Portal:Martial arts

The Martial Arts Portal

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Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons: ranging from violent street fighting, self-defense, military and law enforcement combat readiness applications; to non-violent exercising, ceremonial and competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preservation of a nation's historical and intangible cultural heritage. The concept of martial arts was originally associated with East Asian tradition, but subsequently the term has been applied to practices that originated outside that region. (Full article...)

Although the earliest evidence of martial arts goes back millennia, the true roots are 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 traditions become identifiable in Classical Antiquity, with disciplines such as shuai jiao, Greek wrestling or those described in the Indian epics or the Spring and Autumn Annals of China. (Full article...)

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A pair of tonfa

The tonfa (Okinawan: トンファー tonfā, Chinese: 柺; pinyin: guǎi lit. old man's staff / "crutch", also spelled as tongfa or tuifa, also known as T-baton) is a melee weapon with its origins in the armed component of Okinawan martial arts where it is known as the tunkua. It consists of a stick with a perpendicular handle attached a third of the way down the length of the stick, and is about 15–20 inches (380–510 mm) long. It was traditionally made from red or white oak, and wielded in pairs. The tonfa is believed to have originated in either China, Okinawa or Southeast Asia, where it is used in the respective fighting styles. (Full article...)
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Rhee Taekwon-Do (Korean: 리태권도; Hanja: 李跆拳道), also known as Rhee Tae Kwon-Do, Rhee Tae Kwon Do, or Rhee Taekwondo,^[a] is a martial art school in Australia^[b] teaching the Korean martial art of taekwondo. Its full name is "Rhee International Taekwon-Do (Australia)". Chong Chul Rhee, one of the original masters of taekwondo, founded the school in the mid-1960s. Two of Rhee's brothers, Chong Hyup Rhee and Chong Yoon Rhee, later came to assist him in the 1970s.

C. C. Rhee claims the title 'Father of Australian Taekwondo' and Rhee Taekwon-Do is widely publicised as being Australia's first and biggest taekwondo school. It has at least 294 publicly listed dojang (training halls) in Australia, with perhaps around 1,400 dojang in total at its peak. Several Australian martial art school founders received their foundational taekwondo training in Rhee's school. (Full article...)
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Historically, Chinese swords are classified into two types, the jian and the dao. A Jian is a straight, double-edged sword mainly used for stabbing; the term has been commonly translated into the English language as a longsword. Meanwhile, a dao is a single-edged sword (mostly curved from the Song dynasty forward) mainly used for cutting, and the term has been translated as a saber or a "knife".

Bronze jians appeared during the Western Zhou period and switched to the more durable wrought iron and steel during the late Warring States period. In modern times, the ceremonial commissioned officer's sword of the Chinese navy has been patterned after the traditional jian since 2008. Besides specialty weapons like the butterfly dao, Chinese swords are usually 70–110 cm (28–43 in) in length. However, longer swords have been found on occasion. (Full article...)
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The largest MMA promotion in the world, the UFC has over 578 fighters contracted that fight across 11 weight divisions (eight men's and three women's). The organization produces events worldwide and abides by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. As of 2024^[update], it had held over 700 events. Dana White has been its president since 2001 and CEO since 2023. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

The UFC was founded by businessman Art Davie and Brazilian martial artist Rorion Gracie, and the first event was held in 1993 at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the UFC's early competitions was to identify the most effective martial art in a contest with minimal rules and no weight classes between competitors of different fighting disciplines. In subsequent events, more rigorous rules were created and fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create a separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts. (Full article...)
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Final of the Challenge Réseau Ferré de France–Trophée Monal 2012, épée world cup tournament in Paris

Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: foil, épée, and sabre (also spelled saber), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fencers specialise in one of these disciplines. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century, evolving from historical European swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with the opponent with one's sword.

The 1904 Olympic Games featured a fourth discipline of fencing known as singlestick, but it was dropped after that year and is not a part of modern fencing. Competitive fencing was one of the first sports to be featured in the Olympics and, along with athletics, cycling, swimming, and gymnastics, has been featured in every modern Olympics. (Full article...)
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Iaidō (居合道), abbreviated iai (居合), is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.

Iaido consists of four main components: the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard (or saya), striking or cutting an opponent, shaking blood from the blade, and replacing the sword in the scabbard. While beginning practitioners of iaido may start learning with a wooden sword (bokutō 木刀) depending on the teaching style of a particular instructor, most of the practitioners use a blunt-edged sword called an iaitō or mogitō. Few, more experienced, iaido practitioners use a sharp-edged sword (shinken). (Full article...)
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Renzo Gracie does a soccer kick ("Tiro de Meta") on Eugenio Tadeu at the Pentagon Combat event in Rio de Janeiro, 1997

Vale Tudo or vale-tudo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvali ˈtudu]; English: Everything Goes/Everything Allowed), also known as No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact fighting style or competition format characterized by having very few rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would eventually evolve into modern mixed martial arts (MMA). For years, "Vale Tudo" was used as a synonym for MMA in Brazil, but the term fell into disuse due to the emergence of stricter rules and the influence of the media to have a more "civilized" name. It is now used to refer to an early, more rules-free stage of the modern sport.

Vale Tudo initially started as an informal ruleset for fighters from different martial arts to fight each other. The Gracie family was known to organize their famous "Gracie Challenge", in which they would fight other martial artists in Vale Tudo bouts to prove the efficiency and superiority of their own Gracie jiu-jitsu. Many fighters eventually started to train specifically for Vale Tudo events, mixing striking and grappling, eventually advertising "Vale Tudo" as its own standalone style. For example, Marco Ruas referred to his hybrid style of Luta Livre and Muay Thai striking simply as "Vale Tudo". (Full article...)
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Krav Maga course at an Israeli paratroopers school in 1955

Krav Maga (/ˌkrɑːv məˈɡɑː/ KRAHV mə-GAH; Hebrew: קְרַב מַגָּע, IPA: [ˈkʁav maˈɡa]; lit. 'contact combat') is an Israeli self-defence system. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is known for its focus on real-world situations.

Krav Maga was originally developed by Hungarian-born Israeli martial artist Imi Lichtenfeld. Having grown up in Bratislava during a time of antisemitic unrest, Lichtenfeld used his training as a boxer and wrestler to defend Jewish neighborhoods against attackers in the mid-to-late 1930s, becoming an experienced street fighter. After his immigration to Mandatory Palestine in the late 1940s, he began to provide lessons on combat training to Jewish paramilitary groups that would later form the IDF during the 1948 Palestine war. As an instructor, he compiled his knowledge and experience into the combat system that would later become known as Krav Maga. This system would continue to be taught long after he left the IDF. (Full article...)
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Yoshukai Karate patch

Yoshukai (養秀会, Yōshūkai) is a Japanese style of Karate–dō. Karate-do. Karate-do translates as "Way of the Empty Hand."
The three kanji (Japanese symbols) that make up the word Yoshukai literally translate as "Training Hall of Continued Improvement." However, the standardized English translation is "Striving for Excellence." Yoshukai Karate has been featured in Black Belt Magazine. Yoshukai karate is a separate Japanese style from Chito-ryu (which still retains its strong Okinawan roots). Kata, kobudo, kumite, and all karate aspects are drawn from the Founder, Mamoru Yamamoto. Yoshukai is a newer derivative Japanese style. (Full article...)
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Boxing match

Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time.

Although the term 'boxing' is commonly attributed to the Western style, where only the fists are used, it has evolved differently across various geographical regions and cultures worldwide. In global terms, "boxing" today is also a set of combat sports focused on striking, in which two opponents face each other in a fight using at least their fists, and possibly involving other actions, such as kicks, elbow strikes, knee strikes, and headbutts, depending on the rules. Some of these variants are the bare-knuckle boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Lethwei, savate, and sanda. Boxing techniques have been incorporated into many martial arts, military systems, and other combat sports. (Full article...)

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Otávio Maeda (born Mitsuyo Maeda (前田光世, Maeda Mitsuyo; November 18, 1878 – November 28, 1941) was a Japanese-born Brazilian judōka, catch wrestler, and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions. He was known as Count Combat or Conde Koma in Spanish and Portuguese, a nickname he picked up in Spain in 1908. Along with Antônio Soshihiro Satake, he pioneered judo in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

Maeda was fundamental to the development of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, including through his teaching of Carlos Gracie and others of the Gracie family. He was also a promoter of Japanese immigration to Brazil. His accomplishments led to him being called the "toughest man who ever lived" and being referred to as the father of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. (Full article...)

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"The Fight" is the sixth episode of the second season of the television series The Office and the show's twelfth episode overall. It was written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg and directed by Ken Kwapis. It originally aired on November 1, 2005, on NBC. "The Fight" guest starred Lance Krall, who played the part of Dwight's sensei, Ira.

The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), after being embarrassed by Dwight Schrute's (Rainn Wilson) superior fighting skills, engages in a karate match with Dwight during lunch. Meanwhile, Jim Halpert's (John Krasinski) flirting with Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) goes too far.

"The Fight" was known as "Karate" and "The Dojo" by members of the cast and crew due to many of the scenes featuring the titular fight. Several of the cast members of the show—recurring and starring—had martial arts experience. The episode contained several cultural references, with many referring to popular fighting-related movies and television shows. "The Fight" received largely positive reviews from critics. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 3.9 in the 18–49 demographic and was viewed by 7.9 million viewers.

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Credit: Lucio Beltrami

Kendo (Japanese: 剣道, Hepburn: Kendō; lit. 'sword way' or 'sword path' or 'way of the sword') is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship exercises, and today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread to many other nations across the world. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various martial arts-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1International judo camp in Artjärvi, Orimattila, Finland (from Judo)
Image 2Modern forms are used in the sport of wushu, as seen in this staff routine (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 3Martial arts fan (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 4Groundfighting in MMA. Differently from other grappling-based martial arts, you are allowed to strike your opponent when fighting on the ground. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 5All-Japan Judo Championships, 2007 men's final (from Judo)
Image 6MMA fighter attempts a Triangle-Armbar submission on his opponent. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 7King Shō Shin (from Karate)
Image 8Karatekas wearing different colored belts (from Karate)
Image 9Bōgutsuki, a form of full-contact karate fought with armour, one of the competition formats for kumite (from Karate)
Image 10Mural at Shaolin temple from 1830's depicting forearm strikes and reverse kicks (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 11MMA gloves. They are fingerless gloves which allow both striking and grappling to occur. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 12Two Brazilian fighters in a Sanda/Sanshou match. Sanda is a modernized form of Kung Fu and one of the two disciplines of Sport Wushu (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 13Bronze medal match at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (from Karate)
Image 14Jigoro Kano, founder of judo (from Judo)
Image 15The Yang style of tai chi being practiced on the Bund in Shanghai (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 16Eisho-ji temple, Tokyo (from Judo)
Image 17Jigoro Kano and Yamashita Yoshitsugu performing Koshiki-no-kata (from Judo)
Image 18A ring-side doctor attends to a fighter following a loss. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 19Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu attempting to throw Toshiro Daigo with an uchi mata in the final of the 1951 All-Japan Judo Championships (from Judo)
Image 20Throw during competition, leads to an ippon (from Judo)
Image 21Masahiko Kimura vs. Hélio Gracie, a 1951 bout between Japanese judo fighter Masahiko Kimura and Brazilian jiu jitsu founder Hélio Gracie in Brazil, was an early high-profile mixed martial arts bout. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 22Two judoka wearing judogi (from Judo)
Image 23Kung fu in Iran (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 24A Chinese martial artist preparing to throw his opponent during a lei tai contest in ancient China (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 25The judogi is made from a heavy weave to withstand the stress of throwing and grappling. (from Judo)
Image 26Masters of karate in Tokyo (c. 1930s), from left to right, Kanken Toyama, Hironori Otsuka, Takeshi Shimoda, Gichin Funakoshi, Chōki Motobu, Kenwa Mabuni, Genwa Nakasone, and Shinken Taira (from Karate)
Image 27Gina Carano applying a ground-and-pound on her opponent (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 28Harai goshi (払腰; sweeping hip), a koshi-waza (from Judo)
Image 29Karatekas at a dojo with different colored belts (from Karate)
Image 30Bruce Lee is known for practicing many martial arts styles, including Karate, having trained with Chuck Norris for many years. (from Karate)
Image 31Ancient Chinese weapons (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 32An octagon cage used by the UFC (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 33GAMMA medallists on the podium at the 2023 African Games (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 34Bruce Lee popularized the concept of mixed martial arts via his hybrid philosophy of Jeet Kune Do during the late 1960s to early 1970s. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 35Megumi Fujii (left) facing Cody Welchlin (right) (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 36Pankratiast in fighting stance, Ancient Greek red-figure amphora, 440 BC. (from History of martial arts)
Image 37Olympic Judo pictogram (from Judo)
Image 38A ring used by PRIDE (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 39A "soccer kick", movement where the fighter kicks the head of a downed opponent. While common in vale tudo, early MMA and Japanese promotions, the soccer kick has been banned from the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 40Gichin Funakoshi (from Karate)
Image 41Fol. 4v of the I.33 (from History of martial arts)
Image 42Karate movements in Lappeenranta (from Karate)
Image 43Chōki Motobu in Naihanchi-dachi, one of the basic karate stances (from Karate)
Image 44Karate in Naha before the war (before 1946) (from Karate)
Image 45Juji gatame (十字固; cross lock)(armbar), a kansetsu-waza (from Judo)
Image 46Karate training in front of Shuri Castle in Naha (1938) (from Karate)
Image 47UFC 74; Clay Guida vs. Marcus Aurelio (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 48Ancient Greek pankratiasts fighting. This drawing is an early 20th century copy of a scene from a Panathenaic amphora. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 49Yuki Nakai fights UFC 1 finalist Gerard Gordeau at Vale Tudo Japan 1995. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 50The Pancrastinae: a statue portraying the pancratium, an event which took place in the Roman Colosseum. Even as late as the Early Middle Ages, statues were put up in Rome and other cities to honor remarkable pankratiasts. This statue, now part of the Uffizi collection, is a Roman copy of a lost Greek original, circa 3rd century BC. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 51jūdō (柔道, "Judo"), written in kanji (from Judo)
Image 52Judo (1935) (from Judo)
Image 53Japanese judoka Takamasa Anai Vs French judoka Thierry Fabre during the 2010 World Judo Championships held in Tokyo (from Judo)
Image 54Depiction of fighting monks demonstrating their skills to visiting dignitaries (early 19th-century mural in the Shaolin Monastery). (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 55Kung fu sword (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 56Panel by Alfredo Storni featuring capoeirista Ciríaco defeating jujitsu fighter Sada Miyako with a rabo de arraia kick, O Malho, 1909. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 57Two children training in judo techniques (from Judo)
Image 58Fighter performs a takedown on his opponent. (from Mixed martial arts)

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Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

— Bruce Lee, Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey

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Topics

Martial arts - Hard and soft - History - List of styles - Outline - Timeline

Regional origin - China - Europe - India - Indonesia - Japan - Korea - Philippines

Unarmed techniques - Chokehold - Clinch - Footwork - Elbow strike - Headbutt - Hold - Kick - Knee strike - Joint lock - Punch - Sweep - Takedown - Throw

Weapons - Archery - Duel - Knife fighting - Melee weapons - Shooting - Stick-fighting - Swordsmanship - Nunchaku

Training - Kata - Practice weapon - Punching bag - Pushing hands - Randori - Sparring

Grappling - Brazilian jiu-jitsu - Judo - Jujutsu - Sambo - Sumo - Wrestling

Striking - Boxing - Capoeira - Karate - Kickboxing - Muay Thai - Lethwei - Sanshou - Savate - Taekwondo - Vovinam

Internal - Aikido - Aikijutsu - Baguazhang - Tai chi - Xing Yi Quan

Full contact / Combat sports - Professional boxing - Professional kickboxing - Knockdown karate - Mixed martial arts - Pankration - Submission wrestling

Self-defense / Combatives - Arnis - Bartitsu - Hapkido - Kajukenbo - Krav Maga - MCMAP - Pencak Silat - Systema - Wing Chun - Legal aspects

Eclectic / Hybrids - American Kenpo - Chun Kuk Do - Jeet Kune Do - Shooto - Shorinji Kempo - Unifight

Entertainment - Fighting game - Martial arts film (Chanbara) - Professional wrestling - Stage combat - Wuxia

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