Kung means 'discipline' and Fu means 'person', hence, 'Kung Fu' refers to a disciplined person. Kungfu is often mistaken by the uninitiated as simply as a physical activity. However, it is far from the truth, especially for Shaolin Kungfu.

There are many styles or schools of kungfu. Traditionally, these numerous styles are divided into two major groups, namely internal kungfu and external kungfu. The three well known internal kungfu styles are Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan), Bagua zhang (Pakua Palm), and Xingyiquan (Hsing Yi Kungfu). External kungfu includes Shaolin Kungfu and all its derived styles. Today, the two most well known branches of Shaolin Kungfu are Northern Shaolin which emphasizes on kicking, long range, acrobatic and ground-fighting techniques, and the Southern Shaolin which emphasize on higher stances and hand techniques.

Shaolin Kungfu can be divided into four dimensions: 1)Form, 2)Force, 3)Application, 4)Philosophy. Shaolin Kungfu epitomizes the meditation principles of Ch'an Buddhism that the mind, the spirit and the body become one. Based on Shaolin's special philosophy of the Unity of Ch'an and martial Arts (the latter also known as Kungfu), students' livelihood will be enlightened, their wisdom will be expanded and their ethical standard will be elevated, resulting in a peaceful society.

Shaolin Kungfu has a history of about 1500 years. It is the style of Kungfu (a martial art) that originally developed in the Shaolin Monastery in China.

In about 525 A.D., a holy man named Bodhidharma left his monastery in Southern India to spread the Buddhist faith to China, later called Ch'an Buddhism. In China, Bodhidharma found the Shaolin Ssu (Young Forest Temple).and he became the first Tsu (patriarch, literally, ancestor) of the Ch'an sect. He saw that the monks were weak and could not perform his rigorous meditations, so he incorporated some calisthenics into the monks' training. These in-place exercises were transcribed by later monks as 1) "The Muscle Change Classic" or "The Change of the Sinews," 2) "The Marrow Washing" and 3) "The Eighteen Hand Movements of the Enlightened One" (The Eighteen Lo Han Shou) and marked the beginning of Shaolin Temple boxing. Bodhidharma later devised some self-defense movements based on his knowledge of Indian fighting systems. His emphasis on "Chi" (intrinsic energy which can be cultivated with breathing exercises and meditation) is an essential foundation of Shaolin Kung Fu. Later, because bandits frequently attacked the temple, the Shaolin further hired kungfu masters to teach the monks to defend themselves. Eventually, the Shaolin fought off the attacking bandits and became renowned for their martial arts prowess.

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