Martial arts

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The martial art of boxing was practiced in the ancient Thera.


Although the term martial art has become heavily associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia, it was originally used in regard to the combat systems of Europe as early as the 1550s. An English fencing manual of 1639 used the term in reference specifically to the "Science and Art" of swordplay. The term is ultimately derived from Latin, and means "arts of Mars," where Mars is the Roman god of war.[1] Some authors, most notably Donn F. Draeger, have argued that fighting arts or fighting systems would be more appropriate on the basis that many martial arts were never martial in the sense of being used or created by professional warriors.[2]

Variation and scope[edit]


By technical focus[edit]





Another key delineation of unarmed martial arts is the use of power and strength-based techniques (as found in boxing, kickboxing, karate, taekwondo and so on) vs. techniques that almost exclusively use the opponent's own energy/balance against them (as in T'ai chi ch'uan, aikido, hapkido and aiki jiu jitsu and similar). Another way to view this division is to consider the differences between arts where Power and Speed are the main keys to success vs. arts that rely to a much greater extent on correct body-mechanics and the balance of the practitioner's energy with that of the opponent.

In all such delineations, aspects of many arts, if not most, can fall within both camps, regardless of which way the defining line is viewed (striking vs. grappling or power vs. energy/balance). Most arts have features on both sides of any such dividing line.




By application or intent[edit]


Many martial arts, especially those from Asia, also teach side disciplines which pertain to medicinal practices. This is particularly prevalent in traditional Indian martial arts which may teach bone-setting, and other aspects of traditional Indian medicine.[3]


For example, gatka is a weapon-based Indian martial art created by the Sikhs of the Punjab region of India.


Traditional Korean martial arts place emphasis on the development of the practitioner's spiritual and philosophical development. A common theme in most Korean styles, such as taekkyeon and taekwondo, is the value of "inner peace" in a practitioner, which is stressed to be only achieved through individual meditation and training. As with most other East Asian martial arts, the Koreans believe that the use of physical force is only justified through defense.





Historical martial arts[edit]

The oldest work of art depicting scenes of battle, dating back 3400 BC,[5] was the Ancient Egyptian paintings showing some form of struggle comparable to the stocks;[6] and dating back 3000 BC in Mesopotamia (Babylon), reliefs and the poems of the first signs of a struggle were found.[6][7] In Vietnam, dug drawings and sketches from 2879 BC certain ways of combat combined with the use of a sword, stick, bow, and spears.[6]




A number of historical combat manuals have survived from the European Middle Ages. This includes such styles as sword and shield, two-handed swordfighting and other types of melee weapons besides unarmed combat. The most famous of these is Johannes Lichtenauer's Fechtbuch (Fencing book) of the 14th century, which today forms the basis of the German school of swordsmanship. Likewise, Asian martial arts become well-documented during the medieval period, Japanese martial arts beginning with the establishment of the samurai nobility in the 12th century, Chinese martial arts with Ming era treatises such as Ji Xiao Xin Shu, Indian martial arts in medieval texts such as the Agni Purana and the Malla Purana, and Korean martial artsTaekkyeon from the Joseon era and texts such as Muyejebo (1598). "Historical martial arts" in both Asia and Europe are mostly based on such records of the late medieval to early modern period (15th to 17th centuries; see also Koryū).

European swordsmanship was trained for duels until the Napoleonic era, and developed into sport fencing during the 19th century. Modern boxing originates with Jack Broughton's rules in the 18th century, and reaches its present form with the Marquess of Queensberry Rules of 1867. Europe's colonization of Asian countries also brought about a decline in local martial arts, especially with the introduction of firearms. This can clearly be seen in India after the full establishment of British Raj in the 19th century.[10] Similar phenomena occurred in Southeast Asian colonies such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Folk styles[edit]

All over the world, there are traditional styles of folk wrestling, and in some cases also stick fighting, rooted in local culture and folklore. In East and Southeast Asia, these are forms such as Korean, Khmer or Mongolian wrestling and Japanese sumo, in South and Southwest Asia Indo-Persian Pehlwani and Dravidian malla-yuddha, in Central and Western Asia Turkic (Uzbek, Tatar) styles; in Europe, there are Icelandic, Swiss and various English wrestling traditions. African folk wrestling includes the West African style of Lutte Traditionnelle.


Modern history[edit]

Late 19th to early 20th century

The mid to late 19th century marks the beginning of the history of martial arts as modern sports developed out of earlier traditional fighting systems. In Europe, this concerns the developments of boxing and fencing as sports. In Japan, the same period marks the formation of the modern forms of judo, jujitsu, karate, and kendo (among others) based on revivals of old schools of Edo period martial arts which had been suppressed during the Meiji Restoration.[citation needed] Modern muay Thai rules date to the 1920s. In China, the modern history of martial arts begins in the Nanjing decade (1930s) following the foundation of the Central Guoshu Institute in 1928 under the Kuomintang government.



20th century (1914 to 1989)



The later 1960s and 1970s witnessed an increased media interest in Kung Fu, influenced by martial artist Bruce Lee. Jeet Kune Do, the system he founded, has its roots in Wing Chun, western boxing, savate and fencing. Bruce Lee is credited as one of the first instructors to openly teach Chinese martial arts to Westerners.[12] World Judo Championships have been held since 1956, Judo at the Summer Olympics was introduced in 1964. Karate World Championships were introduced in 1970.



Also during the 20th century, a number of martial arts were adapted for self-defense purposes for military hand-to-hand combat. World War II combatives, Kapap (1930s) and Krav Maga (1950s) in Israel, Systema (Soviet era Russia), San Shou (People's Republic of China). The US military de-emphasized hand-to-hand combat training during the Cold War period, but revived it with the introduction of LINE in 1989.

1990 to present

During the 1990s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu became popular and proved to be effective in mixed martial arts competitions such as the UFC and PRIDE.[13]

The K-1 rules of kickboxing were introduced in 1993, based on 1980s Seidokaikan karate.


With the continual discovery of "new" Medieval and Renaissance fighting manuals, the practice of Historical European Martial Arts and other Western Martial Arts are growing in popularity across the United States and Europe.


Testing and competition[edit]

Testing or evaluation is important to martial art practitioners of many disciplines who wish to determine their progression or own level of skill in specific contexts. Students within individual martial art systems often undergo periodic testing and grading by their own teacher in order to advance to a higher level of recognized achievement, such as a different belt color or title. The type of testing used varies from system to system but may include forms or sparring.

Steven Ho executing a Jump Spin Hook Kick


Light- and medium-contact[edit]







Nearly all mixed martial arts organizations such as UFC, Pancrase, Shooto use a form of full-contact rules, as do professional boxing organizations and K-1. Kyokushin karate requires advanced practitioners to engage in bare-knuckled, full-contact sparring while wearing only a karate gi and groin protector but does not allow punches to the face, only kicks and knees. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and judo matches do not allow striking, but are full-contact in the sense that full force is applied in the permitted grappling and submission techniques.

Martial Sport[edit]

Several martial arts, such as Judo, are Olympic sports.




Health and fitness benefits[edit]




Self-defense, military and law enforcement applications[edit]

U.S. Army Combatives instructor Matt Larsen demonstrates a chokehold.



Traditional hand-to-hand, knife, and spear techniques continue to see use in the composite systems developed for today's wars. Examples of this include European Unifight, the US Army's Combatives system developed by Matt Larsen, the Israeli army's kapap and Krav Maga, and the US Marine Corps's Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). Unarmed dagger defenses identical to those found in the manual of Fiore dei Liberi and the Codex Wallerstein were integrated into the U.S. Army's training manuals in 1942[19] and continue to influence today's systems along with other traditional systems such as eskrima and silat.



Martial arts industry[edit]


Hundreds of millions of people worldwide practice some form of martial art. Web Japan (sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) claims there are 50 million karate practitioners worldwide.[21] The South Korean government in 2009 published an estimate that taekwondo is practiced by 70 million people in 190 countries.[22]

The wholesale value of martial arts related sporting equipment shipped in the United States was estimated at 314 million USD in 2007; participation in the same year was estimated at 6.9 million (ages 6 or older, 2% of US population).[23] R. A. Court, CEO of Martial Arts Channel, stated the total revenue of the US martial arts industry at USD 40 billion and the number of US practitioners at 30 million in 2003.[24] Ultimate Fighting Championship generated a revenue of about USD 250 million in 2008, about 90% of the entire Mixed Martial Arts industry.[25]

Martial arts fraud[edit]


The rank system introduced for judo in the 1880s proved commercially viable, and colored-belt systems were adopted in many martial arts degree mills (also known as McDojos) as a means to generate additional cash. This was covered in Penn & Teller: Bullshit! - episode “Martial Arts” (June 2010).

See also[edit]



  1. ^ Clements, John (January 2006). "A Short Introduction to Historical European Martial Arts". Meibukan Magazine (Special Edition No. 1): 2–4. 
  5. ^ World grappling styles. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  7. ^ History of MMA. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  8. ^ "Sun Tzu Biography and Introduction: Sun Tzu The Art of War and Strategy Site by". Sonshi.Com. Retrieved 2010-11-07. 
  12. ^
  14. ^ UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List
  17. ^ Fu, Zhongwen (1996, 2006). Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan. Berkeley, California): Blue Snake Books. 
  18. ^ Effects of martial arts on health status: A systematic review
  20. ^ Sean Rayment (12/06/2004). "British battalion 'attacked every day for six weeks'". The Daily Telegraph (London: Telegraph Media Group Limited). Retrieved 11 December 2008. 
  21. ^ Web Japan
  24. ^ Black Belt Magazine September 2003, p. 20.
  25. ^ Forbes: Ultimate Cash Machines
  27. ^ "The Deadliest Ads Alive!," Hogan's Alley #12, 2000