Martial Arts as Sport and Recreation
Martial arts as sport
Mixed martial arts is a modern combat sport in which a wide variety of martial art techniques are allowed.On the subject of competition, martial artists vary wildly. Practitioners in some arts such as Boxing, Taekwondo, Judo, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu often train for sport matches in those arts, whereas those in other arts such as Aikido (except Shodokan Aikido), Wing Chun and Kapap 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 removed 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 East 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. Similarly an early promotion, called Vale Tudo in
Brazil was No Holds Barred (NHB) as well.Some martial artists also compete in non-sparring competitions such as breaking or choreographed techniques poomse or kata.
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 stylised manner.
Examples of such war dances include:
gymnopaidiai from ancient Sparta
Haka - New-Zealand
Sabre Dance - depicted in Khachaturian's ballet Gayane
Maasai "jumping" dance
Aduk-Aduk - Brunei's
Ayyalah - Qatar's
Kalarippayattu- Indian
Chhau, and Huyen Lallong
Khattak Dance - Indian/Pakistani/Afghan
Brazil's Capoeira (and many other African and diasporic combat styles)
Dannsa Biodag - Scotland's
Filipino Folk Dance - Phillipines blended with Filipino martial arts
Hula & Lua - Hand and Eye coordination and Martial Arts used by Hawaiian Warriors
- 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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