HISTORY / ORIGIN OF LUOHAN QIGONG

In the Sixth Century, a Buddhist monk from India, whose name was Bodhidarma or "Damo" the 28th patriarch of Mahayana Buddhism, brought to China the tripitaka and the three Sutras or writings, and traveled throughout the country, finally settling in the Shaolin Temple located in the Henan Province. He was the founder of Chan Buddhism, later known in Japan as Zen.

According to the legend, Bodhidarma spent nine years meditating in a cave. During those years of meditation, he discovered that the lack of movement in his body and limbs for a long period, together with the intense cold and wind in his mountain retreat, were the cause of fatigue and body aches. His disciples suffered the same problems and they often dozed during meditation. To fight these inconveniences, Bodhidarma created a set of exercises, based on the Indian yoga and the Chinese good health and longevity exercises, together with the natural movements he had observed in wild animals (the movements of the crane, the tiger, the leopard, the snake, etc.). This set of exercises is known as "The 18 Hands of Luohan" and they are considered as the source of Shaolin Qigong (Chi-Kung) and martial arts.

It may strike one as a contradiction that a group of Buddhist monks who live a contemplative life are also well known by their skill in martial arts. The reason for this may be found in ancient times, when the imperial power was weak and corrupt; bandits used to terrorize the population and the town became the victim of oppression and injustice. The monks felt they had the responsibility to become the defenders of justice and protectors of their people. Those who were not in good terms with corrupt officials often looked for refuge in the temple. Some of them were experts in martial arts. This way, martial arts abilities of Shaolin monks were enriched.

Two hundred years ago, Emperor Ching felt so frightened by the power of the Shaolin Temple, that he ordered its destruction. Choy Fook, one of the surviving monks, ran away to the Kwantung Province, in the South of China. When Chang Heung looked for Choy Fook, in his refuge in the Law Fo Shan Mountain, to become his disciple, Choy Fook taught Chan Heung all of the Shaolin Kung-Fu system, as well as the four internal Qigong forms, mentioned above. Each one of these forms has its own characteristics. All of them make use of breathing and mind control to manage the flow of Chi along the meridians. Three of these exercises involve movement, and one makes use of stationary positions.

As we have seen before, the Luohan Gong traces its roots to the original Shaolin Temple, one of the most Zen Budhist temples worldwide and remained kept secret for generations within the monastery. Chan Heung is the founder of the Choy Lee Fut system of Kung Fu, the most popular style of Kung Fu in Southern China, and his teachings encompass the Luohan System of Chi Kung.

Chan Heung Chan Heung, the founder, spent 20 years putting together and perfecting all his abilities before summarizing them into a coherent system. He taught the system to his son Chan Koon Pak (1847 - c. 1920) who himself taught it to his descendant Chan Yiu Chi (1888 - 1965) who taught his sun Chan Wan Hong. The Eighteen Luohan Hands finally reached us trough Dr. Chen Yong Fa, the Jeung Mung (the Guardian of the System) of Choy Lee Fut and the fifth generation. Chen Yong Fa taught Master Gaspar García who is the most advanced disciple in the West of Master Chen and has been the first to introduce these exercises in America and in Europe.

Master Gaspar García introduced the Luohan Gong and the Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu to thousand of persons worldwide through hundreds of seminars, courses and conferences, magazine and newspaper articles, radio television show, in hospitals, clinics, sport centres, schools, universities, townhalls, to doctors, students, businessmen, instructors, martial artists, philosophers, etc. in Spain, Portugal, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Rumania, Belgium, Greece, Germany, France, Morocco, Egypt, USA, Mexico, Argentina and Cuba.

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