MARTIAL ARTS

MEANING OF MARTIAL ARTS

Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental and spiritual development; and entertainment or the preservation of a nation’s intangible cultural heritage. The term martial arts refer to all of the various systems of training for combat that have been arranged or systematized.

Table of Contents

TYPES OF MARTIAL ARTS

Karate. This covers many styles of self-defense involving kicks, punches, and open-handed chops. It’s believed that the word “karate” was first used in Okinawa, Japan, when a martial artist created a form of martial art that had Chinese influences. “Kara” originally referred to China and “karate” to Chinese In karate (as well as many other martial arts) they’re denoted by belts in different colors, with the well-known black belt representing the highest level of expertise.

Jujitsu. Developed in China and Japan, this martial art is a forerunner of both aikido and judo. All three martial arts rely on grappling, a technique that involves fighting in close proximity to your opponent with lots of body contact; it can involve anything from throws to strangle-type holds to taking your opponent to the ground or floor and fighting there. Jujitsu uses the attacker’s momentum to do joint locks (in which you force your opponent’s joint, such as an elbow or knee, beyond its normal range of motion, resulting in pain or injury) to restrain the opponent. One variant, Brazilian jujitsu relies on choking the opponent and continuing the fighting on the ground.

Aikido. Like jujitsu, this Japanese martial art—meaning “the way for harmony” or “unification of your spiritual energy” or ki—makes use of the momentum and strength of the opponent to achieve your objective (sometimes called “nonresistance”). Aikido doesn’t use kicking and makes less use of hand strikes than jujitsu. Instead, the practitioner uses a lot of turning motions and pushing movements accompanied by joint locks.

Judo. This martial art also originated in Japan. Like jujitsu and aikido, it’s based largely on grappling, but in this case with an emphasis on throws and pinning the opponent to the ground.

Hapkido. This Korean martial art incorporates a variety of weapons, including belts, ropes, and canes. They’re used in moves including kicks, joint locks, throws, and hand strikes to the body’s pressure points.

Kung fu. This Chinese martial art uses numerous fighting styles, some of them involving acrobatic elements such as flips, jumps, and high kicks. Kung fu can be loosely divided into two schools: those that focus on arm work, such as rapid, close-range punching; and those that focus on acrobatics, with kicks and leg work. Some kung fu forms encourage the practitioner to be aggressively forceful, while others encourage the yielding model, in which you use the attacker’s force against him or her. Some schools emphasize a focus on relaxation and visualization techniques.

Capoeira. This Brazilian martial art was originally developed by Angolan slaves who disguised their self-defense moves as dance. It’s very acrobatic, with flips, punches, and kicks. See a video of a capoeira class.

Krav maga. Developed by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), krav maga (meaning “battle combat” in Hebrew) focuses on hand-to-hand combat with grappling, wrestling, and hand strikes. It also teaches the practitioner to use virtually any ordinary object in the environment—a tree branch, a garbage can lid—to help fend off an attacker, even one who is much larger and heavier. Classes are often taught by Israelis who served in the IDF.

Tae kwon do. This Korean martial art may be one of the world’s oldest. It emphasizes kicking in particular, though the practice also incorporates hand strikes, joint locks, throws, and punches.

Tai chi. Also known as tai chi chuan, this Chinese martial art involves choreographed, slow-motion postures. Some forms use a sword or other weapons. It’s said that tai chi originated when a Chinese monk saw the fluid movements of a crane fending off a snake and combined the graceful movements with Taoist breathing techniques. In the West today, tai chi is usually practiced as a form of exercise, rather than as a martial art.