Martial Arts

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WHAT ARE MARTIAL ARTS?

Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of unarmed and armed combat practiced for self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preservation of cultural heritage. Although the term martial art has become associated with the fighting arts of East Asia, it originally referred to the combat systems of Europe. The term is derived from Latin and means "arts of Mars", the Roman god of war.

In feudal Japan, martial arts only encompassed battlefield techniques. Their mastery meant the difference between life and death, and the arts did not contain any explicit spiritual dimensions. Some warriors supplemented their training with Shinto or Buddhist-based meditation training, but the arts themselves had a clear purpose: to produce better trained practitioners than those of other schools, or neither the school nor its students would survive. The top schools flourished because their practitioners emerged victorious in battle. Those who admired their skills and wanted protection hired the successful warriors to teach and it was in this way that the system of martial arts lineages began.

Once the warring states period ended, the arts took on a spiritual dimension and practitioners realized that through hard physical and mental training, a spiritual dimension could be developed. Over time, students gained insight into the very nature of reality. Such training continues today where enlightenment occurs through dedicated training and perseverance.

The Path to higher consciousness through practice and devotion to martial arts is difficult. Many practitioners stray from the path as a result of perceived lack of progress. However, if the path were easy, one would not truly experience the journey. If there were no trials and tribulations, the trip would not be spiritual. Whatever path you pursue through martial arts, pursue it wholeheartedly. Devote yourself and do not stray. Never give up. In the end, you will find what you are looking for, and you will discover your own innate divinity.

WHERE DID MARTIAL ARTS ORIGINATE?

The oldest works of art depicting scenes of martial arts are cave paintings from eastern Spain dated between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE showing organized groups fighting with bows and arrows. Similar evidence of group warfare has been found in early Neolithic era mass burials, excavated in Germany and in Northern Sudan. Wrestling and boxing, considered the oldest combat sports, have origins depicted in the works of art from Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt circa 3000 BCE, and later in the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh.

The foundation of modern East Asian martial arts and South Asian martial arts was facilitated by cultural exchanges of early Chinese and Indian martial arts. During the warring states period of Chinese history (480–221 BCE) extensive development in martial philosophy and strategy emerged, as described by Sun Tzu in The Art of War (c. 350 BCE). Legendary accounts connect the origin of Shaolinquan to the spread of Buddhism from ancient India to China during the 5th century CE.

In Europe, the earliest sources of martial arts traditions date to Ancient Greece where boxing and wrestling were represented in the Olympic Games. The Romans produced gladiatorial combat as a public spectacle and a number of historical combat manuals have been found from the European Middle Ages. Japanese martial arts began with the establishment of the samurai nobility in the 12th century and Chinese martial arts with Ming era treatises. Indian martial arts are found in medieval texts such as the Agni Purana and the Malla Purana, and Korean martial arts stem from the Joseon era and texts such as Muyejebo.

Folk styles - Certain traditional combat sports and fighting styles exist all over the world, rooted in local culture and folklore. The most common of these are styles of folk wrestling, some of which have been practiced since antiquity and are found in remote areas. Other examples include forms of stick fighting and boxing. While these arts are based on traditions of folklore, they are not "historical" in the sense that they reconstruct or preserve a historical system from a specific era. They are contemporary regional sports that coexist with the modern forms of martial arts sports as they have developed since the 19th century.

Modern history - The mid to late 19th century marks the beginning of the history of martial arts as modern sports that were developed out of earlier traditional fighting systems. In Europe, this coincides with the development of boxing and fencing as sports. In Japan, the same period marks the formation of the modern forms of judo, jujutsu, karate, and kendo based on revivals of martial arts which had been suppressed for many years. In China, the modern history of martial arts began in the Nanjing decade in the 1930s.

Western interest in Asian martial arts arose at the end of the 19th century, due to the increase in trade between the United States with China and Japan. As Western influence grew in Asia, a greater number of military personnel spent time in China, Japan and South Korea during World War II and the Korean War and were exposed to local fighting styles. Jujutsu, judo and karate became popular among the mainstream US in the 1950s–1960s.

Due in part to Asian and Hollywood martial arts movies, most modern American martial arts are either Asian-derived or Asian influenced. The "kung fu wave" of Hong Kong action cinema in the 1970s, especially Bruce Lee films, popularized martial arts in global culture. In fact, Bruce Lee is credited as one of the first instructors to openly teach Chinese martial arts to Westerners. A number of mainstream films produced during the 1980s also contributed significantly to the perception of martial arts in Western popular culture including The Karate Kid (1984) and Bloodsport (1988). This era produced several Hollywood action stars with martial arts backgrounds, including Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. Jackie Chan and Jet Li are prominent martial artists who also became major movie figures in recent years. Their popularity and media presence has been at the forefront for promoting Chinese martial arts.

During the 1990s, Brazilian jiu-jitsu became popular and proved to be an effective mixed martial art (MMA) for competitions including the UFC. By the early 21st century, MMA, which incorporates fighting techniques from various cultural traditions, achieved prominence on the global stage.

HOW TO PRACTICE MARTIAL ARTS

Martial arts can be divided into armed and unarmed arts.

Unarmed - Unarmed martial arts can be broadly grouped into those arts focused on strikes, grappling, and a combination of both. Perhaps the most versatile unarmed practice is ninjutsu, which was developed for military spies in feudal Japan and also included training in disguise, escape, concealment, geography, meteorology, medicine, and explosives.

Strikes

Punching: Boxing, Wing Chun, Karate
Kicking: Taekwondo, Capoeira, Savate
Other martial arts using strikes: Lethwei, Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Pencak Silat, Kalaripayattu

Grappling

Throwing: Hapkido, Judo, Sumo, Wrestling, Aikido
Joint lock/Chokeholds/Submission holds: Judo, Jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Sambo
Pinning Techniques: Judo, Wrestling, Aikido

Armed - The traditional martial arts that cover armed combat encompass a wide spectrum of weapons, including blades and polearms. Such traditions include eskrima, silat, kalaripayat and kobudo. Training with one specific weapon may be considered a style in its own right, especially in the case of Japanese martial arts, with disciplines such as kenjutsu and kendo (sword), bojutsu (staff), and kyūdō (archery). Modern martial arts and sports include fencing, stick-fighting systems like canne de combat, and competitive archery.

Simplified forms of tai chi chuan (taijiquan), a Chinese form of unarmed combat, are popular as exercise, distinct from traditional martial arts origins.

Derivatives of many of the armed and unarmed forms are practiced as a means of spiritual development.

WHY PRACTICE MARTIAL ARTS?

Martial arts training results in several benefits, including improved physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.Through systematic practice, a person's physical fitness may be boosted as the whole body is exercised and the muscle system is activated. Beyond physical fitness, martial arts training also has benefits for mental health, contributing to self-esteem, self-control, emotional and spiritual well-being.

Health-oriented - Many martial arts, especially those from Asia, teach disciplines which pertain to medicinal practices. This is prevalent in traditional Asian martial arts which often teach bone-setting, herbalism, and other aspects of traditional medicine.

Spirituality-oriented - Martial arts can also be linked with religion and spirituality. Numerous systems have been founded, disseminated and practiced by monks or nuns. Throughout the Asian arts, meditation is often incorporated as a part of training in the arts influenced by Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian philosophy. These practices may be used to attain mindfulness. Japanese styles are also often influenced by Buddhist philosophy with the concept of an "empty mind". Aikido practitioners have a strong philosophical belief in the flow of energy or Chi and the fostering of peace.

Traditional Korean martial arts also place emphasis on the development of the practitioner's spiritual and philosophical development. A common theme in Korean styles, such as taekwondo and Hapkido is the value of "inner peace" in a practitioner, which is only achievable through individual meditation and training. The Koreans believe that the use of physical force is only justifiable for self defense. Systema, a Russian-practice draws upon breathing and relaxation techniques, as well as elements of Russian Orthodox thought, to foster calm to benefit the practitioner.

When beginners enter a martial arts dojo, they begin learning how to stand and move correctly. In time, they become stronger and more confident, and they learn more advanced techniques. The white belt with which they started picks up dirt and blood along the way, and it becomes black. This is the place along the Path where many people stop training. They erroneously believe that they have learned everything the art has to teach, and they think that they are experts. Outsiders may view them as experts, but an understanding of an art’s physical techniques does not encompass expertise. Those who stick with a practice continue to improve and change. Their techniques expand and then disappear as they become second nature. The stances that they struggled to perfect for years become “no stance”, as they cannot stand or move in any other way. The practitioner begins to personify the art, which they once looked upon as an outsider and now embody its movements and its principles. When this happens, the spiritual dimensions and benefits appear.

The primary unifying aspect of the East Asian martial arts, which sets them apart from other martial arts, is the influence of Daoism and Zen Buddhism. This influence has resulted in a strong emphasis on the mental and spiritual state of the practitioner, a state in which the rationalizing and calculating functions of the mind are suspended so that the mind and body can react immediately as a unit, reflecting the changing situation around the combatant. When this state is perfected, the everyday experience of the dualism of subject and object vanishes. Since this mental and physical state is also central to Daoism and Zen, and must be experienced to be grasped, many of their adherents practice the martial arts as a part of their philosophical and spiritual training. Conversely, numerous practitioners of the martial arts take up the practice of these Eastern philosophies.