Wu-Shu means "Martial Arts" but it's more known in occident as Kung-Fu which means Time of Ability.

As a traditional art, the Kung-Fu is part of the great cultural inheritance of the Chinese people. Its origin can be met in daily prehistory, where our ancestors were obliged to fight against wild animals and other men to guarantee their survival. In the course of the fights between tribes they had come to understand that to defeat an enemy they would have not only to have good weapons but also to improve their physical capacity and ability through methods of combat in intensive training during peace times. This lead to the development of some martial arts along the centuries, rising numerous strategies that emphasized the importance of the Kung-Fu for a formation of a truly strong army.

During the Han dynasty, the famous doctor Hoa-Tuo (deceased in 208 D.C.) that worked in the Shandong provinces, Jiangsu, Henan, Anhui, was a great specialist in surgeries and acupuncture, thus being able to treat different diseases.

Due to lack of anesthesia in the operations the patients suffered too much. Hoa-Tuo (in studies that he made on medicinal herbs) obtained a general anesthetic for all the operations. His anesthesia process spread out in Japan, Korea, Arabia, northern Africa. Only after several centuries (1600 years) the occident obtained an anesthetic.

Hoa-Tuo believed that men would have to exercise themselves with frequency to obtain a normal circulation thus preventing diseases. Later he created his famous project 'Wan-Chin-Si' ('The Game of the Five Animals') which had been the first medicinal exercises in China.

This "game" was a sequences of movements that imitated animals: Tiger, Hart, Bear, Monkey and Birds; they assisted men to have a more flexible body and increased appetite. During the Jim dynasty it received influences from Buddhism and Taoism.

The origins of Shao-Lin Kung-Fu

Chuan-Shu means Art of the Fists. The Shao-Lin Kung-Fu is so called in virtue to have been bred in the Shao-Lin Monastery in the Song mountains in the Deng-Feng jurisdiction of the Henan province. Those mountains also are known as Central Mountains due to their localization in the center of China.

At 495 DC an Indian monk, Ba-Tuo, came to China to nail the Buddhism as a worshipper of the sect. The emperor Yiao-Wen ordered to construct a monastery for the visiting monk in the mountains of Shao-Lin. The monastery was constructed besides the shady side of the mountains of Song-Shan. Shao-Lin monastery had a turbulent history: it was affected by fires during 3 wars. The 1º fire happened during the Sui dynasty, the 2º during the Qing dynasty (1644 / 1911) and the 3º and most catastrophic that destroyed the Temple and valuable documents about the study and the development of the Shao-Lin Kung-Fu.

The architectural structures that survived the fire were the front entrance, the hall of guests, the pavilion of Ta-Mo, the hall of the white mantle, the chamber of the 1000 Budas and the forest of rocks. There is no evidence about who created the Kung-Fu or when it was created. Some historians believe that this Shao-Lin Martial Art was initiated before Ta-Mo. Currently, several studies share the idea that the origin of the Shao-Lin Kung-Fu can not be attributed to a single person and support that the Wu-Shu of Shao-Lin was created in the monastery along its existence based on ancient old forms.

The Shao-Lin Kung-Fu served for military intentions during the Tang dynasty: the first emperor Tauzontg asked for the help of the monks of the Shao-Lin Monastery to fight against Wang-Shichong which wanted to establish a separate regimen. Working together with the imperial troops the monks captured Wang-Shichong alive. 13 of them were awarded by their services including Tan-Zong who received the title of general and a certain amount of lands in China for the training support. In its apogee, the Shao-Lin temple counted five thousand warriors trained in the Shao-Lin Kung-Fu which included empty hands combats, practical respiratory exercises and combat with weapons. They become a special type of detachment of the Imperial Army Chinese.

During the Sui dynasty (589/618), a still stronger severity in the training was instituted with the objective of preventing that the Shao-Lin Kung-Fu be used to harm other people.

During the Tang dynasty (618/906), the Shao-Lin monks had great prestige, thanks to their services to the emperor founder of the Bon dynasty. The more notable fact was the victory obtained by the Shao-Lin monk Tan-Ching against the rebel general. As gratefulness the emperor donated additional lands to the monastery.

The period that succeeded the fall of the Tang dynasty was of great importance for the development of the Kung-Fu. This period, called "5 dynasties and 10 states" raised when Chao-Kuang-Win, a Kung-Fu master famous for its invincibility, founded the Song dynasty (906/1279).

During the period of 1280 to 1378 the Mongolians dominated China. Kubulaw-Khan, grandson of Gengis-Khan, founded the Yuan dynasty. During a period of great social instability the achievements of a Shao-Lin monk Pien-Tam was forever left in the memory of his people when he saved his countrymen against the barbarians of the Southeastern region of the country. During the dynasty Ming (1638/1644) one Shao-Lin monk, Kwok-Yuan, together with the masters Pai-Yu-Fong and Li-Cheng combined their knowledge to characterize the movements of the Dragon, Tiger, Leopard, Serpent and Goat.

These techniques had been taught to the monks of the temple. In 1623 Manchurians invaded China and founded the Ching dynasty (1644/1902). Many Chinese, fearing for their lives, took refuge in the Shao-Lin temple and there they organized a strong resistance against the invaders. Fearing a revolution, the invading government and a trait monk put fire to the Shao-Lin temple after have poisoned the water. 5 of the most important personalities of the Monastery escaped: monk Ng-Mui, monk Gie-Sin, monk Pak-Mei and the masters Mui-Him and Fung-To-Tak. Those persons expanded the Kung-Fu in the South of China. With the announcement of the republic, the martial arts already taught in all China had acquired great prestige.

In 1948 the communist leader Mao-Tse-Tung took the power and many Kung-Fu masters left for Taiwan and Hong-Kong. Currently in China, the competitive Wu-Shu is more emphasized.

However, the traditional practice of the Chinese martial arts had been preserved in reduced scale in China. In Taiwan and Hong-Kong the traditional practice of the Shao-Lin Kung-Fu has been more traditional and in a larger scale than in China.