The Martial Arts

Practicing Martial Arts
Photo Source: Stock.xching

The term Martial Arts comes from the name Mars, the god of war. It was originally a term that was used in 15th century Europe. Those martial arts either no longer exist or have become something else. The martial arts of that time are often called Western martial arts, because they only refer to those from Europe. Not much exists from the early European martial arts that actually shows any instructions. There are some fragments of records however that are still in existence and one that dates between 1290 and the early 1300s show instructions for using sword and buckler. It is a page from a Fechtbuch or German arms manual.

Oldest Page Showing Martial Arts Instruction (Fechtbuch)
Photo Source: Public Domain In U.S.

Some forms of martial arts are tied into religion, not one religion but many different ones, according to the land where the particular form of martial art is practiced. Even those that are tied into a religion usually have some sort of code of honor that is practiced along with the martial art. When we hear the term martial arts we tend to think of the oriental arts, such as Karate, Judo or Tae Kwon Do, but there are far more martial arts than these and the term is a lot broader than that. When the first two humans wrestled, they were practicing a martial art. When the American Indians were learning how to use a bow and arrow, or become proficient at combat while riding a horse, they were also practicing a martial art.

First Evidence Of Martial Arts About 2600 B.C. (Standard of Ur)
Photo Source: Public Domain In U.S.

Capoeira is a strange from of martial art, dancing and music. When slaves were brought from Africa to Brazil, that invented this form of martial art. It was hidden in dance and music so that their captors would not suspect what they were really doing, or this would have been viewed as a threat. Usually a circle is formed and the people in it play music while pairs of sparring couples practice. Their practice looks for all the world like a ritual dance, but it is actually a deadly form of self defense. Kicks are used quite often along with sweeps and head butts. There are also slaps, punches and elbow strikes.

While most might not recognize the fact that military training, such as hand to hand combat, is a form of martial art, it is. Most military units all over the world practice hand to hand combat in one form or another. This goes back in time to probably the first organized armies. The Roman gladiators were practitioners of a martial art and that was gladiatorial combat. That particular martial art was so powerful it allow the gladiators who revolted under Spartacus to defeat many Roman Legions that were thrown against them until they were finally defeated, when they fell into a trap.

Exactly what are martial arts? They are selective successful moves that are used by individuals in battle. The moves are practiced until that can be accomplished instantly without having to give a lot of thought about what you are going to do. One definition that I have seen describes martial arts as systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. Martial arts have become very popular in the United States, especially with children. Many a parent takes their youngsters to Karate. It has also become a social event for the parents as they make friends with other parents. One of the problems with martial arts in this country is that much of it is a scam. Many of the teachers are not dedicated and will advance small children even to the rank of black belt, a rank that used to be held in the highest esteem. I have seen this with my own eyes. One child that was about 8 years old and did not possess any special ability was just pushed along getting successively higher ranking belts until he received the black belt, after about 18 months. Certainly not all martial arts schools do this, but there are too many today that do and only operate to drain the parents of their cash.

True martial arts practitioners donate many years of their lives honing their skills and are not easily moved to the next step. To gain a black belt, or its equivalent, in one of these schools is something to be extremely proud of. Different martial arts use different techniques. Examples of this would be those that strike. By strike I mean kicking, elbows, knees and punching for example. You will find this in Wing Chu, Capoeira, Kickboxing, Savate and Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Shaolin Kung Fu and open-hand Karate. Grappling is employed by Glima, Judo, Jujutsu, Sambo Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jujutsu, Hapkido and Wrestling.

Some martial arts include lessons in healing. I guess that this came in very handy. This was especially true of the Chinese martial arts, where the setting of broken bones was taught, along with acupuncture and the application of traditional medicines. No one knows the exact start of the martial arts concept, but the oldest mural found that depicts wrestling and armed conflict dates back to the 26th century B.C.

Martial arts are probably far more popular today than at any time in history. There are way more people on the earth than at any other time and many of them watch martial arts movies. One just has to see how popular Jackie Chan and even the deceased Bruce Lee are today, to realize the popularity of martial arts. It some ways it has become a leisure time sport much like soccer and also a way for moms to keep their kids busy for an hour or two, so that they can get a break. I bet the ancients would turn over in their graves if they ever found this out.