Fact or Fiction!?

[DOCBROWN1705]

I thought it would be fun to discuss some martial arts legends. Do you believe?
Is it possible that all fiction contains some fact? Or do you just like the stories?

Whatever your view maybe... share your favorite martial arts tale, or myth.... and we will see where it takes us

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"According to the Jingde Records of the Transmission of the Lamp, after Bodhidharma left the court of the Liang emperor Wu in 527, he eventually found himself at the Shaolin Monastery, where he “faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time”.

After Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at Shaolin temple, he left behind an iron chest. When the monks opened this chest they found two books: the “Marrow Cleansing Classic,” and the “Muscle Tendon Change Classic”, or "Yi Jin Jing" within. The first book was taken by Bodhidharma's disciple Huike, and disappeared; as for the second, the monks selfishly coveted it, practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the correct purpose of cultivating the Real. The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to their possession of this manuscript.

[disgruntled]

huh.... i have never heard about this......

[DOCBROWN1705]

The connection of Shaolin Kung Fu to the Bodhidharma has been discredited by many martial arts historians, the first of which was Tang Hao saying that the Yì Jīn Jīng is a forgery. The oldest available copy was published in 1827 and the text itself has been dated to 1624.

Huiguang and Sengchou were expert in the martial arts before they became two of the very first Shaolin...... many years before the arrival of Bodhidharma. Sengchou's abilities with the staff has even been documented in the Chinese Buddhist canon.