The exercises of bohdidharma

[Krisxylove]

So I was reading a martial arts book. In it the writer was writing about the exercises of bohdidharma. How he set up the monks with a plan and exercises to improve their health. Which later was modified and turned into a fighting method aka kung fu. So I was looking at the exercises and they just looked like stretches and warm ups. Then I did some research online, and found the 18 Lohan hand movements. The 18 Lohans looked like stuff everyone is already doing in karate with blocks etc and even kung fu styles too. So I'm wondering if anyone knows the actual legitimate exercises that were taught to shaolin by bohdidharma to improve their health. If anyone can help me I appreciate it. I want to do these exercises to improve My health. Thank you.

This is the version of 18 hands that I practice,

. There are so many different versions of 18 hands, what is legitimate and what isn't I have no idea. But what I can say is that even after my more intermediate forms, and my favorite more dynamic forms, I always keep coming back to 18 hands. There is something special about it like it's in between QiGong and Gong fu. It switches everything on for better practice with my other forms, and I can keep practicing it long after I'm too fatigued from the other forms. It can be practiced very slow and relaxing or very quick and dynamic. I firmly believe that this form has improved my health.

 

[Krisxylove]

Before he was a monk, he was an Indian prince who historically trained in military MA organized systems, armed and unarmed. It is most likely Daruma (whether in legend or reality) was already proficient before he got to Shaolin.

This is what I learned as well

 

[Krisxylove]

It is known that a few hundred years before Daruma there was a Taoist practice called "Yangsheng" and had three parts: Tuna, breathing; Taoyin, exercise; and Yinshu, stretching. There's no link to Shaolin; however, it sounds like the kind of stuff they would do.

Very interesting. My understanding is that DaMo didn't necessarily invent anything. He was just the one who passed on to the Shaolin what he learned from whoever/wherever. Like you said these concepts existed long before him. I would like to learn more about his potential Persian origin. That's very interesting. Didn't even the Taoists mention they learned this from people from a land they didn't know? I thought I saw that mentioned somewhere maybe the tao te ching or yellow emperor's classic.

 

[Same Trick]

Persia founded trade routes(by sea and land) and settlements with and within India already around 400BC

The Pallava dynasty of south India is believed( by Iranian scholars) being founded by descendants of Persian origin. Bodhidharma would have been born and lived within this dynasty if we take to the story he was from south India, in this case he could likely ave been of Persian/Iranian descent.

Wei dynasty was the era when Bodhidharma was in China . Interesting is that the Wei dynasty was established by Turkish tribes, And it was during this era because of its rulers Buddhism came to flourish in the central parts of China.. Luoyang was the capital of the Wei dynasty and also the end station for the land based Silk Road in China, not too far from Luoyang lies the Shaolin temple(same province)
Bodhidharma may have been of Turkish/Persian birth.

However the popular tale is having Bodhidharma reaching China by sea, and that would probably then tie him to the South Indian Pallava empire/dynasty, but still linking him to a Persian/Iranian descent.

 

[Tigerwarrior]

This is the version of 18 hands that I practice,

. There are so many different versions of 18 hands, what is legitimate and what isn't I have no idea. But what I can say is that even after my more intermediate forms, and my favorite more dynamic forms, I always keep coming back to 18 hands. There is something special about it like it's in between QiGong and Gong fu. It switches everything on for better practice with my other forms, and I can keep practicing it long after I'm too fatigued from the other forms. It can be practiced very slow and relaxing or very quick and dynamic. I firmly believe that this form has improved my health.

Thanks for sharing that! That was awesome. I recognized some of those movements from our forms in the style I'm training. Which is cool because I'm doing a few of these techniques daily already. Strangely I recently learned that the style I'm training in although a southern style, doesn't have a direct link to shaolin. It's more directly related to a qwin yin monastery. There is supposedly not a connection to shaolin, but I find that hard to believe that there is no ancestry there. I've seen demos of shaolin guys using the same techniques the same exact way we use them for the same exact situations. Like in ah soo 1 or basic 45 number 1 in kung fu san soo you will see a technique for when an opponent grabs you from behind. You will throw a turning back hand, a palm strike and a groin kick. I saw a shaolin demo and the shaolin guy did this exact sequence for the same situation. I also just saw 2 or 3 techniques we do in that Lohan video you shared, maybe more. But our down windmill block was seen there and also a few other techniques. Pretty cool stuff.