THE BRAHMA TECHNIQUE

HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF THE BRAHMA TECHNIQUE

 

There is a legend that the Brahma school originated about five and a half thousand years ago...

 

In a mountain ravine there lived an old monk who spent all his time in prayer. One day during his morning meditation he had a vision of a white leopard fighting a white panda. But the monk didn't pay much attention to the vision. Several days passed.

 

Wandering through his gorge, the monk saw a little boy playing with a white leopard. At his appearance the leopard ran away. The elder took the boy to him.

 

Days went by again and during meditation the image of a leopard kept appearing before the elder's inner eyes again and again. One day that leopard disappeared and Brahma appeared before the old man's eyes and smiling he turned into a leopard again. Then the old man realized that the white leopard the boy was playing with was none other than Lord Brahma himself.

 

The old man wondered what it was that the one he had been praying to all his life wanted from him. After pondering this for several days, he found no answer.

 

In the meantime, the boy had disappeared, and the old man became restless. He quickly pulled himself together and went into the mountains. After wandering around for a while, he saw the boy sitting in the company of a white dragon, a white panda, a white leopard, and a white heron.

 

The monk was frightened at first, but when he saw the white leopard, he calmed down. Then Brahma himself appeared before the monk and said: "Listen to me, old man. You have served me honestly all your life, but what you have to do before you die is the crowning of your whole life. This boy was my devotee in a past life. Now he has come to pass on to men, with your help, a new martial art as yet unknown to men.

 

Indian mountains.

 

These four beasts are my faithful servants, they will teach you the art of warfare. And you, in your turn, will pass it on to this boy, and you will also have to pass on to him all your knowledge. For any martial art without knowledge is a tree without bark.

 

Having said these words, Brahma disappeared, leaving the stricken monk alone with his servants. When the monk came to his senses, he approached the beasts and bowed...

 

The next morning, the old man began to learn the basics of the new art. For several years he studied the technique and passed on his knowledge to the boy. After teaching the old man, Brahma's servants left, saying goodbye that he should wait for the White Warrior.

 

In this waiting about two years passed, the boy trained much and made great progress...

 

One day, wandering through a gorge, the monk saw a man dressed in white. On his chest was embroidered a circle inside which were depicted four heads: a panda, a dragon, a leopard and a heron.

 

When the old man saw the sign, he remembered the words, "Wait for the white warrior." The white warrior said to the monk: "The Lord has sent me for you, but before you leave this world, I must do the Lord's will." As he approached the boy, the white warrior said that the Lord had punished him to teach Alcova (that was the boy's name) the technique of fighting with weapons as well.

 

For a year, Alcova studied stick, sword, pole, and spear fighting techniques. After taking the exam and taking the wig with him, the white warrior left...

 

Left alone, Alcova decided to pass on his art to the people. He set out on a wander through the mountainous region, not forgetting his training. Three years passed.

 

And so, after three years of wandering, Alcova stumbled upon an old, abandoned temple where three monks lived.

 

He decided to stay in this monastery for a while. One morning when Alcova was training, one of the monks saw him.

 

The monk was very astonished by what he saw: the young man, who had been living with them for several days, was jumping like a leopard, then suddenly began to move clumsily like a bear, then his movements resembled those of a bird.

 

When asked by the monk about his exercises, Alcova smiled and said: "If you want, I can teach it to you too...."

 

For five years, the monks of this monastery mastered the mysteries of an unfamiliar art.

 

When the monks had finished their training, Alcova took their examinations and left. But at parting he told them to venerate Lord Brahma.

 

Thus the first Brahma monastery arose where the students were taught the art of warfare. And in the meantime, Alcova went on, teaching many people along the way...At the age of thirty, having fulfilled his mission, Alcova left this world.

 

Later, somewhere around 3,000 years ago, this style made its way to China and Vietnam.

 

There it changed slightly. In some schools the tiger technique was added, the panther technique was replaced by the leopard technique, the dragon became a boa constrictor, but the principles on which the technique was built have survived to this day.