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According to the legends, Bodhidharma (Daruma Taishi in Japanese) was an Indian monk who was born into the warrior caste (Kshatriya). In his youth he was trained in the warrior’s arts that were prevalent at the time. This included a weaponless form of fighting known as vajramushti. Eventually he began the study of Zen Buddhism under the Indian master Prajnatara. Later in his life he traveled to China to spread the Zen school of Buddhism. The date for this journey is also in dispute; however, most authorities assert that it took place around 520 A.D.

Once in China, Bodhidharma traveled throughout the country, eventually settling at the Shaolin monastery in Sung Shan. The rigors of the Zen Buddhism that he taught proved excessive for the monks, and in order to strengthen them physically, he included martial arts training, similar to that which he had undergone in India. This training became the basis for the fighting systems developed at the monastery, systems that also enabled the monks to defend themselves against bandits. Since that time, karate and Zen have been inexorably intertwined, and no traditional karate school is without a Zen influence.