Martial Arts History

Each martial art has its own history and goals. Some focus on tournament competition, while others focus on self-defense, preparing for war, or the preservation of an ancient tradition.

The history of martial arts around the world is complex. Most groups of people have had to defend themselves at some time and have developed fighting techniques for that purpose. However, many of those techniques have been rendered technologically obsolete over the centuries. Even at an individual, rural level, the threat to the safety of a group of people is now more likely to come from modern weaponry such as automatic rifles than from men with swords. Furthermore, the preservation of a martial art requires many years of teaching at the hands of a good teacher to pass on the art for a single generation. So it is relatively unlikely that a particular martial art would survive and become popular in today's culture, and each art that has done so has a unique history.

The teaching of martial arts in Asia has historically followed the cultural traditions of teacher-disciple apprenticeship. Students are trained in a strictly hierarchical system by a master instructor: Sensei in Japanese; in Chinese , (Wade-Giles) Lao Shih, (Pinyin) lǎo shī (lit., old master); Cantonese Sifu; Mandarin (Wade-Giles) Shih fu, (Pinyin) Shī fù (lit., the master-father), Sah Bum Nim (Korean), Guru in Hindi, Kallari Gurukkal (Malayalam language of South India). The instructor is expected to directly supervise their students' training, and the students are expected to memorize and recite as closely as possible the rules and basic training routines of the school.

In a Confucian influenced martial art, students with more seniority are considered older brothers and sisters; those with less seniority as younger brothers and sisters. Such clearly delineated relationships are designed to develop good character, patience and discipline.

Some method of certification can be involved, where one's skills would be tested for mastery before being allowed to study further; in some systems, especially in China, there may not have been any such certifications, only years of close personal practice and evaluation under a master, much like an apprenticeship, until the master deems one's skills satisfactory. This pedagogy, while still preserved and respected in many traditional styles, has weakened to varying degrees in others and is even actively rejected by some schools, especially in the West.

The Western interest in East Asian Martial Arts dates back to the late 19th Century, due to the increase in trade between America and China and Japan. Relatively few Westerners actually practiced the arts, considering it to be mere performance. Many of the first demonstrations of the martial arts in the West were performed by Asians in vaudeville shows, which served to further reinforce the perception of the martial arts as dramatic performance.

As Western influence grew in the East a greater number of military personnel spent time in China, Japan, and elsewhere. Gradually some soldiers began to see the value of Eastern martial arts and began training in them.

William E. Fairbairn, a shanghai policeman and at the time a leading Western expert on Asian fighting techniques was recruited during World War II by the British Secret Service to teach U.K., U.S. and Canadian Commando and Ranger forces Jujitsu, he later wrote Kill or Be Killed, a classic military treatise on hand to hand combat.

With large numbers of American servicemen stationed in Japan after World War II, the adoption of techniques and the gradual transmission of entire systems of martial arts to the West started. It was in the 1950's, however, when this exportation of systems really began to gain momentum. Large groups of US Military personnel were taught Korean arts (Taekwondo) during the War with North Korea, and many of these brought their training home and continued to practice and teach after their demobilization. By the 1960's, the Japanese arts like Karate and Judo had become very popular. The early 1970s saw martial arts movies, due in part to martial artist Bruce Lee, cause the rise in popularity of Chinese martial arts.

This exportation of the martial arts led to such styles as sport karate, which became a major international sport, with professional fighters, big prizes, television coverage, and sponsorship deals.

The later 1970's and 1980's witnessed an increased media interest in the martial arts. Thanks in part to Asian and Hollywood martial arts movies and very popular television shows like "Kung-Fu" and "The Green Hornet" that incorporated martial arts moments or themes.

Martial arts were unearthed from Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, South America, and almost every other corner of the Earth. This in turn led to further exploration of disciplines from China, Korea, and Japan for their historical and cultural value.

In Indonesia and Malaysia, a tremendous diversity of colorful martial arts of various styles and claims to ancient origins flourishes. In Indonesia, a large number of arts under the umbrella of Silat may also include Kateda and Sindo. Kuntao styles are found across this region. It is difficult to pin down the origin of these arts, which are claimed to be indigenous but nonetheless have much in common with Qigong, Yiquan and possibly Shaolin Wushu. They have both internal and external qualities so perhaps could be seen as an original hybridisation of other arts, the origins of which are lost in the mists of time.

Martial arts with historical roots in Europe do not exist to the same extent as in Asia. Boxing as well as forms of wrestling have endured. European martial arts have mostly adapted to changing technology and are truer to the English meaning of that phrase, so that while their descendants still exist, martial arts are focused on things like flying helicopters and infantry tactics for riflemen. These are generally not referred to as martial arts.

Martial arts existed in classical European civilization, most notably in Greece where sport was integral to the way of life. Boxing (pygme, pyx), Wrestling (pale) and Pankration (from pan, meaning "all", and kratos, meaning "power" or "strength") were represented in the Ancient Olympic Games. The Romans produced Gladiatorial combat as public spectacle based on a more martial sport.

Some traditional martial arts have been preserved in one form or another. For example, boxing, wrestling, archery, savate and fencing were preserved by being made into sports; of course this has changed the practice significantly.

Some forms of historical fencing have survived, and many groups are working to reconstruct older European martial arts. The process of reconstruction combines intensive study of detailed combat treatises produced from 1400-1900 A.D. and practical training or "pressure testing" of various techniques and tactics. This includes such styles as sword and shield, two-handed sword fighting, jousting and other types of melee weapons combat.

Another aspect of the reconstruction effort involves more historically recent martial arts and combat sports, such as those practiced during the 1800s and 1900s. A partial list would include bare-knuckle boxing, Bartitsu, quarterstaff, fencing according to late 1800s rules, etc.

Unarmed European martial arts that have survived in active form include English boxing, Olympic wrestling, and French savate. Some weapon systems have also survived as folk sports and as self-defense methods, including stick-fighting systems such as Jogo do Pau of Portugal, and the Juego del Palo style(s) of the Canary Islands.

Other martial arts were made into sports that we no longer recognize as combative, such as some kinds of gymnastics, where the pommel horse is called a horse because it simulates a horse; the art comes from the necessity of a cavalryman to be able to change positions and fight effectively from the back of a horse. More ancient origins exist for the shot put and the javelin throw, both weapons utilized extensively by the Romans.

Martial arts in the Americas

The native peoples of North America had their own martial training which started at childhood. Many Native American men considered themselves warriors and trained to use the bows, knives, blowguns, spears, and war clubs. War clubs were the preferred martial weapon because Native American warriors could raise their social status by killing enemies in single combat face to face. Warriors honed their archery and war club skills through lifelong training. According to early historical accounts, they demonstrated impressive skill in using war clubs and were favorably compared to European fencing masters.

The European colonists (and later, Asian immigrants) brought over their own martial arts such as boxing, fencing and wrestling.

In 1831 Jim Bowie is reputed to have won a duel, killing three bandits with his soon-to-be-famous Bowie knife. Due to the sensationalism of American newspaper reports, the Bowie knife soon became the most popular personal blade being sold in the US. Schools of Bowie fighting quickly sprung up across the country, which probably drew from European influences and possibly drew from native influences.

Capoeira, with roots in Africa, is a martial art originating in Brazil that involves a high degree of flexibility and endurance. It consists of kicks and sweeps, although modern Capoeira has incorporated punches and arm strikes.

Another Brazilian martial art is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The pre-war years saw many Japanese people immigrate to Brazil, some of whom were proficient in Judo. Carlos Gracie and his brother Hlio Gracie adopted this system of fighting and refined it into a more comprehensive ground fighting system. The system, known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has become a popular martial art and proved to be extremely successful in mixed martial arts competitions such as the UFC.

Martial arts internationally

Every village and tribe around the world had a few trained fighters who passed on their knowledge; however, it is difficult to pass on a fighting system, so almost all of these have been lost as their practical relevance has declined. A few have nonetheless survived for one reason or another, and a very few of those have seen a recent boom in popularity, perhaps related to the world music phenomenon or more simply because the internet has thrown them open to the world. Examples of this are Capoeira and some related arts in Cuba, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago, which were preserved partly through their relationship with Candombl, Santer­a, Vodun, and other syncretic religions. Of these, only Capoeira has risen to worldwide prominence.