Martial arts are codified systems and traditions ofcombat. They are practiced for a number of reasons ranging from; violentstreet fighting,self-defense,military andlaw enforcement; to non-violent exercising, ceremonial,competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development;entertainment; and to preserve theintangible cultural heritage of a nation.[1] The term "martial arts" was originally used to refer to the traditions of East Asia,[2] but has subsequently been applied to other practices which originated outside that region.
According to John Clements, the termmartial arts itself is derived from an olderLatin term meaning the "arts ofMars", Mars being theRoman god of war, and was used to refer to thecombat systems of Europe as early as the 1550s.[3]
The termmartial science, ormartial sciences, was commonly used to refer toAsian martial arts up until the 1970s, with the termChinese boxing also being used to refer toChinese martial arts until then.[5]
Some authors have argued thatfighting arts orfighting systems would be a more appropriate term as many martial arts were never "martial" in the sense of being used or created by professionalwarriors.[6]
Unarmed martial arts can be broadly grouped into those focusing onstrikes, those focusing ongrappling, and those that cover both fields, often described ashybrid martial arts.[7]
Strikes: punching and kicking techniques displayed at theBanteay Srei (967 A.D.) inCambodia.
Traditional Korean martial arts place great emphasis on the practitioner's spiritual development. A common theme in most Korean styles, such asTaekkyon,taekwondo, andHapkido is the focus on "inner peace", which is said to be achievable only through meditation and training. Korean martial arts believe that the use of physical force can only be justified in self defense.[8] Japanese martial arts are called "budo". The suffix "-do" translates to "way" or "path", as the martial art is meant to lead the practitioner towards a spiritually fulfilling life.[9]
Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is theUNESCO term for the Persian martial art ofvarzesh-e pahlavāni (Persian:آیین پهلوانی و زورخانهای, "heroic sport")[10] orvarzesh-e bāstāni (ورزش باستانی;varzeš-e bāstānī, "ancient sport"), a traditional system that was originally used to train warriors inIran (Persia), first appearing in its current name and form during theSafavid era, it has similarities to other systems in the region and are referred to by different names in those places.[11][12]
European swordsmanship always had a sportive component, but the duel was always a possibility untilWorld War I. Modernsport fencing began developing during the 19th century as the French and Italian military academies began codifying rules. The Olympic games led to standard international rules, with theFéderation Internationale d'Escrime being founded in 1913. Modern boxing originates with the rules ofJack Broughton in the 18th century, and reached its present form under theRules of the Marquess of Queensberry in 1867.[21]
Drawing of Indian wrestlers carryingvajra-mushti (1792 A.D.)
Certain traditional combat sports and fighting styles exist all over the world, rooted in local culture and folklore. The most common of these are styles offolk wrestling, some of which have been practiced since antiquity and are found in the most remote areas. Other examples include forms ofstick fighting and boxing. While these arts are based on historical traditions and folklore, they are not "historical" in the sense that they reconstruct or preserve a historical system from a specific era. They are rather contemporary regional sports that coexist with the modern forms of martial arts sports as they have developed since the 19th century, often including cross-fertilization between sports and folk styles; thus, the traditional Thai art ofmuay boran developed into the modern national sport ofmuay Thai, which in turn came to be practiced worldwide and contributed significantly to modern hybrid styles likekickboxing andmixed martial arts. The English martial art ofSinglestick, can often be seen used inmorris dancing. Many European dances have elements derived from martial arts, these include the UkrainianHopak, Polish Zbójnicki (use ofciupaga), the Czech danceodzemek, and the NorwegianHalling.[citation needed]
The mid to late 19th century marks the beginning of martial arts as modern sports, developing out of earlier traditional fighting systems. In Europe, this included the development ofboxing,wrestling andfencing as sports. In Japan, the same period marks the creation of modernjudo,jujutsu,karate, andkendo based onearlier schools of martial arts which existed during theEdo period and which had been suppressed during theMeiji Restoration.[22] In 1882,Kano Jigoro established theKodokan School ofjudo, thus starting the sport of judo.[23] Kano Jigoro had studied old formsjujutsu before establishing his judo school.
Western interest inAsian martial arts arises towards the end of the 19th century, due to the increase in trade between the United States with China and Japan.[24] Relatively few Westerners actually practiced the arts, considering it to be mere performance.Edward William Barton-Wright, a railway engineer who had studiedjujutsu while working in Japan between 1894 and 1897, was the first man known to have taught Asian martial arts in Europe. He also founded an eclectic style namedBartitsu which combined jujutsu, judo, wrestling, boxing,savate andstick fighting.[citation needed][25]
TheInternational Boxing Association was established in 1920 and theWorld Fencing Championships have been held since 1921.[27] As Western influence grew in Asia a greater number of military personnel spent time in China, Japan and South Korea duringWorld War II and theKorean War and were exposed to local fighting styles. Jujutsu, judo and karate first became popular among the mainstream from the 1950s–1960s. Due in part to Asian and Hollywoodmartial arts movies, most modern American martial arts are either Asian-derived or Asian influenced.[28] The termkickboxing (kikku bokushingu キックボクシング) was created by the Japanese boxing promoterOsamu Noguchi for a variant of muay Thai and karate that he created in the 1950s.American kickboxing was developed in the 1970s, as a combination of boxing and karate.Taekwondo was developed in the context of the Korean War in the 1950s.[citation needed]
Jackie Chan andBruce Lee were prominent martial artists who became major movie stars during the late 20th and early 21st century. They have played a pivotal role in popularizing and promoting Chinese martial arts in theWest.[37]
ManyIndian martial arts were banned by the colonial authorities during the period ofBritish rule, which led to their decline.[39] Some, such asKalaripayattu, were able to resist this decline by practicing in secret. Other Indian martial art, such asSilambam, while not widely practiced in India, continue to be practiced in other countries in theIndian cultural sphere such asIndonesia andMalaysia. Many other Indian martial arts such asMardhani Khel andPaika Akhada survived by practitioners practicing the art in secret, or by telling the colonial authorities that it was a form of dance. While many regional Indian martial arts forms are fading into obscurity, martial arts such asGatka andKalaripayattu are experiencing a gradual resurgence.[40]
Testing or evaluation is important to martial artists of many disciplines who wish to determine their progression or own level of skill in specific contexts. Students often undergo periodic testing and grading by their own teacher in order to advance to a higher level of recognized achievement, such as a differentbelt color or title. The type of testing used varies from system to system but may include forms orsparring.
Various forms and sparring are commonly used in martial art exhibitions and tournaments. Some competitions pit practitioners of different disciplines against each other using a common set of rules, these are referred to as mixed martial arts competitions. Rules for sparring vary between art and organization but can generally be divided intolight-contact,medium-contact, andfull-contact variants, reflecting the amount of force that should be used on an opponent.[citation needed]
These types of sparring restrict the amount of force that may be used to hit an opponent, in the case of light sparring this is usually to 'touch' contact, e.g. a punch should be 'pulled' as soon as or before contact is made. In medium-contact (sometimes referred to as semi-contact) the punch would not be 'pulled' but not hit with full force. As the amount of force used is restricted, the aim of these types of sparring is not toknock out an opponent; a point system is used in competitions.[citation needed]
A referee acts to monitor for fouls and to control the match, while judges mark down scores, as in boxing. Particular targets may be prohibited, certain techniques may be forbidden (such as headbutting or groin hits), and fighters may be required to wearprotective equipment on their head, hands, chest, groin, shins or feet. Some grappling arts, such as aikido, use a similar method of compliant training that is equivalent to light or medium contact.[citation needed]
In some styles (such as fencing and some styles of taekwondo sparring), competitors score points based on the landing of a single technique or strike as judged by the referee, whereupon the referee will briefly stop the match, award a point, then restart the match. Alternatively, sparring may continue with the point noted by the judges. Some critics of point sparring feel that this method of training teaches habits that result in lower combat effectiveness. Lighter-contact sparring may be used exclusively, for children or in other situations when heavy contact would be inappropriate (such as beginners), medium-contact sparring is often used as training for full contact.[citation needed]
Full-contact sparring or competition, where strikes or techniques are not pulled but used with full force as the name implies, has a number of tactical differences from light and medium-contact sparring. It is considered by some to be requisite in learning realistic unarmed combat.[41]
In full-contact sparring, the aim of a competitive match is toknock out the opponent or to force the opponent tosubmit.Where scoring takes place it may be a subsidiary measure, only used if no clear winner has been established by other means; in some competitions, such as theUFC 1, there was no scoring, though most now use some form of judging as a backup.[42] Due to these factors, full-contact matches tend to be more aggressive in character, but rule sets may still mandate the use of protective equipment, or limit the techniques allowed.[citation needed]
Nearly all mixed martial arts organizations such asUFC,Pancrase,Shooto use a form of full-contact rules as doprofessional boxing organizations andK-1.Kyokushinkarate requires advanced practitioners to engage in bare-knuckled, full-contact sparring allowing kicks, knees and punching although punching to the head is disallowed while wearing only a karategi,mouthguard,groin guard formales, or chest guard worn under the karategi forfemales. 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. Competitions held byWorld Taekwondo requires the use ofHeadgear and padded vest, but are full contact in the sense that full force is applied to strikes to the head and body, and win byknockout is possible.[citation needed]
Within Kyokushin Karate, one of the defining aspects is the level of challenge and contact within kumite. The ultimate challenge in Kyokushin Karate is the100-man kumite challenge, this is where a challenger must complete a total of 100 continuous rounds each with fresh Karateka ready to fight often with minimal or no protective gear. This challenge is considered one of the ultimate tests of endurance, strength, technique and spirit in martial arts with only 30 people to have successfully completed this feat.[43]
Martial arts have crossed over into sports when forms ofsparring become competitive, becoming a sport in its own right that is dissociated from the original combative origin, such as with western fencing. TheSummer Olympic Games includes judo, taekwondo, western archery, boxing, javelin, wrestling and fencing as events, whileChinese wushu recently failed in its bid to be included, but is still actively performed in tournaments across the world. Practitioners in some arts such askickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu often train for sport matches, whereas those in other arts such asaikido generally spurn such competitions. Some schools believe that competition breeds better and more efficient practitioners, and gives a sense of good sportsmanship. Others believe that the rules under which competition takes place have diminished the combat effectiveness of martial arts or encourage a kind of practice which focuses on winning trophies rather than a focus such as cultivating a particular moral character.[citation needed]
The question of "which is the best martial art" has led to inter style competitions fought with very few rules allowing a variety of fighting styles to enter with few limitations. This was the origin of the firstUltimate Fighting Championship tournament (later renamedUFC 1: The Beginning) in the USA inspired by the BrazilianVale tudo tradition and along with other minimal rule competitions, most notably those from Japan such asShooto andPancrase, have evolved into thecombat sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).[44]
Some martial artists compete in non-sparring competitions such asbreaking or choreographed routines of techniques such aspoomse,kata andaka, or modern variations of the martial arts which include dance-influenced competitions such as tricking. Martial traditions have been influenced by governments to become more sport-like for political purposes; the central impetus for the attempt by thePeople's Republic of China in transforming Chinese martial arts into the committee-regulated sport ofwushu was suppressing what they saw as the potentiallysubversive aspects of martial training, especially under the traditional system of family lineages.[45]
Martial arts training aims to result in several benefits to trainees, such as their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.[46]
Through systematic practice in the martial arts a person'sphysical fitness may be boosted (strength, stamina, speed, flexibility, movement coordination, etc.) as the whole body is exercised and the entire muscular system is activated.[citation needed]Beyond contributing to physical fitness, martial arts training also has benefits formental health, contributing toself-esteem,self-control,emotional andspiritual well-being. For this reason, a number of martial arts schools have focused purely on therapeutic aspects, de-emphasizing the historical aspect of self-defense or combat completely.[citation needed]
Bruce Lee viewed martial arts as an art form, emphasizing that it involves not only physical mastery but also emotional and mental expression. Through fluidity, balance, and spontaneous reaction, martial artists communicate emotionally, transcending mere technique and transforming combat into a deeply personal and expressive form of communication.[47]
Self-defense, military and law enforcement applications
Some traditional martial concepts have seen new use within modern military training. Perhaps the most recent example of this ispoint shooting which relies onmuscle memory to more effectively use afirearm in a variety of awkward situations, much the way aniaidoka would master movements with their sword.
During the World War II eraWilliam E. Fairbairn andEric A. Sykes were recruited by theSpecial Operations Executive (SOE) to teach their martial art ofDefendu (itself drawing on Western boxing and Jujutsu) and pistol shooting to UK, US, and Canadian special forces. The bookKill or Get Killed, written by ColonelRex Applegate, was based on the Defendu taught by Sykes and Fairbairn. Both Fairbairn'sGet Tough and Appelgate'sKill or Get Killed became classic works on hand-to-hand combat.[citation needed]
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide practice some form of martial art.Web Japan (sponsored by theJapanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) claims there are 50 million karate practitioners worldwide.[51]The South Korean government in 2009 published an estimate that taekwondo is practiced by 70 million people in 190 countries.[52]
The wholesale value of martial arts related sporting equipment shipped in the United States was estimated at US$314 million in 2007; participation in the same year was estimated at 6.9 million (ages 6 or older, 2% of US population).[53] R. A. Court, CEO of Martial Arts Channel, stated the total revenue of the US martial arts industry at US$40 billion and the number of US practitioners at 30 million in 2003.[54]
Asian martial arts experienced a surge of popularity in the West during the 1970s, and the rising demand resulted in numerous low quality or fraudulent schools. Fueled by fictional depictions in martial arts movies, this led to theninja craze of the 1980s in the United States.[56] There were also numerous fraudulent ads for martial arts training programs, inserted into comic books circa the 1960s and 1970s, which were read primarily by adolescent boys.[57]
In the seventies, lower ranks (kyu) began to be given colorful belts to show progress. This proved to be commercially viable and colored-belt systems were adopted into many martial arts schools and systems, this also led to exploitation within many martial artsdegree mills (also known asMcDojos andbelt factories) as a means to generate additional cash.[58] This was covered in thePenn & Teller: Bullshit!episode "Martial Arts" (June 2010).[59]
Fraudulent martial arts practitioners are still common across the world. Martial arts fraudsters will often run their classes with acult-like mentality. Another red flag around this is that they discourage cross-training in other martial arts styles or make it deliberately difficult to leave. They often teach techniques which are ineffective and dangerous that are likely to give practitioners a false sense of security and even claim that they can perform "no-touch K.O's". Instructors of "McDojo's" often make outlandish claims about their own success or in many cases self-promote themselves to the rank of 10th Dan Black Belt or even claim to have invented their own style of martial art which claims to be more effective or deadlier than "other styles".[60]
^Lewis, Dan (22 April 1973)."Newest Movie Craze: Chinese Agents".Lima News. p. 30. Retrieved15 April 2022 – viaNewspaperArchive.First there were "spaghetti westerns" made in Italy, and then the Spanish got into the act and they became "gaspacho westerns." Now, there's going to be an invasion of "chow mein spies." It's the newest rage, the superhero Chinese agent, who takes on 84 adversaries at one time and pounds them into the ground — without a dangerous weapon, except his hands and his feet. They're coming here under the label of "martial sciences," an umbrella label that takes in all of the oriental arts of self-defense, such as karate, jujitso, kung fu and so on. They're made in Hong Kong and the biggest hero of them all at the moment, surely the biggest box-office attraction there, is a face pretty familiar to American television audiences. Remember Bruce Lee, the swift, agile oriental chauffeur in "The Green Hornet"? (...) Lee already has starred in three Chinese boxer (another label) pictures and there are several dozen others available to the international market. They reportedly are sweeping the European market and have just started to infiltrate the American scene. Warner Brothers has just released one called "The Five Fingers of Death" and, with Fred Weintraub as producer, is now involved in the first American-Chinese production of a martial-science picture, a film that stars Bruce (Kato) Lee.
^Donn F. Draeger and P'ng Chye Khim (1979).Shaolin Lohan Kung-fu. Tuttle Publishing.
^Nash, George, "Assessing rank and warfare strategy in prehistoric hunter-gatherer society: a study of representational warrior figures in rock-art from the Spanish Levant" in: M. Parker Pearson & I.J.N. Thorpe (eds.),Warfare, violence and slavery in prehistory: proceedings of a Prehistoric Society conference at Sheffield University, 2005, Archaeopress,ISBN1841718165,978-1841718163,Fully online
^Reid, Howard and Croucher, Michael (1983).The Way of the Warrior – The Paradox of the Martial Arts. New York: Overlook Press[ISBN missing][page needed]
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