Martial Arts

The World of Martial Arts

Throughout the world, there is a large array of martial arts. All martial arts do share the same goal and that is to defend oneself while at the same time to physically deter them. A deepening sense of spirituality is what seems to govern most arts. No matter what the martial style is, there will be different bodily feeling associated with each one and provides a sense of embodiment. A fairly common trait of the arts are the fighting techniques that are performed in a systematic manner. There are four major focus areas, with which all styles will take one or more of these areas: striking, grappling, kicking, and weaponry.

Even though they are more often than not associated with the East Asian realm and its people, martial arts are in no way exclusive to this area. Native American and Hawaiian people developed their own form of fighting mixed in with wrestling. Within the Hawaiian form of the arts, there also is a strong influence from Polynesian cultures and their weapons fighting. One example of this is what is known as Fire Knife Dancing. Many of these arts strongly attempt to instill moral values and give guidance for children who begin to learn the teachings of art. It is required in most that you achieve black belt or the equivalent to take an oath restricting their use of that knowledge for the good of humanity. Martial artists are not only physically trained but also have their emotional capacity enhanced through their studies.

Each martial art is different in that it has its own goals and objectives. Martial arts history throughout the world is complex in nature. Civilizations/groups of people have always found themselves defensing against others and this lead to the creation of certain fighting techniques for that very reason. The creation of many of these arts thusly have roots within the military. Unfortunately, the advancements in technology have rendered many of these tactics out of date. The times when men with swords and bows were your threat are over and a time when these same people will hold automatic weapons is upon us. Also, another reason for the history of these arts to be failing is in the fact that it takes many years under a great master/teacher in order to preserve the art. This makes it extremely unlikely that many arts would survive in today’s world and that there are some that have done so is remarkable.

The exportation of the martial arts from Japan began during WWII when American soldiers began to pick up this art while there. This lead to such sports being brought back as karate, which then developed into a major international competitive sport with pro fighters, large prizes, TV exposure, and more.