Chapter 2, Origins: A Synthesis of Cultures

Of all the oriental martial arts, Chinese Gong (Kung) Fu, which means "masterful", is the oldest. All of the other schools - Korean, Japanese, and other Chinese varieties, grew out of it.

But Gong Fu did not originate in China. It was an Indian import which, legends notwithstanding, had no doubt entered China long before Bodhidharma contemplated Shao Lin Ji's walls. By the time the founder of Zen arrived, the imported "art" had already been refined, expanded, and in many ways perfected by Daoism's genius for elegant simplicity.

But neither could the "masterful" martial art be said to originate in India; for it actually arrived there by way of the Aryan invasions which had begun as far back as l500 B.C.

The Aryans were an east-european people who loved to fight and, judging from the spread of their language - a sure sign of conquest - did it rather well. Sweeping around the world from Ireland to India, variants of their proto-indo-european idiom such as Gaelic, German, Latin, Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit testify that life to these happy warriors was one long and satisfying Blitzkrieg. As victors are wont to do, they thought of themselves as superior persons. Erin, Iran, and Aryan as well as the English cognate aristocrat all mean "noble".

True aficionados of destruction, they extended the work of conquest into leisurely pursuits, their fascination for warlike games and sport being mirrored in the Olympic contests of their Greek cousins, contests in which martial discipline was emphasized... throwing discus, hammer and javelin, boxing, wrestling, and especially an event called the Pancratium, a sport which combined boxing and wrestling and a peculiar ability to turn the force of an attacker's thrust back against him. In this event, no weapons or protective clothing was permitted. Hands and feet sufficed as instruments of engagement.

With no military force able to halt their advance, the Aryans swept eastward across Afghanistan and Pakistan, joyously demolishing every civilization in their path. But in India their irresistible force finally met an immovable object.

In India they encountered that stolid monument to Spirituality, those amazing yogis, those peaceful men who were indomitable mental warriors. The Aryans were awed.

Without the slightest hint of condescension, yogis demonstrated their imperviousness to pain. They could walk on fire or withstand bitter cold. They could stay awake for as along as they wanted or sleep standing up. They could go without food for days and, using only the power of their minds, they could even staunch the bleeding of their wounds. Aryan generals rubbed their eyes and thought that they had entered Heaven's War Room. This kind of power was worth a good, long look. The Blitzkrieg ended. The blonde bullies settled down. The yogis were certainly a different breed of heroes. They desired little and lacked nothing. Through the simple expedient of becoming emotionally unattached to the people, places, and things of this world, they conquered and reigned, independent and invincible.

Practicing Raja (royal) Yoga, the kingdom over which a yogi so imperiously ruled consisted of only himself. But what a powerful state it was. A yogi mastered his mind by meditative exercise, spiritual discipline, devotional observance, and, of course, by adhering to a strict ethical code. He mastered his body through the rigorous practice of Asanas, postures which promoted extraordinary balance and flexibility.

The Aryans took the spiritual techniques of Indian religion and combined them with the Pancratium event of Olympic sport and called this new synthesis Vajramushti which means Thunderbolt Fist.

Culture spreads along waterways, and the few hundred miles between India's Ganges delta and China's port city of Canton is filled with great rivers... the Irrawaddy, the Rouge, the Mekong, the Si Jiang. South China Daoists learned Vajramushti and then improved it by choreographing its movements and giving them fluid grace and by adding the powerful techniques of breath control which Chinese pearl divers had developed. They called the new version Tai Ji Quan which means Great Ultimate Fist. In its pure martial arts form it was called Gong Fu, the masterful art.

News of the new improved Chinese version traveled up and down the rivers' information highway. Centuries later in 325 B.C., when Alexander the Great in another Aryan incursion invaded India, he was stunned by the daunting abilities of even second-rate Vajramushti practitioners. (Even today India's martial arts' masters are second to none.)

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