In legend, Wu Shu traces its origins thousands of years into antiquity. The Wushu that is practiced today developed over the centuries and many of the later additions of Wushu, such as the Shaolin Wushu style, later animal forms, and the drunken style, were incorporated from various other martial arts forms that came into existence later.
In regards to the Shaolin style of Wushu that is currently popular, historical records suggest that a Buddhist monk, named Bodhidharma (Pu Tai Ta Mo in Chinese or Daruma Daishi in Japanese) from either Central Asia or South Asia might have taught the Shaolin monks meditation exercises around the 6th century AD, that were incorporated into Shaolin Kung fu.
Historical evidence has shown that the Shaolin monks during and before this time (the Shaolin temple predates Bodhidharma) harboured retired soldiers who taught the monks self defence techniques that they had learned during military training.
Around 500 AD, the Shaolin monks, in order to protect themselves from bandits and criminals, began to codify what they had learned into a "Shaolin" Kung-Fu style. However, the development of Wushu (or general martial arts in China) goes back centuries before this.
