Origins
of Hung Kuen
Hung
Kuen traces its roots back to Shaolin Temple in Northern China. Legend
has it that a monk named Bodhidarma travelled to Shaolin Temple around
600AD and found the monks there too weak for prolonged periods of
meditation. To prepare the monks for the physical challenges of meditation
Bodhidarma taught the monks a special set of exercises.
It
is said that these exercises developed over the years into fighting
arts. Shaolin served as the main Imperial Temple, where many great
generals, warriors and scholars retired and devoted there lives to
monkhood. The temple served as a place for these men to refine their
arts, and develop new fighting styles.
Shaolin
is often wrongly referred to as the origin of all Kung Fu. Rather,
it served as the first institutionalised centre for Kung Fu, resulting
in the refining and crystallisation of the fighting techniques we
know today.
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