Martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems of both armed and weaponless, or empty-handed,1 skills intended to develop and increase proficiency in combat.
Martial arts have arisen in nearly all cultures, both through cultural transmission and independently, with some form of codified martial art, either historic orcurrent, identifiable in virtually every culture around the world today. The scope of martial arts is vast, and, in some sense, defies a complete categorization. Despite the universality of offensive and defensive combat techniques when discussing martial arts, it is typically used in reference to the Eastern forms of combat training, which is the focus of this article.
History
Origins
It is not possible to categorical define the point of origin for the development of martial arts. From an evolutionary standpoint, it is most likely that early Homo Sapiens, and possibly his predecessors, struck upon useful techniques for hunting or fighting that eventually evolved into defensive and offensive methods that were then taught to others. The introduction of tools probably led to the development of early weaponry.
As noted, the catalog of martial systems is vast.
China
- Mongolia
- Northern China
- Southern China
- Notable Family styles
- Modern styles
Tibet
Japan
- Mainland Japan
- Okinawa
India
- Southeastern India
Korea
Thailand
Myanmar
Indonesia/Malaysia
Phillipines
Goal of studying a martial art
Martial arts in combat
On the battlefield
Personal self-defense
See also
Footnotes
1 Karate, a Japanese combat form that is one of the most ubiquitous in the world gets its name from the combination of two words, kara. meaning empty, and te, meaning hand.