Martial Arts Around The World
Martial arts in Europe
Martial arts with historical roots in Europe do not exist to the same extent as in Asia. Boxing as well as forms of wrestling have endured. European martial arts have mostly adapted to changing technology and are truer to the English meaning of that phrase, so that while their descendants still exist, martial arts are focused on things like flying helicopters and infantry tactics for riflemen. These are generally not referred to as martial arts.Martial arts existed in classical European civilization, most notably in Greece where sport was integral to the way of life. Boxing (pygme, pyx), Wrestling (pale) and Pankration (from pan, meaning "all", and kratos, meaning "power" or "strength") were represented in the Ancient Olympic Games. The Romans produced Gladiatorial combat as public spectacle based on a more martial sport.
Some traditional martial arts have been preserved in one form or another. For example, boxing, wrestling, archery, savate and fencing were preserved by being made into sports; of course this has changed the practice significantly.
Some forms of historical fencing have survived, and many groups are working to reconstruct older European martial arts. The process of reconstruction combines intensive study of detailed combat treatises produced from 1400-1900 A.D. and practical training or "pressure testing" of various techniques and tactics. This includes such styles as sword and shield, two-handed swordfighting, jousting and other types of melee weapons combat.
Another aspect of the reconstruction effort involves more historically recent martial arts and combat sports, such as those practiced during the 1800s and 1900s. A partial list would include bare-knuckle boxing, Bartitsu, quarterstaff, fencing according to late 1800s rules, etc.
Unarmed European martial arts that have survived in active form include English boxing, Olympic wrestling, and French savate. Some weapon systems have also survived as folk sports and as self-defense methods, including stick-fighting systems such as Jogo do Pau of Portugal, and the Juego del Palo style(s) of the Canary Islands.
Other martial arts were made into sports that we no longer recognize as combative, such as some kinds of gymnastics, where the pommel horse is called a horse because it simulates a horse; the art comes from the necessity of a cavalryman to be able to change positions and fight effectively from the back of a horse. More ancient origins exist for the shot put and the javelin throw, both weapons utilized extensively by the Romans.
Martial arts in the Americas
The native peoples of North America had their own martial training which started at childhood. Many Native American men considered themselves warriors and trained to use the bows, knives, blowguns, spears, and warclubs. War clubs were the preferred martial weapon because Native American warriors could raise their social status by killing enemies in single combat face to face. Warriors honed their archery and war club skills through lifelong training. According to early historical accounts, they demonstrated impressive skill in using war clubs and were favorably compared to European fencing masters. Over 1.5 million Americans practice martial arts as of 2003.[1]
The European colonists (and later, Asian immigrants) brought over their own martial arts such as boxing, fencing and wrestling.
In 1831 Jim Bowie is reputed to have won a duel, killing three bandits with his soon-to-be-famous Bowie knife. Due to the sensationalism of American newspaper reports, the Bowie knife soon became the most popular personal blade being sold in the US. Schools of Bowie fighting quickly sprung up across the country, which probably drew from European influences and possibly drew from native influences.
In 1960 Keichu Do was officially founded. Keichu Do is arguably the first modern American martial art. Based on elements of Ju-jitsu, Judo, Karate, American Boxing, and street fighting it was founded as a self-defense art. Since its founding it has grown into a more multi-faceted art but its core is still self-defense.
Capoeira, with roots in Africa, is a martial art originating in Brazil that involves a high degree of flexibility and endurance. It consists of kicks, elbow strikes, headbutts, and sweeps, although in its more combat-oriented forms it also includes hand strikes such as the asfixiante, a punch to the throat.
Another Brazilian martial art is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The pre-war years saw many Japanese people emigrate to Brazil, some of whom were proficient in Judo. Carlos Gracie and his brother Hélio Gracie adopted this system of fighting and refined it into a more comprehensive groundfighting system. The system, known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has become a popular martial art and proved to be extremely successful in mixed martial arts competitions such as the UFC.
Martial arts internationally
Every village and tribe around the world had a few trained fighters who passed on their knowledge; however, it is difficult to pass on a fighting system, so almost all of these have been lost as their practical relevance has declined. A few have nonetheless survived for one reason or another, and a very few of those have seen a recent boom in popularity, perhaps related to the world music phenomenon or more simply because the internet has thrown them open to the world. Examples of this are Capoeira and some related arts in Cuba, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago, which were preserved partly through their relationship with Candomblé, Santería, Vodun, and other syncretic religions. Of these, only Capoeira has risen to worldwide prominence.
Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Wrestling and Tae Kwon Do are the martial arts that are contested in the modern Olympic Games.
The 2003 movie Whale Rider featured several scenes involving Mau rakau, a traditional martial art of the Māori people. It involves the use of the taiaha, a 2-handed fighting staff.
Martial arts also developed among military and police forces to be used as:
arrest and self-defense methods. One example is Krav Maga, a self-defense system developed by the armed forces of Israel. Another example is San Shou developed for Chinese armed forces and Kombato developed for the Brazilian armed forces.
lethal tactical arts for use in close quarter combat warfare, i.e. Military Martial Arts e.g. UAC (British), LINE (USA)
Other combatives systems having their origins in the modern military include Chinese San Shou, Soviet Bojewoje(Combat) Sambo, Indian ACCS Advanced commando combat system and Israeli Krav Maga.
- Martial Arts for Fitness, Health and Self Defence
- Overview
- History
- Martial arts in Asia
- Early history
- Modern history
- Martial Arts Around The World
- Martial arts in Europe
- Martial arts in the Americas
- Martial arts Internationally
- Martial arts on the modern battlefield
- Testing and competition
- Light and medium-contact sparring
- Full-contact fighting
- Martial Arts as Sport and Recreation
- Martial arts as sport
- Martial arts and dance
- Notable styles of martial arts
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