Martial arts facts for kids
A martial art is a special way of fighting or self-defense that has been practiced for a long time. People learn martial arts for many reasons, like staying fit, building confidence, learning discipline, or even for sport. It's a style of combat, often used to protect yourself. The word "martial art" first appeared in English in the 1920s, meaning "art of military matters."
A person who practices martial arts is called a martial artist. Many Asian martial arts use "forms" or kata, which are set routines of movements.
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What Are Martial Arts?
Martial arts are basically systems of fighting. There are many different schools and styles around the world. While they all involve fighting, their main goal is often self-defense. Some, like Taijiquan, are also practiced to improve health and energy flow, known as qi.
Not all martial arts come from Asia. For example, savate started in France, and the dance-like movements of capoeira came from Brazil.
Many martial arts focus on different techniques:
- Punches: Like in boxing or karate.
- Kicks: Used in taekwondo, kickboxing, and karate.
- Holds and Throws: Common in judo, jujutsu, and wrestling.
- Weapons: Such as in iaijutsu, kendo, kenjutsu, naginatado, fencing, or Filipino eskrima.
- Some styles, like many forms of jujutsu, combine several of these elements.
Martial arts are sometimes divided into "hard" and "soft" styles.
- Hard martial arts like karate and kickboxing often focus on strong attacks to defeat an opponent.
- Soft martial arts like judo and aikido use less aggressive methods, often using an opponent's own force against them.
It's hard to say which martial art is "best." Recently, competitions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the USA and Pancrase in Japan have become popular. These are known as "mixed martial arts" or MMA. They combine techniques from many different styles.
The history of martial arts is very old. People have been developing fighting systems and war strategies for thousands of years. Some of the oldest written records about fighting techniques date back to the 13th century in Europe.
People who train in martial arts have different ideas about competitions. Some arts, like boxing or Thai boxing, focus a lot on sparring (practice fights) and competing. Others, like most forms of aikido and Krav Maga, don't believe in competitions. Those who compete often say it helps develop better techniques. Those who don't compete argue that competition rules change the art and don't show what would happen in a real situation.
In recent years, there have been efforts to bring back historical martial arts that were almost forgotten, like pankration from ancient Greece.
Asian Martial Arts
- Borneo
- bersilat
- India
- kalari payattu
- Indonesia
- kuntao
- pencak silat
- tarung derajat
- Japan
- Korea
- Myanmar (formerly Burma)
- bando
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Thai boxing or Muay Thai
- Vietnam
- Vinoệt V Đạo
- China - all Chinese martial arts are often called kung-fu, wushu, chuan fa or kuntao.
- Internal styles: also called neijia.
- hsing yi (hsing Y)
- pakua quan
- taiji quan
- Internal styles: also called neijia.
- Pakistan
Martial Arts from Other Countries
- Brazil
- Egypt
- tahtib or Egyptian stick fencing
- France
- Germany
- musado
- Nindokai
- Greece
- Israel
- Poland
- combat 56
- karate-do tsunami
- kempo tai jutsu
- Russia
- sambo
- Spain
- juego del palo canario
- lucha canaria
- lucha leonesa
- United States of America
- full contact
- Jeet Kune Do
- SeishinDo Kenpo or Seishindo Kenpo
- Kempo Karate called American kenpo
Images for kids
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A Chinese martial artist getting ready to throw an opponent during a lei tai contest in Ancient China.
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A demonstration of Ju-Jitsu defense against a knife attack in Berlin, 1924.
See also
In Spanish: Arte marcial para niños
