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The art of Gung Fu has been preserved in today's world primarily as a way of life rather than as another style of fighting. Chinese martial arts have been in existence for more than two millenniums and it is gung fu the martial art that has given origin to most of today's "methods" of fighting. It all began with the interest of finding the ways to confront the enemy in battle with a weapon that could be carried anywhere with the least possible amount of effort. The answer was: the human body. Military units would be trained under rigorous conditions with the intent to train the body to resist the most adverse weather and strenuous physical activity. The idea of martial arts came to be explored for the first time in the geographical area known today as China.
Shaolin temples became the "institutionalized" martial arts centers where different styles and practices where implemented. Both intellectual and physical training were based upon the study of nature and its behavior portrayed by animals (monkey, tiger, dragon, snake, birds, etc.), the four basic elements (water, fire, dirt, and wind), and the human anatomy itself. Styles of fighting started to be classified as internal and external or as the northern and the southern styles, each one of them with unique characteristics.
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