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History
The history of Shao-lin is very vague. This is just one
version.
There are many types of Shao-lin in the world today. This is
because the Shao-lin Temples were somewhat like colleges are
now. Each person who enrolled in the temples would be given
a major. Their "classes" were then based on that major. So,
no one person ever learned all of the aspects of Shao-lin,
and many different styles emerged.
 Bodhimhara,
a monk at the Shao-lin temple, discovered that many of the
monks were falling asleep during meditation. He created 49
exercises that the monks could perform to keep them awake.
Many believe that this was the beginning of Shao-lin Martial
Arts. Monks also practiced with pressure points, medicine,
and breathing and meditation practices.
There are said to be many Shao-lin temples, at least seven.
All of these were run by their own grandmaster and had their
own traditions, but all of them were also, voluntarily,
under the rule of the first Shao-lin temple at Song
Mountain. The temples did not want to be associated with the
name Shao-lin, however. The government found any
organization dealing with martial arts to be a threat. That
is why it is so hard to identify the separate temples.
Shao-lin monks thrived sometimes, as during the Ming
Dynasty, and other times were shut down, like during the
Ch'ing Dynasty. They were offered imperial honors and titles
and also had many of their monasteries destroyed by
emperors. The ones that survived the destruction taught
their own versions of Shao-lin martial arts, another reason
why there are so many forms of Shao-lin.
 It
is amazing that Shao-lin has remained in existence. The main
temple, Honan temple, was burned during the Ch'ing Dynasty.
After some generations, monks tried to rebuild it. It
contained many important historical documents about
Shao-lin. However, it was burned again in 1928. In 1948,
political persecution caused the remaining number of monks
to be less than 10.
The Fukien temple thrived during this time. Students had to
pass eighteen tests before graduating. It required great
speed, agility, strength, and concentration for one to
complete all tests. They had to dodge darts from concealed
monks and lift a smoldering urn filled with hot coals, which
left burns in the shape of dragons on the graduates’
forearms, to open a door and end the graduation ceremony.
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