History of Kung Fu

Most of what we know about the history of Kung-Fu comes from legend. Kung-Fu can be said to be as old as mankind, because people have always needed to know how to defend themselves against “bad” men and dangerous animals. From early ideas, some Chinese monks and nuns developed a system to protect themselves and, at the same time, to make themselves strong so that they would live long and be of great help to the common people. They named the system they invented after the temple in which they lived. The name of the temple was the Young Forest Temple, which in the Chinese language is “Shao- lin.” Eventually, this form of self-defense became very famous throughout China and the world. This is what we call Shaolin Kung-Fu.
Over the years Shaolin Kung-Fu spread throughout China. People, trying to improve the art, found that they could learn a great deal from watching and imitating animals in their movements. They soon developed styles based on movements from tiger, snake, leopard, crane, and dragon. These are said to be the five animals of traditional Kung-Fu. Namely, the Tiger, Dragon, Crane, Leopard, and the Snake . However, many other animals were imitated such as the monkey, eagle, and several more. Later, the praying mantis insect was mimicked to develop the fast and agile Praying Mantis style of Kung Fu.
Although Kung Fu can be traced back to periods before the Iron Age, the periods of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644) and the Ching dynasty (A.D. 1644-1911) are where Kung Fu seemed to flourish, and from which many of the systems of today were born.