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History of Kung-fu

Kung-fu was initially created by Buddhist monks in ancient China. In those times, temples were always under threat from bandits and petty thieves. Monks had to learn ways to defend themselves, and they also found that by learning martial arts, they were better able to live as Buddhist monks. After all, in those times, Buddhism relied greatly on fasting, mental exercises and meditation. It takes a strong mind and body in order to fast for long periods of time, and Kung-fu can help strengthen all of them.
 

In those times, Buddhist monks were respected and peace loving people. These basic concepts are found in Kung-fu, which was developed as a means to defend one's self. Kung-fu is not an attack based martial arts. Instead it relies on counter-attacks and swift movements to evade attack.
 

The Shaolin monks were the first to perfect the art of Kung-fu, and they based the techniques found in Kung-fu on the animals found around them. The crane style of Kung-fu is deemed to be the pinnacle of the kung-fu martial arts style. The crane uses deflection as a means to protect itself and only attacks when it sees the best opportunity to attack. If an opponent begins to withdraw, the crane will follow, harrying its opponent until it finds an opening for which to attack, which it does without mercy until its opponent is defeated. 
 

Kung-fu has been around for a long time, and it has survived because it works. Very few martial arts styles can compete with the defensive structure that Kung-fu is based upon.