KUNG FU BEGINS: The Legend of Bodhi Dharma - OUTLINE

BOOK ONE – “The Barbarian’s Path – 108 Pages

Chapter 1: Monk on the Run

Bodhi Dharma on route to the Himalayas is captured and nearly drowned, until rescued by a fugitive nun (Nuan) who promises to help him on his journey..

Chapter 2: Faces of Ego

While on his journey, Bodhi Dharma is captured by Warlord Peng and taken to the Imperial palace where he’s imprisoned, and interrogated. Bodhi Dharma asks that he be allowed to return. The Emperor orders that Bodhi Dharma must stay in the Monastery until China is united.

Chapter 3: From the Shadows

With the Emperor’s blessing, Warlord Peng shakes down villagers and the Shaolin, but finds his men beaten by a shadow vigilante. When Nuan discovers that Bodhi Dharma is the culprit, she does everything she can to stop him, at the cost of revealing her identity.

Chapter 4: A Moment of Decision

Bodhi Dharma fights off Peng’s gang to protect the monks. He takes the fight into the forest where he defends Nuan from capture by Peng’s most sadistic thug.

Chapter 5: Attachment

Bodhi Dharma begins his cave meditation, facing his past through flashbacks. He interrupts his austerities to help Nuan rescue her abducted son, Xiao from the palace.

Chapter 6: Endless Beginnings

Nuan is also captured and forced to face execution. Bodhi Dharma tries to fight his way out of the palace, but is overwhelmed by an entire army. To save them both, Xiao agrees to stay in the palace under the rule of the abusive Empress Gao.

Chapter 7: Detachment

While Peng occupies the monastery, Monks scatter into the hills and witness Bodhi Dharma’s meditation with his Kalari Payattu forms. They imitate his movements. After persistent pleas to become Bodhi Dharma’s student, Shen Kuang cuts off his arm to prove that he practices “detachment”

Chapter 8: Meditation in Movement

In a final showdown between Peng’s army and the Shaolin, Bodhi Dharma descends from the mountain and trains the monks in battle. After the victory, Bodhi Dharma retreats to the cave to meditate another 9 years.