Batuo
The Indian monk the Shaolin Monastery was built for
The world body for wushu begins the history of Shaolin with him.
- The IWUF tells Shaolin's history from Batuo, and says later monks combined Chan Buddhism with fighting skills.
Kung fu
Hundreds of Chinese styles under one name: the Shaolin monks and the legends of the south, Wong Fei-hung, Ip Man and the teachers who brought it to Britain, and the sport of wushu, told by their masters.
Kung fu is not one martial art but a name for hundreds of Chinese fighting styles, each with its own forms, history and teachers. 1 The words first meant any skill gained through long, hard effort, such as making tea. 2 A UK club called kung fu may teach , , , a system, , , Praying Mantis, tai chi, the modern sport of , or a mix. 1,141
Traditional kung fu has no single syllabus, no shared grading system and no world body: each style and association sets its own forms and grades, and many schools do not grade at all. 80,100,102 The sport, with forms called and fighting called , does have a world body, the , recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 2002, and its first Olympic series medals come at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, set for 1 to 3 November 2026. 40,45 In the UK the sports councils recognise one governing body for all Chinese martial arts, the , which insures, checks coaches and runs national championships but awards no student grades. 80,87
A first class usually means a T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, a warm up, stances, punches and kicks, a form or part of one, and some partner work, with weapons and harder contact left until later. Students greet the teacher, the , with the . 15,41,100,102,119
Kung fu's history is full of legends: Bodhidharma at Shaolin, a southern temple burned by the Qing, a nun who taught a young woman called Yim Wing-chun. Each legend is told as a legend, with whose version it is and the historians' view beside it. 2,4,5,6
The story of kung fu
The same true story, told two ways. Pick the one for you.
For younger readers
Ages 8 to 11, read aloud if you like. 7 short chapters, each with a Listen button.
Through the years
Drag along the line, or tap a dot, to meet the people of each time.
4952002
495
A monastery for an Indian monk
Mount Song, Henan, China
In 495 the Shaolin Monastery was built on Mount Song for an Indian monk called Batuo. A stone tablet of 728 records its monks fighting in about 610 and in 621, the first hard evidence of fighting monks there.
Learn about kung fu
Belts and gradesKung fu has no shared grading system. Some schools use sashes, some belts, some numbered levels and many none at all, and the UK governing body publishes no student grading scheme.TechniquesStances, hand shapes, kicks, partner drills, throws and weapons: what kung fu is built from, in plain English, with Cantonese and Mandarin names side by side.FormsTaolu, sets and kuen: every style has its own forms, from Wing Chun's six to Choy Li Fut's 150 and more, and modern wushu adds compulsory routines that are the same everywhere.Your first classWhat to expect before, during and after a first kung fu class, for parents and new adult students. Clubs differ more than in most arts, so where the honest answer is ask the club, we say so.CompetitionForms judged out of 10, full contact sanda on a raised platform, light contact qingda for children, and wushu's first Youth Olympic medals: the IWUF's world rules and the BCCMA's UK championships, every rule dated.Governing bodiesFor the sport of wushu there is a chain: the IWUF, the WKFE and the BCCMA. For traditional kung fu there is none, and each style association runs itself. What each body does, and what to ask a club.Grading theoryWhat a kung fu grading might involve, why it varies so much from school to school, and a practice set of 15 example theory questions.The words you hear in class130 terms, each with a Hear it button.
Find a kung fu club near you
Or browse every kung fu club by town.
Every page can be read aloud by your device. Tap Listen at the bottom of a chapter.
Written from checked sources, listed on the sources page. Pictures are drawn, with computer help, under our direction; none shows a real child. Recorded chapters are read by a computer voice; Hear it on a word uses your device's own voice.