Martial arts are a special mixture of sports, agressivness and peace of mind at the same time and they are art as their very name says. They are great to be watched and even better to be practiced. The long way from a beginner to a profesional in martial arts is filled with hard work but eventually brings you to point where not only you are a skilled fighter but a person in control of their self and their impulses and whith an absolute peace of mind.
Basics:
The early history of martial arts is difficult to reconstruct. Inherent patterns of human aggression which inspire practice of mock combat (in particular wrestling) and optimization of serious close combat as cultural universals are doubtlessly inherited from the pre-human stage, and were made into an “art” from the earliest emergence of that concept. Indeed, many universals of martial art are fixed by the specifics of human physiology and not dependent on a specific tradition or era.
Specific martial arts traditions become identifiable in Classical Antiquity, with disciplines such as Gladiatorial combat, Greek wrestling, Pankration, or those described in the Indian epics or the Spring and Autumn Annals of China. In modern times, these traditional roots were often used to legitimize invented traditions which were in fact quite new.
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development.
The term martial art has become heavily associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia, but was originally used in regard to the combat systems of Europe as early as the 1550s. An English fencing manual of 1639 used the term in reference specifically to the “Science and Art” of swordplay. The term is ultimately derived from Latin, martial arts being the “Arts of Mars,” the Roman god of war.[1]
Some martial arts are considered ‘traditional’ and tied to an ethnic, cultural or religious background, while others are modern systems developed either by a founder or an association. [2]
Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. Though studied for various reasons, broadly speaking, martial arts share a single objective: to defeat a person physically or to defend oneself from physical threat. Some martial arts are linked to spiritual or religious beliefs/philosophies such as Buddhism, Daoism or Shinto while others have their own spiritual/non-spiritual code of honour.Martial arts are commonly associated with East Asian cultures, but are by no means unique to Asia. Throughout Europe there was an extensive system of combat martial arts, collectively referred to as Historical European martial arts, that existed until modern times and are now being reconstructed by several organizations while Savate is a French kicking style developed by sailors and street fighters. In the Americas Native Americans have a tradition of open-handed martial arts, that includes wrestling and Hawaiians have historically practiced arts featuring small and large joint manipulation, a mix of origins occur in the athletic movements of Capoeira that was created in Brazil by slaves, based on skills brought with them from Africa. [3]
Martial arts history contains many examples of how styles were developed technically and philosophically. The people of different regions developed their own methods of offense and defense. Through the melting pot of centuries and conflict, these methods evolved through the efforts of the men and women who practiced them. As technology replaced warriors on the battlefields, these martial methods evolved into martial “Ways” to train the body and spirit.
Vietnamese martial arts began their evolution during the wars against invaders from surrounding countries and, due to the small stature of the Vietnamese people, took the soft style approach to self-defense.
The basis for Shaolin boxing or kung fu was introduced in 540 AD, when an Indian Monk named Bodhidharma, the leader of Zen Buddhism, traveled to northern China to lecture on Buddhism.
In the 14th century during the Yéan dynasty, Master Chang San-feng, a Taoist priest, studied tao yin, an early Chinese breathing art, the forerunner of tai chi.
The development of Okinawan martial arts was strongly influenced by Chinese fighting techniques.Okinawa-te evolved into karate (kara: Chinese, te: hand) and became tremendously important as a means of self-defense.
Jujitsu (ju: soft, yielding, jitsu: techniques), formalized by Hisamori Takenouchi in 1532, advocates close combat techniques of striking to vital target areas, throwing, joint locking and choking.
evolving from jujitsu was aikido (ai: combine, ki: internal strength, do: the Way), a defensive art involving joint manipulations, throws and some elements of kendo. It advocates the coordination of mind and body, harmonizing the use of the attacker’s weight and strength to the defender’s advantage. [4]
Martial arts have been around for thousands of years and the many different styles continue to gain popularity all over the world. In martial arts, the belt color (see http://www.mmaoutlet.com/ for various martial arts gear) separates the beginners from the masters, but the belt has not always been a part of history. Most schools of martial arts have rankings and belt colors that were adopted from Japan, according to North Austin Tae Kwon Do. One theory of the martial arts belt color is that the belt began as white and then transitioned to brown and finally black over years of being soiled from training; however, there are no colored belts in ancient martial arts tradition so this theory has been proven invalid, according to e-budokai.com. Another possible theory is that Kano adopted the black belt concept from Japanese high school sports since competitors were separated by a black ribbon worn around their waist, according to e-budokai.com. [5]
Conclusion:
Martial arts have had an interesting history and development. From the beginnings they kept most of their characteristics and stayed faithfull to themselves and that’s what makes them special compared to modern sports. They are a perfectly controlled agressive sport which paradoxically teaches amazing mind control and gives peace to every martial artist.
References:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_martial_arts
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_arts
[3] http://www.edinformatics.com/health_fitness/martial_arts.htm
[4] http://www.cuongnhu.com/Default.aspx?PID=7
[5] http://www.livestrong.com/article/351508-history-of-martial-arts-belts/
