With "Fists of Fury,” a Hong Kong film released in 1971, the Chinese art of Kung Fu exploded in to popularity in America. And Bruce Lee legend was born. His "sheer animal presence," his kiai (fighting yell), his electrifying kicks and leaps, his famous "one-inch punch," mesmerized audiences. Film stars such as Steve McQueen and James Coburn became his students in the "art of expressing the human body."
By the time Bruce Lee completed "Enter the Dragon," he lived with the pressures of super-stardom: the sensationalism of the scandal press, the sheer strain of his movie productions (he was even bitten by a cobra on the set), and a reputation challenged by every Hong Kong street punk. On July 20, 1973, an allergic reaction to medication left his brain "swollen like a sponge." Doctors were unable to revive him. The sudden death of their idol shocked Bruce Lee fans worldwide.
But, in the words of his wife Linda, Bruce Lee's "genius, his art and his magic" have left a lasting impact-the American romance with martial arts. Today the effects of this romance can be surprising. Suburban Maryland police use Chinese martial arts to subdue assailants and to maintain physical fitness. And a new generation of movies such as "The Karate Kid" have prompted American youth to give up Saturday Cartoons for Kung Fu and Karate classes.
Despite what many people believe, Kung Fu does not mean Chinese fighting arts. The word 'kung' actually means accomplishment through patience and discipline. And Kung Fu means a martial arts practitioner who has mo tak (high moral principles and a heroic character). Presently Kung Fu originated in monastic practices. The father of martial arts is an enigmatic abbot who left Southern India to spread Buddhism in China.
Bodhidharma, a teacher of reformist Ch'anism, was at first refused entrance to the famous Shaolin Ssu, the Young Forest Temple, which was noted for its scholarly translations of Buddhist scripture. However, the mystic seated himself facing a rock cliff beside the monastery. Nine years later, his penetrating gaze had drilled a hole in the cliff wall.
The gates of the Shaolin Temple were at last opened to him. Bodhidharma taught the monk-scribes his practical way of enlightenment. He introduced a regimen of calisthenics based on breath control that would develop mindbody unity and promote spiritual attainment. Refined by succeeding Ch'an masters, this system evolved into the renowned temple boxing, sometimes known as Shaolin ch'ian (shaolin fist).
In this early period, Kung Fu encompassed four disciplines: wrestling, fist-fighting, weaponry, and proper nutrition. Students learned fighting forms symbolizing the spirit of various animals-the dragon, tiger, leopard, snake, and crane. Today many of these schools remain active, their techniques passed down from master to students for hundreds of years. All these Chinese martial arts develop physical fitness, coordination, patience, concentration and confidence.
Often referred to as the art of "Chinese shadow boxing" ,T'ai Chi Ch'uan is Taoism's complete balance and muscle control system. It was designed as "meditation in motion." Resembling a slow-motion ballet, T'ai Chi was originally composed of 108 basic movements, each set of grateful patterns known
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