The Shaolin Monastery -- located in the Song Mountains of China’s Henan Province -- was originally constructed in 495AD, and in 527AD became home to a Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma (aka Da Mo), who had recently arrived in China, from India. Bodhidharma would spend the next nine years meditating, with great intensity, in a cave near the temple. Legend has it that at one point, frustrated by drowsiness, Bodhidharma tore off his eyelids (or, in less extreme versions of the story, plucked his eyelashes or eyebrows).

In the place on the ground where they landed, there soon emerged the first tea plant (gifting Bodhidharma, perhaps, with the first-ever cup of matcha).

After nine years of intensive practice, Bodhidharma became enlightened, realized his True Nature, and began to guide others in the meditation practice that he had employed.

At some point Bodhidharma began to notice that the monks who were training in sitting meditation, there at the Shaolin Temple, frequently became sleepy and lethargic. (And suggesting that they pluck out their eyelids/eyebrows/eyelashes as a remedy to this would probably have not been an effective teaching strategy.) He also noticed that the older monks, after years of meditation practice, oftentimes developed serious physical problems, and generally were not in good physical health.

To address these problems, Bodhidharma developed a series of exercises designed specifically to increase and circulate life-force energy and improve physical health. The form of these exercises was based in large part upon Bodhidharma’s observations of the movements of wild animals: the flight of birds, the jumping of monkeys, the pouncing of tigers, the slithering of snakes, etc.

Over the years, these exercises would not only support the meditation practice of Bodhidharma’s students and spiritual heirs, but would evolve also into the various martial arts forms now associated with the Shaolin tradition. This evolution was supported by the presence, over the years and decades, of various Kung Fu masters, who joined the temple, for short or longer periods of time, to cultivate their heart-mind via meditation practice. The martial arts skills of these masters were then, quite naturally, incorporated into the exercise routines.

Generally speaking, the martial arts associated with the Shaolin Temple employ highly focused, vigorous, “hard” techniques, which emphasize offensive attacks as well as defensive maneuvers. The forms are typically characterized by an amazing athleticism: displays of power, strength (e.g. “iron body” techniques) and agility (e.g. jumping and scaling walls) that are almost super-human. While the original purpose of the forms was to support health and longevity, their martial applications (i.e. for self-defense or competition) are today the most well-known aspect of the Shaolin tradition.

Specific forms associated with Shaolin Kung Fu include: Shaolin boxing, Shaolin spear, Damo Sword, Yezhan spear, Lanmen spear, Xiao Hong Quan (Little Red Fist), Da Hong Quan (Big Flood Fist), Liu He Quan (Six Harmonies Fist), Tongzigong (Shaolin Child Training), Meihuaquan (Plum Flower Fist), Qixing Quan (Seven Star Fist), Dan Dao (Single Saber Technique), and Qi Lu Quan (Seven Animal Fist).