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Martial arts is an English translation of the Japanese word "武芸 bu-gei". Literally, it refers to "武 martial" and "芸 arts".

It was first used in the Japanese-English dictionary "Takenobu Japanese-English Dictionary (Collection of the National Diet Library of Japan)" published by a Japanese in 1918, and then spread to the general public in the West. This is why the term "martial arts" is now often associated with oriental martial arts that are strongly associated with orientalism, rather than simply referring to combat systems.

According to Paul Bowman, the term martial arts was popularized by mainstream popular culture during the 1960s to 1970s, notably by Hong Kong martial arts films (most famously those of Bruce Lee) during the so-called "chopsocky" wave of the early 1970s.[2]

According to John Clements, the term martial arts itself is derived from an older Latin term meaning "arts of Mars", the Roman god of war, and was used to refer to the combat systems of Europe (European martial arts) as early as the 1550s.[3]

The term martial science, or martial sciences, was commonly used to refer to the fighting arts of East Asia (Asian martial arts) up until the 1970s, while the term Chinese boxing was also used to refer to Chinese martial arts up until then.[4]

Some authors have argued that fighting arts or fighting systems would be more appropriate terms on the basis that many martial arts were never "martial" in the sense of being used or created by professional warriors.[5]

Martial arts may be categorized using a variety of criteria, including:

• Traditional/historical arts vs. contemporary styles: e.g., folk wrestling compared to modern hybrid martial arts.

• Techniques taught: armed vs. unarmed, and within these categories

  • armed: by type of weapon (swordsmanship, stick fighting etc.)

  • unarmed: by type of combat (grappling, striking, stand-up fighting, ground fighting)

• By application or intent: self-defense, combat sport, choreography or demonstration of forms, physical fitness, meditation, etc.

• Within Chinese tradition: "external" vs. "internal" styles

By technical focus

Unarmed

Unarmed martial arts can be broadly grouped into those focusing on strikes, those focusing on grappling, and those that cover both fields, often described as hybrid martial arts.

 

Strikes: punching and kicking techniques displayed at the Banteay Srei (967 A.D.) in Cambodia.

Strikes

• Punching: Boxing, Wing Chun

• Kicking: Kickboxing, Taekwondo, Capoeira, Savate, Karate

• Others using strikes: Lethwei, Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Pencak Silat, Kalaripayattu, Taijiquan

 

Grappling: bas-relief of grappling techniques at Prambanan (9th century) in Indonesia.

Grappling

• Throwing: Hapkido, Judo, Sumo, Wrestling, Aikido

• Joint lock/Chokeholds/Submission holds: Jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Sambo, Catch wrestling, Judo

• Pinning Techniques: Judo, Wrestling, Aikido

• Trapping/Clinch fighting: Wing Chun, Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, wrestling, Judo

Armed

The traditional martial arts that cover armed combat often encompass a wide spectrum of melee weapons, including bladed weapons and polearms. Such traditions include eskrima, silat, kalaripayat, kobudo, and historical European martial arts, especially those of the Italian Renaissance. Many Chinese martial arts also feature weapons as part of their curriculum.

Sometimes, 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). Similarly, modern martial arts and sports include modern fencing, stick-fighting systems like canne de combat, modern competitive archery and practical shooting.

By application or intent

Combat-oriented

Main articles: Combat sport and Self-defense

Health-oriented

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

Spirituality-oriented

Martial arts can also be linked with religion and spirituality. Numerous systems are reputed to have been founded, disseminated, or practiced by monks or nuns.

Throughout the Asian arts, meditation may be incorporated as a part of training. In the arts influenced by a mix of Chan Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian philosophy, the practice itself may be used as an aid to attaining mindfulness.

Japanese styles, when concerning non-physical qualities of the combat, are often strongly influenced by Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Concepts like "empty mind" and "beginner's mind" are recurrent. Aikido practitioners for instance, can have a strong philosophical belief of the flow of energy and peace fostering, as idealised by the art's founder Morihei Ueshiba.

Traditional Korean martial arts place emphasis on the development of the practitioner's spiritual and philosophical development. A common theme in most Korean styles, such as Taekkyon, taekwondo, and Hapkido is the value of "inner peace" in a practitioner, which is stressed to be only achievable through individual meditation and training. The Koreans believe that the use of physical force is only justifiable for self defense.[6]

Systema draws upon breathing and relaxation techniques, as well as elements of Russian Orthodox thought, to foster self-conscience and calmness, and to benefit the practitioner in different levels: the physical, the psychological and the spiritual.

Some martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner, with capoeira being the most prominent example. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms (see also war dance).

Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name of a Persian Martial arts inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni (Persian: آیین پهلوانی و زورخانه‌ای, "heroic sport")[7] or varzesh-e bāstāni (ورزش باستانی; varzeš-e bāstānī, "ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics originally used to train warriors in Iran (Persia), and first appearing under this name and form in the Safavid era, with similarities to systems in adjacent lands under other names.[8][9]