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History of Kung Fu
Man has engaged in mortal combat with his own species since the beginning of time. At first such fighting was disorganized and haphazard, guided by a primitive drive for survival, but soon man put his most valuable tool to the task; his brain. Over thousands of years of violent struggle, systems and methods for effective hand-to-hand combat were developed. From this kill-or-be-killed world before the dawn of recorded history, only one fighting system has survived. They called it Kung Fu.
Theories about Kung Fu's origin may vary, but it's generally believed the seeds of Kung Fu were sewn in 720 b.c. when the Bodhidharma brought his teachings from India to China. To alleviate the pain and stiffness of monks who spent most of each day in seated meditation, the Bodidharma taught a series of ritualized exercises that became the precursor of Kung Fu.
Relying on the bloody experiences of priests enlisted in the imperial wars or engaged in gruesome research with prisoners of war, over centuries these peaceful exercises evolved into a self-defense system for traveling monks who collected tithes and were easy prey for roving bandits. Kung Fu works because thousands of men have lived and died to prove it.
Others believe martial arts were developed much earlier, in China's most brutal period over four thousand years ago. Whatever the case, it's common knowledge that all today's martial arts share a common ancestor bearing little resemblence to the esoteric, internal, or highly specialized arts currently in vogue. To survive the test of time, that early Kung Fu would have had to be fast, brutal, and effective.
Centuries of war and trade helped spread Kung Fu throughout Asia. About four hundred years ago, Kung Fu was introduced to Okinawa (becoming Okinawa-te) and many other parts of the Far East. Undergoing radical changes and intermingling with native forms of unarmed self-defense, changing from the natural circlular motions found in southern China (Num Pi) to those seen more frequently today; just as languages naturally evolve into different dialects, each culture adapted Kung Fu to suit their specific needs and national character.
Thus from this single ancestor came literally all martial arts we know today. In Korea, Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwon Do; in Burma, Bando; in Malaysia and Indonesia the various forms of Silat; in the Philippines, Escrima and Arnis; as well as the very-recently-created systems of Karate (created in 1917), Jujutsu (1800's), Judo (1890's), and Aikido (1920's).
It was during this era of kill or be killed mentality that a fighting art evolved which would become Kung Fu San Soo
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