins 1.4 The theory of Chinese origins 2 Influence of Dharmic Religions 2.1 Establishment of the Shaolin Monastery 2.2 Mudra positions 2.3 Symbolism and nomenclature 3 Bodhidharma 3.1 Origins of Bodhidharma 3.2 Bodhidharma's influence 4 Similarities to other martial arts 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Origin theories

[edit] The theory of prehistoric origins

Building on the work of Laughlin (1956, 1961), Rudgley (2000) argues that the martial arts of the Chinese, Japanese and Aleut peoples, Mongolian wrestling, and yoga all have "roots in the prehistoric era and to a common Mongoloid ancestral people who inhabited north-eastern Asia."^[1][2][3]

[edit] The theory of Greek origins

Todd & Webb (2005:21) suggest that "when Alexander the Great expanded his empire to stretch as far as India, he may have sown the seeds of modern Asian martial arts."^[4] Notable figures, such as Tatsuo Suzuki, Hirokazu Kanazawa, and Masutasu Oyama have pointed out the influence of Pankration on Indian martial arts.^[5]

[edit] The theory of Indian origins

There is a proposed theory which claims that Shaolin Kungfu, a renowned type of Chinese martial arts can be traced to the martial arts of India via Bodhidharma.^[6]

It is not until centuries after Bodhidharma's death that the "Jingde Chuandenglu" (1004) makes the first explicit association between Bodhidharma and the Shaolin temple.^[7] However, it contains no record of Bodhidharma teaching martial arts to the Shaolin monks or reference to any fighting skill or martial prowess on his part.^[7]

The association of Bodhidharma with martial arts can be traced to the Yi Jin Jing, though its authenticity has been discredited by several historians such as Tang Hao,^[8] Xu Zhen and Matsuda Ryuchi.^[9] This argument is summarized by modern historian Lin Boyuan in his Zhongguo wushu shi as follows:

As for the "Yi Jin Jing" (Muscle Change Classic), a spurious text attributed to Bodhidharma and included in the legend of his transmitting martial arts at the temple, it was written in the Ming dynasty, in 1624 CE, by the Daoist priest Zining of Mt. Tiantai, and falsely attributed to Bodhidharma. Forged prefaces, attributed to the Tang general Li Jing and the Southern Song general Niu Gao were written. They say that, after Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at Shaolin temple, he left behind an iron chest; when the monks opened this chest they found the two books "Xi Sui Jing" (Marrow Washing Classic) and "Yi Jin Jing" within. The first book was taken by his disciple Huike, and disappeared; as for the second, "the monks selfishly coveted it, practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the correct purpose of cultivating the Real. The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to having obtained this manuscript." Based on this, Bodhidharma was claimed to be the ancestor of Shaolin martial arts. This manuscript is full of errors, absurdities and fantastic claims; it cannot be taken as a legitimate source.^[7]

The oldest available copy was published in 1827^[10] and the composition of the text itself has been dated to 1624.^[7] According to Matsuda, none of the contemporary texts written about the Shaolin martial arts before the 19th century^[11] mention Bodhidharma or credit him with the creation of the Shaolin martial arts.

The association of Bodhidharma with martial arts only becomes widespread as a result of the 1904–1907 serialization of the novel The Travels of Lao Ts'an in Illustrated Fiction Magazine.^[12]

[edit] The theory of Chinese origins

This theory is based on the documented existence of martial arts in China—and specifically at the Shaolin Monastery—prior to the purported arrival of Bodhidharma.

Shaolin monastery records state that two of its very first monks, Huiguang and Sengchou, were expert in the martial arts years before the arrival of Bodhidharma.^[13] None of the canonical Buddhist sources associates Bodhidharma with martial arts whereas they do note Sengchou's skill with the tin staff.^[14]

The discovery of arms caches in the monasteries of Chang'an during government raids in 446 AD suggests that Chinese monks practiced martial arts prior to the establishment of the Shaolin Monastery in 497.^[15] Monks came from the ranks of the population among whom the martial arts were widely practiced prior to the introduction of Buddhism.^[15] Moreover, Chinese monasteries, not unlike those of Europe, in many ways were effectively large landed estates, that is, sources of considerable wealth which required protection that had to be supplied by the monasteries' own manpower.^[15]

In addition, the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue, the Bibliographies in the Book of the Han Dynasty and the Records of the Grand Historian all document the existence of martial arts in China before Bodhidharma. The martial arts Shuāi Jiāo and Sun Bin Quan, to name two, predate the establishment of the Shaolin Monastery by centuries.^[16]

[edit] Influence of Dharmic Religions

Buddhist infusion was vital in the development of Asian fighting systems.^[17] It is possible to trace the history of Buddhist influence on martial arts from India to Japan.^{[18][not in citation given]}

[edit] Establishment of the Shaolin Monastery

In 495, the Shaolin Monastery was built by order of Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei for the preaching of Batuo, the Indian dhyana master who was its first abbot.

[edit] Mudra positions

Mudras are arm and hand positions used in the traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The historic Buddha knew the use of mudras and is often depicted using these ritual gestures. Various Kung Fu forms contain positions identical to these mudras.^[19]

[edit] Symbolism and nomenclature

Elements from Indian mythology, like the Naga, Rakshasa, and the fierce Yaksha were modified and converted into the protectors of Dharma; these mythical figures from the Dharmic religions family figure prominently in Shaolin boxing, Chang boxing and Stave fighting.^[20]

The religious figures from Dharmic religions also figure in the movement and fighting techniques of Chinese martial arts.^[21]

[edit] Bodhidharma

[edit] Origins of Bodhidharma

The claim that Bodhidharma was South Indian has its origins in Tanlin's preface to the Two Entrances and Four Acts, which does not specify Bodhidharma's varna.

The Dharma Master was a South Indian of the Western Region.^[22] He was the third son of a great Indian King.^[23]

– Tanlin, The Two Entrances and Four Acts (pre-645)

Roughly a century after Bodhidharma's death, Daoxuan faithfully copied Tanlin's preface for his account of Bodhidharma's life in the "Xu Gaoseng Zhuan" but added that Bodhidharma was of Brahmin descent.

Bodhidharma [was] of South Indian Brahman stock.^[24]

– Daoxuan, Xu Gaoseng Zhuan (645)

No canonical Buddhist source specifies the year, the kingdom or the jāti into which Bodhidharma was born.

The earliest known reference to Bodhidharma is Yang Xuanzhi's eyewitness account, which identifies Bodhidharma specifically as a Persian from Central Asia:

At that time there was a monk of the Western Region named Bodhidharma, a Persian Central Asian. He traveled from the wild borderlands to China.^[25]

– Yang Xuanzhi, The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Lo-yang (547)

Broughton (1999) elaborates, "The intriguing line, of course is po-szu kuo hu-jen ("a Persian Central Asian")....the term hu relates to Central Asia and particularly to peoples of Iranian extraction. What we seem to have is an Iranian speaker who hailed from somewhere in Central Asia," and goes on to say that "an early sixth-century Iranian Buddhist master who made his way to North China via the fabled Silk Road…is, in fact, more likely than a South Indian master who made his way by the sea route".

[edit] Bodhidharma's influence

Bodhidharma is associated with the idea that spiritual, intellectual and physical excellence are an indivisible whole necessary for enlightenment. Such an approach to enlightenment ultimately proved highly attractive to the Samurai class in Japan, who made Zen their way of life, following their encounter with the martial-arts-oriented Zen Rinzai School introduced to Japan by Eisai in the 12th century. Yet in some versions of his legend, Bodhidharma's focus was so single-minded during his nine years of meditation that his legs atrophied.^[26]

Bodhidharma is credited with the establishment of the Zen sect of Mahayana Buddhism.^[27] Bodhidharma arrived in China during the 5th century. He stayed and taught for several years in the Shaolin temple.

The pavilion named after Bodhidharma is in the main building of the Shaolin monastery, the First patriarch temple built in his honor stands in the monastery complex some distance from the main building, and the cave behind the building is called the Bodhidharma cave.^[28] The koan "What is the intention of the first patriarch coming from the west?" is frequently used to test the student' development in Zen cultivation.^[29]

Dumoulin (2005) argues that Zen also has roots in yogic practices, specifically kammaṭṭhāna, the consideration of objects, and kasiṇa, total fixation of the mind.

Wong Kiew Kit, 4th generation successor of the Southern Shaolin Monastery writes:^[30]-

It was during this time that the Venerable Bodhidharma came from India to China to spread Buddhism. In 527 CE he settled down in the Shaolin monastery in Henan province, and inspired the development of Shaolin Kung Fu. This marked a watershed in the history of Kung Fu, because it led to a change of course, as Kung Fu became institutionalized. Before this, martial arts were known only in general sense.

Chinese martial arts, like martial arts of Greece and India, have existed before the arrival of Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma's status in martial arts is due to his role in the institutionalization of Chinese martial arts, presumably by introducing exercises, meditation, discipline, newer techniques etc. to the native fighting methods during his tenure at the Shaolin monastery.^[30]

It has been suggested that these techniques which are the foundation for many martial arts today were never originally intended to be utilized as methods of fighting but were a manner in which the monks could attain enlightenment while preserving their bodies' health.^[31][32] Gichin Funakoshi writes that during lectures on Buddhism, a number of Bodhidharma's followers succumbed to exhaustion. Daruma then presented method of developing the mind and body.^[33] With it, the monks were able to recover their spiritual and physical strength.^[33]

By the end of the Tang dynasty, these exercises were extensively developed by the monks and were used in basic self defense applications that were evasive and non-confrontational.^[34]

The growing concern for safety and practical self defence led to the development of more efficient martial arts. Techniques were absorbed (mostly from Indian martial arts, Mongolian Shuai Jiao, and Muslim defensive systems) and combined with the arts already created to develop quanfa, known as Luohanquan.^[34]

[edit] Similarities to other martial arts

Many similarities between Chinese martial arts and the practices of other cultures have been enumerated. Though similarity does not establish the direction of influence, nor does it rule out possible convergent evolution, these similarities provide suggestions towards cross-cultural exchange.

Around the 3rd century BC, Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras, which taught how to meditate single-mindedly on points located inside one's body, which was used in later martial arts, while various mudra finger movements were taught in Yogacara Buddhism. These Yoga elements, as well as finger movements in the nata dances, were later incorporated into various martial arts.^{[35][36][37][38][not in citation given]}

References to martial arts are found in early Buddhist texts. The Lotus Sutra also categorized combat techniques as joint locks, fist strikes, grapples, and throws,^{[39][unreliable source?]} and also referred to a martial art with dance-like movements called Nara.^{[40][unreliable source?]} Other stories suggest that Siddhartha Gautama was a champion wrestler and archer before becoming the Buddha.^[35]

Knowledge of the Indian arts was carried into China by Buddhist monks^{[41][not in citation given]} and Joyotpaul Chaudhuri notes that too much attention is given to Bodhidharma alone, as buddhist monks were active in China before Bodhidharma.^[17]

The similarities between the posture of the "Nataraja" and bong sau and bong gurk in one hand and one foot position are also noted.^[17] The Chinese school of martial arts agrees with the South Indian school of martial arts on the principle of 108 pressure points.^[42][43]

Doshin So, the founder of Shorinji Kempo, was convinced that a Shaolin temple wall painting depicted Chinese and Indian monks practicing martial arts together for spiritual edification.^{[44][45][unreliable source?]} This mural, which was painted during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), is supposedly inscribed and translated in Japanese as "Tenjiku Naranokaku," which translates as "the fighting techniques to train the body [which come] from Tenjiku (India)..."^{[citation needed]} Elsewhere, however, the title is given in Chinese as "Quanpu Bihua," which translates as "Boxing Drills Mural."

The Discovery Channel notes "Possibly the oldest martial art in the world, Kalarippayattu is still being practiced widely today in the Indian state of Kerala. Shaolin chuan is said to have evolved from Kalarippayattu."^[46]

Similarities were also recorded by the British Broadcasting Corporation in a television documentary in 1981 titled "Kalari, the Indian way."^[47]

[edit] See also

• Chinese martial arts
• Pankration
• Indian martial arts

[edit] References