Shaolin Kung Fu was the first institutionalised martial art in China, which influenced others like judo and karate. The story of its origin in the temple of Shaolin is given in various Chinese texts. An Indian monk Bodhidharma, who is supposed to have been a Pallava prince, came to China in the 6th century.
“The Dharma Master was a South Indian of the Western Region. He was the third son of a great Indian king. His ambition lay in the Mahayana path, and so he put aside his white layman’s robe for the black robe of a monk […] Lamenting the decline of the true teaching in the outlands, he subsequently crossed distant mountains and seas, travelling about propagating the teaching in Han and Wei.”
After many years, he started living in the Shaolin temple, and developed the Chan (from “Dhyan”) school of mediation, which became “Zen” in Japan. In the classical Yoga approach, he believed that physical fitness of the monks was eesential for concentration, and developed exercises like martial arts, as he had been trained as a warrior. One can see the resemblance between Shaolin Kung Fu and surviving Indian Martial arts like Kalaripayattu. He is known as Damo in China, Daruma dolls are very popular in Japan, depicting him with a black curly beard.
Picture Credit : Google