Bohdidarma's influence on the Moo Duk Kwan
“I do not suffer fools gladly,” these were the words of the fierce patriarch of Buddhism in China, Bohdidharma. This one militant statement characterizes what many modern students of bujutsu claim; that Bohdidharma was the originator of the entire Art of Striking as it is now. That point is much debated among scholars, though, because Buddhist monks usually take a non-violent dispassionate stand and do not concern themselves with the outcomes of violent conflicts.
Regardless of the debate, there can be no doubt that all of the martial arts of China, Japan, and Korea were in some way influenced by the teachings of Bohdidharma. Even in our martial art of Soo Bahk Do the influence can be seen. How could one man have such an all encompassing martial influence, one might ask? What kinds of things did he bring to the martial arts? Those questions will be answered below. First though, a quick examination of the history is needed in order to fully understand Bohdidharma and his martial influences.
In the Fifth century AD an Indian monk named Bohdidharma traveled to China. With him, he brought the teachings of Buddhism. After meeting with Chinese Emperor Wu, Bohdidharma spent time in a Shaolin Monastery teaching them how to meditate with breathing exercises and other Indian militaristic techniques. During this time, he also wrote pamphlets describing these techniques as well as fully describing the spiritual aspects of Buddhism. This became known as ChÂ’en in China. Around the sixth century AD, Pomnang took ChÂ’en to Korea, where it became known as Son. In the seventh century AD Son traveled to Japan by the way of Tendai and became known as Zen.
As stated above, Bohdidharma is directly responsible for the transportation of Buddhism to the Far East. In a martial sense, the most important factor that influences martial arts in general is the transference of meditative practice. In this region of the world as in many others, an acute blend of religion and warfare was attained. Starting in China, doctrines of wai-chia or “hard” and nai-chia or “soft” began to spread in the circles of shaolin. Breathing exercises were emphasized in order to strike a balance between the hard and soft because it was discovered that this created deadly warriors. Systems such as Tai Chi Chuan “supreme ultimate fist” and Pa-Kua arose, emphasizing this balance as well as the direction of concentrated energy.
From China, this militant doctrine of energy techniques spread outward with the spread of Buddhism. Through Korea and through Japan, these “inner factors” were emphasized as the true measure of a warrior. In Japan, in particular, among circles of master samurai, masters of Hara-gei were known as some of the deadliest warriors to ever exist. It is even said that the greatest swordsmen to ever live in Japan, Musashi Miayamoto, was defeated by one of these masters with a paper fan and it was this experience that prompted him to write his famous book “The Book of Five Rings” on his own “Inner Factors.”
There are two obvious places that Bohdidharma’s influence can be seen in the Moo Duk Kwan. The first in our practice of Moo Pal Dan Kun. The “Eight Advanced Military Breathing” exercises are even said to have come from India. With these exercises practitioners of the Moo Duk Kwan learn how to breath with their stomachs and how to concentrate their energy in certain areas of there bodies. Even though the possibility that these exercises are unadulterated from the exercises that Bohdidharma brought with him is questionable, the concept, why they do breathing exercises is still there.
The second place where Bohdidharma’s influence can be seen is in the Chil Sung, or Seven Star, series of “Hyung” or forms. These forms emphasize a balance between neh-gung “spiritual and soft” and weh-gung “physical and hard” in order teach how to become a better martial artist. This is done through deep meditative breathing and slow easy movements punctuated by fast energetic movements. Plainly, the teachings of the shaolin are apparent in this form set and as stated above, this balance was derived from the teachings of Bohdidharma.
In conclusion then, I would like to say that BohdidharmaÂ’s influence in the martial arts is still felt in many ways. Directly, it can be seen in the presence of breathing exercises that improved a warriors health and stamina. Indirectly, the Buddhist doctrine of balance that he brought to the shaolin was interpreted as a balance between hard and soft techniques in order to be a more effective warrior. Though many of the methods used to illustrate this balance predate the appearance of Bohdidharma in China, it is theorized by martial scholars that a transformation and reorganization of these techniques did occur with the coming of Buddhism and Bohdidharma.
“I do not suffer fools gladly,” these were the words of the fierce patriarch of Buddhism in China, Bohdidharma. This one militant statement characterizes what many modern students of bujutsu claim; that Bohdidharma was the originator of the entire Art of Striking as it is now. That point is much debated among scholars, though, because Buddhist monks usually take a non-violent dispassionate stand and do not concern themselves with the outcomes of violent conflicts.
Regardless of the debate, there can be no doubt that all of the martial arts of China, Japan, and Korea were in some way influenced by the teachings of Bohdidharma. Even in our martial art of Soo Bahk Do the influence can be seen. How could one man have such an all encompassing martial influence, one might ask? What kinds of things did he bring to the martial arts? Those questions will be answered below. First though, a quick examination of the history is needed in order to fully understand Bohdidharma and his martial influences.
In the Fifth century AD an Indian monk named Bohdidharma traveled to China. With him, he brought the teachings of Buddhism. After meeting with Chinese Emperor Wu, Bohdidharma spent time in a Shaolin Monastery teaching them how to meditate with breathing exercises and other Indian militaristic techniques. During this time, he also wrote pamphlets describing these techniques as well as fully describing the spiritual aspects of Buddhism. This became known as ChÂ’en in China. Around the sixth century AD, Pomnang took ChÂ’en to Korea, where it became known as Son. In the seventh century AD Son traveled to Japan by the way of Tendai and became known as Zen.
As stated above, Bohdidharma is directly responsible for the transportation of Buddhism to the Far East. In a martial sense, the most important factor that influences martial arts in general is the transference of meditative practice. In this region of the world as in many others, an acute blend of religion and warfare was attained. Starting in China, doctrines of wai-chia or “hard” and nai-chia or “soft” began to spread in the circles of shaolin. Breathing exercises were emphasized in order to strike a balance between the hard and soft because it was discovered that this created deadly warriors. Systems such as Tai Chi Chuan “supreme ultimate fist” and Pa-Kua arose, emphasizing this balance as well as the direction of concentrated energy.
From China, this militant doctrine of energy techniques spread outward with the spread of Buddhism. Through Korea and through Japan, these “inner factors” were emphasized as the true measure of a warrior. In Japan, in particular, among circles of master samurai, masters of Hara-gei were known as some of the deadliest warriors to ever exist. It is even said that the greatest swordsmen to ever live in Japan, Musashi Miayamoto, was defeated by one of these masters with a paper fan and it was this experience that prompted him to write his famous book “The Book of Five Rings” on his own “Inner Factors.”
There are two obvious places that Bohdidharma’s influence can be seen in the Moo Duk Kwan. The first in our practice of Moo Pal Dan Kun. The “Eight Advanced Military Breathing” exercises are even said to have come from India. With these exercises practitioners of the Moo Duk Kwan learn how to breath with their stomachs and how to concentrate their energy in certain areas of there bodies. Even though the possibility that these exercises are unadulterated from the exercises that Bohdidharma brought with him is questionable, the concept, why they do breathing exercises is still there.
The second place where Bohdidharma’s influence can be seen is in the Chil Sung, or Seven Star, series of “Hyung” or forms. These forms emphasize a balance between neh-gung “spiritual and soft” and weh-gung “physical and hard” in order teach how to become a better martial artist. This is done through deep meditative breathing and slow easy movements punctuated by fast energetic movements. Plainly, the teachings of the shaolin are apparent in this form set and as stated above, this balance was derived from the teachings of Bohdidharma.
In conclusion then, I would like to say that BohdidharmaÂ’s influence in the martial arts is still felt in many ways. Directly, it can be seen in the presence of breathing exercises that improved a warriors health and stamina. Indirectly, the Buddhist doctrine of balance that he brought to the shaolin was interpreted as a balance between hard and soft techniques in order to be a more effective warrior. Though many of the methods used to illustrate this balance predate the appearance of Bohdidharma in China, it is theorized by martial scholars that a transformation and reorganization of these techniques did occur with the coming of Buddhism and Bohdidharma.
