A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry. Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life. In this regard, the television series was accurate. Today's historians mostly agree that Chinese martial arts, especially unarmed defense practices, were advanced through Ch'an Buddhist religious practices during the Sixth Century.