A Brief Introduction to Martial Arts
Since the beginning of civilization, people have fought and engaged in war. They devised techniques to take leverage over their opponents and be the victor. This is why the art of fighting started to form and evolve. However, all martial arts did not evolve in the same way. Some focused on health benefits, some focused on spiritual aspects. Some focused on instant kills, and some focused to hurt as least as possible.
Martial and Art
Martial means relating to war, and art expresses creativity and imagination. Together it means the art of fighting. Note that it’s not the science of fighting. There are over thousands of martial arts around the world. Many people debate regarding what is the best martial art. Although it can be compared to some extent, it is not wise to do so because you cannot judge one art form to be superior to another. Different martial arts had different reasons for originating and evolving. You can, of course, compare which martial artist is better, but the same cannot be done about the art they practice.
How they originated
The roots of most traditional martial arts are difficult to trace. Many techniques are practiced for a long time until someone decides, “Hey, let’s call this collection of techniques something fancy.” Tada! A new martial art is born.
And then some said, “Hey, let’s take the good stuff from these martial arts and call it something fancier.” And tada! A hybrid martial art is born. For example, Chuck Norris made Chun Kuk Do taking stuff from Tang Soo Do and several other styles. Bruce Lee made Jeet Kune Do mixing Wing Chun, Boxing, and several other arts.
Martial arts and philosophy
Most martial arts have a unique philosophy of their own, especially the martial arts from the east. Apart from teaching to fight, they also teach their purpose of life, medicines, bone setting, and spirituality. In fact, eastern martial arts are seen more as a way of life than fighting. If you observe their names you will find one particular thing in common. Karate-do, Judo, Taekwodo, Aikido, they all have “do” in them. Do means a way of life. These martial arts not only taught people how to fight, it taught them how to live.
Types of martial arts
Martial arts can be classified in mainly two categories:
- Soft styles: It focuses upon throws, grappling, and locks. It lacks punching and kicking. Arts falling in this category are Judo, Aikido, Jiu Jitsu.
- Hard styles: It focuses on punching, kicking, using elbows and knees, and may also include some throws and locks. Karate, Taekwondo, Krav Maga are some hard styles.
Styles
Martial arts may have different styles. Think of it like this, English is spoken in the USA, UK, and Australia. Although the language is the same, the pronunciation in each country is different. This happens to martial arts as well. For example Karate is a martial art, but it has several styles- Shotokan, Kyokushin, Goju ryu and many others. Although they may seem similar to a non-practitioner, a practitioner will notice the differences.
A list of my favorite martial arts
- Karate
- Judo
- Tae Kwon Do
- Krav Maga
- Wing Chun
- Ninjutsu
- Pencak Silat
- Capoeira
- Jiu-Jitsu
- Kung Fu
- Jeet Kune Do
- Aikido
- Kenjutsu
- Hapkido
- Muay Thai
- Muay Boran
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