The attribution of Shaolin's martial arts to Bodhidharma has
been discounted by several 20th century martial arts historians,
first by Tang Hao on the grounds that the Yì Jīn Jīng is a forgery.
Stele and documentary evidence shows the monks historically
worshiped the Bodhisattva Vajrapani's "Kimnara King" form as the
progenitor of their staff and bare hand fighting styles.
Huiguang and Sengchou were involved with martial arts before they
became two of the very first Shaolin monks, reported as practicing
martial arts before the arrival of Bodhidharma. Sengchou's skill
with the tin staff is even documented in the Chinese Buddhist
canon.
Records of the discovery of arms caches in the monasteries of
Chang'an during government raids in AD 446 suggests that Chinese
monks practiced martial arts prior to the establishment of the
Shaolin Monastery in 497. Monks came from the ranks of the
population among whom the martial arts were widely practiced prior
to the introduction of Buddhism. There are indications that
Huiguang, Sengchou and even Huike, Bodhidarma's immediate successor
as Patriarch of Chán Buddhism, may have been military men before
retiring to the monastic life. Moreover, Chinese monasteries, not
unlike those of Europe, in many ways were effectively large landed
estates, that is, sources of considerable regular income which
required protection.
In addition to that, the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue,
the Bibliographies in the Book of the Han Dynasty and the Records
of the Grand Historian all document the existence of martial arts
in China before Bodhidharma. The martial arts Shuāi Jiāo and Sun
Bin Quan, to name two, predate the establishment of the Shaolin
Monastery by centuries.
The site below is for someone who interested in shaolin Kungfu,
and want to study it at home!
http://www.ecearth.com/index.php/kung-fu/shaolin.html
