That is fascinating!
I think it is bogus for one to assume that there was one fountain of the martial arts for the rest of the world. I would make sense for any society engaged in war to develop better fighting arts and technology to survive. Some say Greek Pankration "inspired" Indian martial arts... a land that had been at war and mobilizing large forces long before Alexander was even born. Some say Kalaripayattu inspired Shaolin fighting. The Shaolin monks weren't different from any other monastery back in the day, and each monastery had to defend itself from brigands, and they were also resting places for travelers and war-weary warriors. Obviously a martial artist earning his keep at a monastery could teach the resident monk-militia how to better defend itself. Yet no fighting is without outside influence. Weapons, technology, and technique spreads. That and the human body moves effectively in only so many ways. Wrestling all looks like wrestling, with some local variations. etc.etc.
To say that Greek fighting, various Indian fighting style, and Chinese fighting styles didn't influence other is wrong... but others knew of and had their own style of fighting before they absorbed outside influences. While Okinawan nobles learned Tang Dynasty Kung Fu, and the Japanese in turn learned from them... doesn't make Okinawan or Japanese fighting a Chinese art. That Filipinos were taught "Kun Tao" by Chinese merchants doesn't mean Filipino fighting arts aren't Filipino. That the kuntaw of the Hoklo taxcollector in Indonesia greatly impressed the local Silat-users, doesn't mean they aren't native Indonesian fighters after they incorporated some Kuntaw...
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