In the beginning, those beautiful, refined kung fu patterns were most likely constructed by peasant conscripts who were given swords and the order to fight or die. Training methods eventually made their appearance, and eventually workable routines were taught. Is it too much to consider that some of the soldiers, weary and tired of battle, would find their way to the Shaolin monastery, where art as art blossomed?
From the Shaolin Temple the arts exploded, spreading across China, and growing into concepts and taking on different forms. This was the beginning of such styles as wing chun (vin tsung) kung fu, Long Fist (Choy Lee Fut, Hung Gar, and so on), and the various animal methods (mantis, monkey, dog fist, five animal, and so on). And, of course, Shaolin styles most likely grew into soft style arts as Pa Kua Chang and Tai Chi Chuan.
Basic history aside, we can see a certain tendency in this evolution of art. Hard, workable techniques tend to become softer, more flowing, and people discover that the art can be learned without over reliance on kung fu of the muscular variety. Thus, the arts evolve from hard fist techniques to slipping and sliding, turning and flowing, whole body techniques.
Oh, sure, every once in a while you will see a resurgence of old, hard style kung fu. You will have Chinese boxers, full of vim and vigor, wanting to return to the good, old punch in the face philosophy. For the most part, however, the people who espouse such a return are young and don’t know better, are half trained and overwhelmed by data from other systems, or otherwise guilty of youthful exuberance.
For the most part, however, you will see techniques become more polished and, eventually, making a transition to a softer, easier to work technique. Thus, hard style karate, even such as shotokan or kyokushinkai, will become more liquid, require less effort and require more intelligence. It is an interesting concept, that the hard core karate of today will transmogrify into the flowing style of shaolin kung fu tomorrow.
Or, and here’s something to think about, that the extreme combat karate method of today’s young turks will become the combat wudan style of tomorrow. Could that bassai dai kata and bassai sho kata of today eventually make the transition into the bassai tai chi of tomorrow? Could those young men doing their endless makiwara training eventually act like the old masters of Chen village tai chi chuan, doing their shuto uke and mae geri as if they are immersed in molasses?
This writer believes it is so, and it is inevitable. The effects of age slow men down, and the effects of wisdom make men look, and it is this combination of factors that will translate the hard into the soft, the karate into the kung fu, and the overzealous into the temperate. Now, if you’ll pardon me, I have to go practice my sochin kata slow style.
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