(About-What Are) Martial Arts

Martial arts are always in the trend and the term originates from central Europe. There are different forms of martial arts, all with the main objective of defending one-self from attacks. Some martial arts are based on religious beliefs, such as Buddhism and Shinto. Apart from Asian culture, martial arts are also part of the western culture for instance Europe and America. These include sword fencing and wrestling. In the past and present, martial arts are being contested and are included in world sports such as the Olympics.

Martial arts were established for thousands of years, although currently the pioneer is still unknown. It was thought that in Asia, the Buddhist and Hindu started the trend long time ago. It is a speculation that the Asian martial arts are a blend of the two. Early writings have shown that martial strategy and philosophy were developed during the Warring period of the Chinese. The Asian style has a master-student relationship, where students are trained in a hierarchy way by a master.

In Europe, boxing is part of the Ancient Olympic Games. The old Greece has integrated sports into their life, making sports part of it. Extensive reconstruction is being carried out to bring back the ancient martial arts in the Europe, for example sword and shield, jousting, halberd fighting and sword-fighting. All these are known as Western martial arts. The reconstruction groups are working based on survival of manuscripts and manuals from the past. However, the introduction of firearms and the easiness of using one has affected the popularity of martial arts in Europe.

A mixture of bow, knife, lance and tomahawk is a characteristic of Okichitaw, which is a martial art in America. Another popular style, the Capoeira originates from Brazil and incorporates high degree of endurance and flexibility. The modern America introduced wrestling, fencing, archery, and Javelin, and all these are part of the Olympics Games.

Each martial art has its own style and character. Some may require strong physical and attacks, while some are softer in terms of energy use. Tae Kwon Do is one that requires high physical strength and stamina as it involves high energy kicks and hard styles. Tai Chi Chuan is suitable even for the elderly, as it is graceful and focuses on calmness and tranquility. Some may utilize weapons such as in sword fighting. Apart from these, there are martial arts that incorporate dance and aerobics in them, an example being Capoeira which is a Brazilian art.

Martial arts can be divided into categories based on their styles. Weaponry includes fencing, Kendo, Kali and Jukendo. As the name implies all these are weapon-arts. Judo, Aikido, Jujutsu, Wrestling and Sambo are examples of grappling martial arts. All these tackle the opponent with the use of different grappling holds, choke holds and counters to attacks by the opponent. The fighters use throwing, pinning the opponents or joint locks to control the opponents. Boxing, Kung Fu, karate, Capoeira, Tae Kwon Do and Wing Chun are examples of striking martial arts. All these incorporate punching, kicking or knees in their styles of fighting.

Different people have different views of martial arts. Some practiced for health reasons, while others may do so for their own interest or as a hobby to fill free times.. The East are learning the Westerns culture, and vice versa. Furthermore, some may learn martial arts to protect themselves from the danger of our society. No matter what the reasons are, martial arts are a global interest and it is still being practiced throughout the world.

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