Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. Martial arts are studied for various reasons including combat skills, fitness, self-defense, sport, self-cultivation (meditation), mental discipline, character development and building self-confidence. A practitioner of martial arts is referred to as a martial artist.

Overview

Worldwide, there is a great diversity and abundance of martial arts. Broadly speaking, martial arts share a common goal: to defeat a person physically or to defend oneself from physical threat. There is also a deep sense of spirituality within some martial arts. Each style has different facets that make them unique from other martial arts.

A common characteristic of martial arts is the systemization of fighting techniques. One common method of training, particularly in the Asian martial arts, is the form or kata (other names may be used in specific styles). This is a set routine of techniques performed alone, or sometimes with a partner.

Martial arts may focus on one or more of these areas:

Striking

• Punching - (e.g. Boxing, Shao-Lin Long Fist, Wing Chun)
• Kicking - (e.g. Capoeira, Savate, Sikaran, Taekwondo)
• Other strikes - E.g. Elbows, knees, open hand strikes (Karate, Muay Thai)

Grappling

• Throwing - (e.g. Glima, Judo, Jujutsu, Sambo)
• Pinning Techniques - (e.g. Wrestling, Judo)
• Joint lock - (e.g. Aikido, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Jujutsu, Malla-yuddha)

Weaponry

• Traditional Weaponry - (e.g. Fencing, Gatka, Silambam, Kendo)
• Modern Weaponry - (e.g. Eskrima, Jukendo, Jogo do Pau)

Many martial arts, especially those from Asia, also teach side disciplines which pertain to medicinal practices. This is particularly prevalent in traditional Chinese martial arts which may teach bone-setting, qigong, acupuncture, acupressure (tui na), and other aspects of traditional Chinese medicine. Martial arts from places like India, Korea and Southeast Asia also teach side disciplines such as ayurveda and yoga. This is why many Asian martial arts masters were said to be able to cure as well as kill.

The martial arts, though commonly associated with East Asian cultures, are by no means unique to this region. For example, Native Americans have a tradition of open-handed martial arts that includes wrestling. Hawaiians also have historically practiced arts featuring small and large joint manipulation. Savate is a French kicking style developed by sailors and street fighters. Capoeira's athletic movements were created in Brazil by slaves based on skills brought with them from Africa.

Many martial arts also strive to teach moral values and provide guidance for children who join the ranks of those learning the art. Many arts require those who achieve black belt or the equivalent to take an oath restricting their use of their knowledge. Martial artists may also receive specific instruction in mental and emotional discipline.

Martial arts on the modern battlefield

Some traditional martial concepts have seen new use within modern military training. A good example of this is point shooting which relies on muscle memory to more effectively utilize a firearm in a variety of awkward situations, much the way an iaidoka would master movements with his or her sword.

In addition to these new forms, traditional hand-to-hand, knife and spear techniques continue to see use in composite systems. Examples of this include the US Army's Combatives, the Israeli army trains krav maga, the US Marine Corps's Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP), and Chinese San Shou.

The bayonet, too, tracing its origins to the spear, may seem a relic of history to many, but the weapon has seen use by the British Army as recently as the Iraq war.

Unarmed dagger defenses identical to that found in the fechtbuch of Fiore dei Liberi and the Codex Wallerstein were integrated into the U.S. Army's training manuals in 1942. Eskrima knife systems are favored today.

William E. Fairbairn, a Shanghai policeman and a leading Western expert on Asian fighting techniques, was recruited during World War II by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to teach Jujutsu to UK, U.S. and Canadian Special Forces. The book Kill or Get Killed, written by Colonel Rex Applegate, became a classic military treatise on hand-to-hand combat. This fighting method was called Defendu. Modern variations that can still trace an authentic lineage to Applegate are very few. Combato (Jen Do Tao) as taught by Bradley Steiner is one popular method, yet has no direct personal links to any legitimate authority on the subject. A prominent instructor of modern close-combat is Carl Cestari, who had a direct relationship with both Colonel Applegate and WWII self-defense pioneer Charlie Nelson.[citation needed] In 2006 Carl Cestari was named one of the top 10 "Most Dangerous Men On The Planet" by Black Belt Magazine.

Testing and competition

In general, 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. Sparring can generally be divided into light- or medium-contact, and full-contact variants. Both 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.

Light and medium-contact sparring

Point sparring is a form of sparring that uses a point-based system of light- to medium-contact sparring in a marked-off area. A referee acts to monitor for fouls and to control the match, while judges mark down scores similar to boxing. Typically, particular targets are prohibited (such as the face and groin), certain techniques may be forbidden, and fighters are required to wear protective equipment on their head, hands, chest, groin, shins and/or feet. Competitors score points based on the solid landing of a single technique as judged by the referee, whereupon they will briefly stop the match, award a point, then restart it. Judges also help regulate the match and resolve disputes. After a set number of points are scored or when the time set for the match expires (for example, three minutes or five points), the match is ended. In a tournament format, winning fighters advance to final rounds until there is only one winner. These matches may be sorted by gender, weight class, level of expertise and even age.

Some critics of point-sparring feel that this method of training teaches habits that result in lower combat effectiveness than in continuous, full-contact sparring. Point sparring can teach competitors to pull their punches or not throw combination attacks, as the fighting is frequently stopped by judges to award points or declare fouls. This disruption alters the flow of actual combat and enforces what some see are the bad habits of not following through on attacks, lowering your guard, and relying on tactics that may score points but lack the power to disable or hurt an actual attacker.

Full-contact fighting

"Full-contact" sparring or fighting is considered by many to be requisite in learning realistic unarmed combat. The phrase refers to several aspects which differentiate it from light and medium-contact sessions. One example is the reduced or eliminated use of protective gear. For instance, Kyokushin karate is a style of karate that requires advanced practitioners to engage in bare-knuckled, full-contact sparring while wearing only a karate gi and groin protector. Full contact may also refer to a wider variety of permitted attacks and contact zones on the body, excluding a limited number of forbidden techniques such as biting, finger breaking, groin striking or attacking the eyes. The phrase could also indicate the employment of full-force attacks in order to disable the opponent, either by knockout or direct submission of defeat. If a point system is utilized, there is often a lower emphasis on scoring points to win by judges' decision.

Due to these factors, full-contact matches tend to be more aggressive in character. Nearly all MMA leagues such as UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, AFC Sport, Shooto use full-contact rules, as do professional boxing organizations. Rulesets mandate the use of protective gloves and forbid certain techniques or actions during a match, such as punching the back of the head. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo matches do not allow striking, but are full-contact in the sense that full force is applied during grappling and submissions.

Some practitioners believe that physically defeating the enemy, as opposed to winning a sport match by rules, is the only important matter in hand-to-hand combat. Other styles treat martial arts only as matters of self-defense or life-and-death situations. Many of these practitioners may prefer not to participate in most types of rule-based martial art competition (even one such as vale tudo), electing instead to study fighting techniques with little or no regard to competitive rules or, perhaps, ethical concerns and the law (the techniques practiced may include attacking vulnerable spots such as the groin or the eyes). Nonetheless, others maintain that, given proper precautions such as a referee and a ring doctor, full-contact matches with basic rules could serve as a useful gauge of one's overall fighting ability, encompassing broad categories including striking, grappling and finishing hold.

Martial arts as sport

Judo and Tae Kwon Do as well as western archery, boxing, javelin, wrestling and fencing are currently events in the Summer Olympic Games. Chinese wushu recently failed in its bid to be included, but is still actively performed in tournaments across the world. Practitioners in some arts such as kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu often train for sport matches, whereas those in other arts such as Aikido and Wing Chun 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 the more traditional focus of combat effectiveness, or in Asian cultures, of developing the Confucian person, which eschews showing off (see Confucius, also renaissance man.)

As part of the response to sport martial arts, new forms of competition are being held such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the U.S. or Pancrase, and the PRIDE in Japan which are also known as mixed martial arts (or MMA) events. The original UFC was fought under very few rules allowing all martial arts styles to enter and not be limited by the rule set.

Some martial artists also compete in non-sparring competitions such as breaking or choreographed techniques poomse, kata or aka. Modern variations of the martial arts include dance-influenced competitions such as tricking.

Martial arts and dance

As mentioned above, some martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity/pumping adrenaline in preparation of battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner.

Examples of such war dances include:

• Panther Dance - Burmese Bando with swords (dha)
• gymnopaidiai - ancient Sparta
• Haka - New Zealand
• Sabre Dance - depicted in Khachaturian's ballet Gayane
• Maasai "jumping" dance
• Aduk-Aduk - Brunei
• Ayyalah - Qatar
• Khattak Dance - Afghanistan
• Brazil's Capoeira (and many other African and diasporic combat styles)
• Dannsa Biodag - Scotland
• Hula & Lua - Hand and Eye coordination and Martial arts used by Hawaiian Warriors

Styles of martial arts

Over time, the number of martial arts has grown and multiplied, with hundreds and thousands of schools and organizations around the world currently working towards a myriad of goals and practicing a huge variety of styles.

Rules Table of Contents
Site Map