Kung fu , accepted by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) as kung-fu or kung fu , is a martial art similar to karate , whose origins are found in China . The etymology of the concept refers to gongfu , a Chinese word formed by gong (which can be translated as “merit” ) and fu (which means “master” ).
The roots of kung fu date back to the 6th century . The Buddhist monk Bodhidharma is usually pointed out as the promoter of the discipline , who used to imitate the movements of animals as an exercise. Bodhidharma would have been the one who introduced this martial art to the Shaolin monastery .
There is enough evidence in China to place the origins of kung fu thousands of years in the past. Among the ancient treatises on fighting and tactics in the Chinese military field that could prove its existence at that time, the one entitled The Art of War stands out, which precisely dates back to the 6th century BC. c.
In a complementary way, we can say that philosophy was also part of Chinese culture during the first centuries after Christ, and this includes Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. This is related to kung fu because experts consider that Chinese martial arts do not arise from hand-to-hand fighting but from philosophy, that is, it is its philosophical principles that give shape to it.
All this takes us to the year 527, when the Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma is believed to have first visited the Shaolin monastery in northern China. Bodhidharma believed that monks would benefit in their spiritual practices if they took care of their physical health. For this reason he taught them various exercises that would be useful in their meditations and from there the " 18 LouHan ancestors " emerged, also called the " 18 hands of LouHan ".
As time went by, these exercises became fighting techniques. In fact, twenty-four new movements emerged from them, and this was just the beginning of a series of different styles that little by little gave shape to what we know today as kung fu. There are those who claim that before Bodhidharma arrived at the monastery, the monks already knew some of these skills.
It is important to consider that there is no single kung fu, but rather there are many modalities. At a general level, it is a martial art that is also a philosophy of life since it is governed by moral principles and carries a code of conduct. Its evolution is closely linked to the history of its culture, and that is why milestones can be seen that coincide with those of China's most important moments. Despite being such an ancient art, its evolution has not ended, but even today it continues to take place.
As a combat discipline, kung fu is very complete. Its practice includes hand-to-hand fighting, various kinds of blows and even the use of certain weapons , such as canes and swords.
In Western culture , kung fu became popular in the 1970s thanks to an American TV series, precisely called “Kung Fu” . The central character was Kwai Chang Caine , a Shaolin monk played by David Carradine .
The work of actors such as Bruce Lee and, later, Jackie Chan and Jet Li also helped spread kung fu. Many films are based on combats that take place following the techniques of this oriental martial art.
Kung fu even made its way into animation, with “Kung Fu Panda” being one of the most famous films. This film released in 2008 has a panda bear as the protagonist.