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Overview of the Martial Arts History Topic

© Mark W. Swarthout

The history and origins of the martial arts in the Far East are shrouded in the mysteries of distance and time. Legend has it that the Bodhidharma, left the comfort of his palace in India and traveled over the mountains of Tibet and there settled at a Buddhist Temple. Discovering that the monks there were too weak in body to even stay awake during his teaching, Bodhidharma retired to a cave to meditate. For several years he watched and observed nature and practiced zazen, the art of meditation. In the process he developed a series of movements to strengthen the bodies of the monks.

The combination of the physical activity and the intense concentration was so beneficial, that over the next few centuries the physical acts, stripped of their meditative aspects, spread through out China. From the Shaolin monks wondering throughout the kingdoms, the art spread even further. At one point the Shaolin temple was destroyed and legend has it that five monks traveling to five different regions of the country became the founders of the primary schools of what we in the Western world call Kung-fu. Wushu, Tai Chi Chuan and Wing Chun all have some roots in these movements.

The fighting techniques became known to some as Chinese boxing. In this form it was first recognized by the outside world with the Boxer Rebellion, named after the few native members that had learned some of these skills.

Some of the arts have maintained a close connection with the religious followings that originated them. Others have been passed down with little or no reference to the religious practices. This knowledge was merged with the skills of the local culture to form various types of martial arts, suited to the climate and temperament of the natives. These combined sets of skills have become the martial arts that we are familiar with today.

China itself dominated Asia for many centuries. The kingdoms of the area that now compose Korea, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands and others looked up to the Chinese culture, its ways and its traditions. The Okinawan Islands paid tribute to the Chinese and sent students to learn at the Royal Court. Traders and seamen traveled both ways between the island countries and mainland China. The natives combined the Chinese skills with their local styles and developed what we know today as Karate.

In the Japanese culture, karate was imported from Okinawa and joined the ranks of the many distinct martial arts practiced on their islands. Bushido, Jujitsu, Aikido, Judo and Kendo are just some of the arts that were part of the military skills studied there. Korea, the Philippines, India, Singapore, and Malaysia all have arts that have developed over time.

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