Martial Arts

People tend to think of martial arts as being oriental, Kung Fu type fighting. However, the word 'martial' derives from the Latin word 'mars, martis', who was the Roman god of war. 'Martial', consequently, means 'to do with war or fighting'.As a result, martial can refer to Western methods of fighting too such as boxing and wrestling.These methods of fighting have been in existence for thousands of years at least and originated on the battlefield where one's competency in fighting was literally a matter of life and death. Wrestling was in the Olympic Games over 2,000 years ago.Likewise, lots of the oriental fighting arts are just as old and came into existence because peasants were not permitted to bear arms in the social structures of the times.In spite of the age of these methods of fighting, they did not become popular in the Developed world until Bruce Lee made them popular with his Kung Fu films in the early Seventies.It is a little known fact that when Lee was sent to America at the age of 18 to avoid the anger of a local Hong Kong mafia chief, he hoped to teach traditional martial arts, but was forbidden authorization by the local Chinese community.There was an accepted rule that non-Chinese were not to be trained in Chinese ways of fighting. Lee ignored the rule, and he claimed to have been sent death threats from powerful Chinese underworld leaders from America and Hong Kong.Lee taught martial arts to a small group of well-known Caucasians and even invented his own style called Jeet Kune Do.Jeet Kune Do used Lee's amazing speed and strength in its moves. Three of Lee's most famous moves were:The Power Side Kick: with one kick, he could kick a 300 pound sack to hit a normal ceilingThe One Inch Punch: he could knock a trained fighter down with a punch that had travelled merely one inchThe Lightning Snatch: with his arm by his side, he could snatch a dime from an open hand three feet away and leave a penny behind in 5/100 ths of a second.Individuals wished to be able to do the same. However, there are numerous different types of martial arts and numerous countries have their own individual style of fighting.China has Judo and Kung Fu; Japan has Karate; Brazil has Brazilian Jiu Jitsu; Thailand has Muay Thai.. There are numerous other, usually oriental styles, as well, like Tae Kwando and Aikido but also French Kick Boxing.Some martial arts are more defensive in character, but others are positively belligerent: Judo and Aikido are examples of defensive styles and Karate and boxing are a lot more aggressive in character.However, all martial arts teach self-discipline and the students develop more self-assurance. Martial arts are experiencing a resurgence in popularity at the moment, mainly due to UFC bouts or mixed martial arts.You might not approve of the brutality of mixed martial arts, but it cannot be denied that many kids are learning a few martial arts, Western and Oriental, because of these popular TV fights. For more information click on Martial Arts.