2. Shaolin Monks were the fathers of modern martial arts and used their fighting skills in the service of Emperors before being persecuted
Far from being peaceful, pacifists, monks have long been capable of violence. For thousands of years, right across China and India, for example, travelers and holy men would often learn some sort of self-defense in order to protect themselves from bandits of wild animals. But no men of God have been quite so adept at using their hands and feet than the legendary Shaolin Monks. It was with them, in around 527 AD, that king fu was first practiced, giving birth to the various martial arts of today.
According to the legends, martial arts have been practiced in China for more than 4,500 years. However, when the Indian monk Bodhidharma arrived at the Shaolin Temple in the Henan Province of China in 527 AD, he discovered that the men there enjoyed no exercise at all. To remedy this, he introduced a series of physical exercises. Combined with the teachings of Buddhism, these laid the foundations for kung fu. Before long, the Shaolin monks had earned a formidable reputation for their fighting skills. Not only were they known for their strength, speed and flexibility, their ability to tolerate high levels of pain also became the stuff of legend.
Over the following years, the monks were called upon by numerous political figures or clans to put their fighting skills into action. In the 7th century, for example, 13 Shaolin Monks helped Emperor T’ai Tsung rescue his son from a rogue general. For their valuable help, the monks were rewarded with a large amount of land. However, when the Qing Dynasty overthrew the Ming Dynasty in 1644, the new rulers of China decided to clamp down on the warrior monks. Temples were destroyed and hundreds of monks were executed. Only a handful of elder teachers escaped the purge. They were forced into hiding, though they managed to pass on their combat skills to new generations of student monks, ensuring their legacy is preserved to this day.