This document contains an essay about Martial arts and is written in English. I discuss pretty much everything about the subject and it has in the end around 2500 words. I had to hand it in for my PE class, but of course you can also use it for your English class.
Table of contents:
What is Martial arts?......................................................................................... 2
Where did Martial arts originated from?............................................................ 2
What are the different types of martial arts?..................................................... 3
The martial arts industry………………………………………………………..….. 4
Health and fitness involving martial arts…..……………………………………… 4
Martial sport……...……………………………………………………………..…… 5
The coloured belt system…………………………………………………………... 5
Introduction:
I had chosen this subject, because I found it really interesting. The variety in the sports
seemed very attractive, and I wanted to know more about it as a whole. Another reason is
that I don’t know a lot about this subject and I find it more interesting to learn about a new
sport, than writing about the sport I have been playing for several years (soccer). My idea is
to learn about the background of martial arts, and to learn what makes a sport fit into martial
arts.
, Martial arts is a term for different (east) Asian fighting sports and skills. A few popular
examples are: karate, judo and kung fu. Fun fact; the term ‘martial’ originated from Latin and
means; ‘arts of Mars’ with Mars being the god of war.
These sports can be divided into two groups; armed and unarmed. Armed combat is mainly
used in military and law enforcement, while unarmed combat is mostly used as self-defence.
Martial arts is often practiced for such reasons as self-defence, military and law enforcement,
but also for competition, physical/mental and spiritual-development and entertainment.
The difference between East Asian martial arts and other martial arts is the influence of
Daoism and Zen Buddhism (both are religions). This influence strengthened the mental and
spiritual state of the practitioner, a state were functions of the mind are suspended so that
the mind and body can work as a group. This mental and physical state is central to Daoism
and Zen. In their religions martial arts is a part of their philosophical and spiritual training.
In the 20th century the popularity in martial arts grew. And in the 21th century the mixed
martial arts formed. The mixed martial arts includes various fighting techniques from other
cultural traditions.
Where did martial arts originated from?
The oldest work of art showcasing a battle, comes from Spain. These were cave paintings,
and similar paintings were found in Germany. Both came from around 10.000 BCE. These
are in my opinion not really example of martial arts, but there were the first forms of fighting
battles that were illustrated. Wrestling is the oldest combat sport, paintings were found in
Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and ancient Egypt around 3000 BCE. The earliest form of
boxing was also found in Mesopotamia around the same time.
The foundation of the modern Asian martial arts most likely came from cultural exchange
with the early Chinese and Indian martial arts. The Chinese developed in martial philosophy
and strategy, while in India, Buddhism spread and became there the first influence of
religions in martial arts. In Europe the earliest trace found of martial arts is in ancient Greece,
Boxing, wrestling and pankration (Mixture of both boxing and wrestling) were represented in
the Ancient Olympic games. A number of European styles has survived over the years such
as, sword and shield, two-handed sport fighting and hand/close combat weapons. You notice
here that the Europeans introduced weapons into combat sports. The Asian martial arts
became well known in the medieval period, while the Japanese martial arts was just starting
to rise with its samurai nobility.
In the mid to late 19th century, martial arts gets marked as a modern sport which developed
out of the earlier fighting sports. In Europe it consisted out of boxing, wrestling and fencing,
while in Japan it consisted of judo, jujutsu, karate and kendo. In China the modern martial
arts started around the 1930s.
Due to the increase in trade between the United States with China and Japan, the western
part also got interested in Asian martial arts. Still just a few westerns really practiced it, as it
was mainly used as entertainment.
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