The Martial Arts Temples of China

There were several martial arts temples in China that existed in the past. These temples at times were rivals and had bitter feuds. Each of these temples specialized in specific martial arts. The following were the list of temples that taught martial arts:

1. Hunan Temple

2. Fukien

3. O Mei Shan (E Mei Shan)

4. Quan Dong

5. Hua Temple

6. Wu Dang

These temples embodied some of the most outstanding martial arts of China. Each temple had their own specialties as well as, in many cases their own archives that had a collection of publications (scrolls) that were written by past monks or abbots of the temple. These scrolls were generally housed in libraries and used as manuscripts to train the other monks. There were also those masters who had mastered particular martial arts techniques that would take on special students who they deemed worthy of learning and preserving the art of their specialty.

Although not all monks were martial monks many were and spent a great deal of time practicing their martial arts while seeking enlightenment in their roots of Buddhism. Martial arts were developed to strengthen their bodies for the purpose of performing the rigorous meditations and other activities that were needed for the purpose of reaching enlightenment through the tenets of their religion.

The martial arts processes were not the religious tenets of their faith but merely a tool to acquire discipline to achieve their religious goals. Discipline was the key to acquiring the state of oneness with all things. It is this principle that the students of Wu Ree seek to cultivate as well. Discipline is the key to greatness in whatever field one seeks to attain.

The End!