Shaolin Kempo - History

The Shaolin Temple was first built around 495AD in the
Honan province, by the order of the Chinese Emperor
Hsino Weh and was used as a religious center. The temple
was located on Shao-shin Mountain south of Songshen
Mountain, 50 miles west of Zhengzhou, of central China. It
was in 525AD during the Chou Dynasty that an Indian
Monk by the name of Bodhidharma (Ta Mo in Chinese,
Daruma in Japanese) under tutelage of Pranjnatara went to
China, where it was felt that the principles of Buddhism
were in decline, and introduced Zen Buddhism and a form
of meditation and exercise techniques based upon animal
movements designed to strengthen and condition the body,
as well as the mind. To help the Shaolin Monks withstand
long hours of meditation he taught them 18 breathing
techniques and exercises. These drills were called the Shih
Pa Lo Han Sho or " Eighteen Hands of Lohan". The
concepts and principles taught by Bodhidharma were part of
the basis that they built the temple's fighting style on, even
though these 18 exercises were never originally intended to
be utilized as methods of fighting. They were a manner in
which the monks could attain enlightenment, while
preserving their physical health.
     About forty years or so after the death of Bodhidharma,
during the Sui period, it is told that many assaults were made
on the Shaolin monastary. During the first invasion, the
monks attempts at defending their temple was futile, their
skills were not attuned to fighting techniques. It seemed as if
the temple would fall. A monk, only referred to as the
"Begging monk", during one of the sieges of the temple,
attacked several of the outlaws with aggressive hand and
foot techniques killing some and driving the remaining
attacker away. This inspired the other monks to request
tutelage in this martial style as a means of protection. In later
scripts, this fighting art was recorded as Chuan Fa or Fist
Way.
     Decades later, a master of Chuan Fa called Ch'ueh Taun
Shang-jen rediscovered the original Shih pa Lo Han Sho,
which had been lost since the death of Bodhidharma.
Ch'ueh, over time, combined Chuan Fa with the 18 Hands
of Lo Han, increasing the number of techniques to a total of
72. He then traveled throughout China promoting his art. In
his travels he met up with a man named Li in the province of
Shensi. Li, also a Chuan Fa master teamed up and trained
with Ch'uen and in time, formed a total of 172 techniques.
thay divided these techniques into five distinctive groups
according to the type animal they most reflected. These
groups were the Leopard, Tiger, Dragon, Snake, Crane. To
this day, the Five Animals are important parts of the Shaolin
Kempo Karate system.
       The art of Shaolin Kempo Karate has evolved from
numerous system of the martial arts over the years: Shaolin 5
Animal Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu, Kempo, many differant style of
Karate, as well as the art of White Tiger Chin-Na, along
with forms or Katas and 108 techniques that have survived
throughout the ages.