The Monks Practice Martial Arts In the year 497AD the scholar monk Buddhabhadra (Ba Yuo in Chinese) left his native India and settled in the Songshan Mountains of Henan Province. He became very interested in Chinese Wushu (martial arts or Kung Fu to Westerners), although it is not known if he received any training himself. His disciples, Seng Chou and Hui Guang, however, perfected their skills, and according to historical records, Seng Chou was able to "walk a wall" and leap up on to a rooftop with one bound to demonstrate the formidable strength in his legs. For Hui Guang, it was said he could keep a shuttlecock in the air by kicking it 500 times without stopping while, at the same time, balancing on the rails of a well. Hui Guang and Seng Chou were the first Shaolin Monks to practice martial arts. "Dhamra Chakka" - Wheel of Life In the last fifteen hundred years of China's history, these Buddhist Monks have participated in battles for the Imperial Government against warlords and foreign invaders. They were usually rewarded with more land or high ranking positions within the Imperial army. It was this mass participation in military campaigns that marked a turning point in the development of Shaolin Kung Fu.