Welcome to the Putney Nam Pai Chuan Website. Nam Pai Chuan (North
South Fist) is a traditional and pragmatic martial art based primarily
on the old Shaolin Lohan style of Kung Fu called Fut Gar (Buddhist
Fist). This site has been set up to promote classes taught in Putney,
South West London. It also provides a basic resource of current
and historical information about the system, both locally and internationally.
The Shaolin System Nam Pai Chuan has its roots
and origins in the traditional Martial Arts practiced by the Shaolin
Monks of China over 200 years ago. Though much of martial arts history
could be told in the form of legends and stories of martial arts
heroes, it is widely accepted that Shaolin Kung Fu was brought into
China and Japan/Korea in the year 525AD by a travelling Buddhist
monk known to the Chinese as ‘Da Moh’ (Bodhidharma). He arrived
at the Shaolin Temple of Sung Shan in Honan province northern China
and organized the monks at the monastery to carry out solitary meditation,
but became frustrated when the monks frequently fell asleep. He
introduced the monks to an exercise regime which was to improve
their stamina and therefore their mental capabilities. These eighteen
basic exercises are deemed to be the beginnings of the Shaolin Martial
Arts.
He is credited with having taught Kung Fu to the
monks in order to strengthen them for meditation and prayer. It
is hard to believe that war-like nations like the Chinese, Japanese
and Koreans did not possess a martial arts skill of their own. The
truth is probably that Da Moh consolidated these skills and had
the organisational ability to propound it to his students. Through
the years, the art has grown and developed into many diverse forms
and schools but regardless of the style, they can all be traced
back to Da Moh.
