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Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preservation of a nation's intangible cultural heritage. (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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Two kendōka, opponents, in the 2015 European Championships
Kendo (剣道, Kendō, lit. 'sword way', '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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Jujutsu training at an agricultural school in Japan around 1920

Jujutsu (/ˈdʒuːdʒuːtsuː/ joo-joo-tsu; Japanese: 柔術 jūjutsu, pronounced [dʑɯꜜːʑɯtsɯ] ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponents. It was coined by Hisamori Tenenuchi when he officially established the first school of jiu-jitsu in Japan. A subset of techniques from certain styles of jujutsu were used to develop many modern martial arts and combat sports, such as judo, aikido, sambo, ARB, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (via judo), and mixed martial arts. (Full article...)
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Kyuzo Mifune (left) and Kanō Jigorō (right)
Judo (Japanese: 柔道, Hepburn: Jūdō, lit. 'gentle way') is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally. Judo was created in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō (嘉納治五郎) as an eclectic martial art, distinguishing itself from its predecessors (primarily Tenjin Shinyo-ryu jujutsu and Kitō-ryū jujutsu) due to an emphasis on "randori" (乱取り, lit. 'free sparring') instead of kata (形, kata, pre-arranged forms) alongside its removal of striking and weapon training elements. Judo rose to prominence for its dominance over established jujutsu schools in tournaments hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁武術大会, Keishicho Bujutsu Taikai), resulting in its adoption as the department's primary martial art. A judo practitioner is called a "judoka" (柔道家, jūdōka, lit. 'judo performer'), and the judo uniform is called "judogi" (柔道着, jūdōgi, lit. 'judo attire').

The objective of competitive judo is to throw an opponent, immobilize them with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke. While strikes and use of weapons are included in some pre-arranged forms (kata), they are not frequently trained and are illegal in judo competition or free practice. Judo's international governing body is the International Judo Federation, and competitors compete in the international IJF professional circuit. (Full article...)
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Five types of shuriken

A shuriken (Japanese: 手裏剣, lit. 'hand-hidden blade') is a Japanese concealed weapon used by samurai or ninja or in martial arts as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect.

Shuriken are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they were originally constructed in many different shapes. The major varieties of shuriken are the bō shuriken (棒手裏剣, stick shuriken) and the hira shuriken (平手裏剣, flat shuriken) or shaken (車剣, wheel shuriken, also read as kurumaken). (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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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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A retiarius stabs at a secutor with his trident in this mosaic from the villa at Nennig, c. 2nd–3rd century CE.

A retiarius (plural retiarii; literally, "net-man" in Latin) was a Roman gladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of a fisherman: a weighted net (rete (3rd decl.), hence the name), a three-pointed trident (fuscina or tridens), and a dagger (pugio). The retiarius was lightly armoured, wearing an arm guard (manica) and a shoulder guard (galerus). Typically, his clothing consisted only of a loincloth (subligaculum) held in place by a wide belt, or of a short tunic with light padding. He wore no head protection or footwear.

The retiarius was routinely pitted against a heavily armed secutor. The net-fighter made up for his lack of protective gear by using his speed and agility to avoid his opponent's attacks and waiting for the opportunity to strike. He first tried to throw his net over his rival. If this succeeded, he attacked with his trident while his adversary was entangled. Another tactic was to ensnare his enemy's weapon in the net and pull it out of his grasp, leaving the opponent defenceless. Should the net miss or the secutor grab hold of it, the retiarius likely discarded the weapon, although he might try to collect it back for a second cast. Usually, the retiarius had to rely on his trident and dagger to finish the fight. The trident, as tall as a human being, permitted the gladiator to jab quickly, keep his distance, and easily cause bleeding. It was not a strong weapon, usually inflicting non-fatal wounds so that the fight could be prolonged for the sake of entertainment. The dagger was the retiarius's final backup should the trident be lost. It was reserved for when close combat or a straight wrestling match had to settle the bout. In some battles, a single retiarius faced two secutores simultaneously. For these situations, the lightly armoured gladiator was placed on a raised platform and given a supply of stones with which to repel his pursuers. (Full article...)
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Catch wrestling (originally catch-as-catch-can) is an English style of wrestling with looser rules than forms like Greco-Roman wrestling. For example, catch wrestling allows leg attacks and joint locks. It was popularised by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission holds, referred as "hooks" and "stretches", into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents.

In the UK, catch wrestling combines several British styles of wrestling (primarily Lancashire, as well as Cumberland, Westmorland, Devonshire and Cornish) along with influences from the Indian pehlwani and Irish collar-and-elbow styles of wrestling. (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. It is the largest MMA promotion in the world as of 2023. It produces events worldwide that showcase 11 weight divisions (eight men's and three women's) 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 the 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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Angampora gripping technique at Korathota Angam Maduwa

Angampora is a Sinhalese martial art that combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and meditation. A key component of angampora is the namesake angam, which incorporates hand-to-hand fighting, and illangam, involving the use of indigenous weapons such as the ethunu kaduwa, staves, knives and swords. Another component known as maya angam, which uses spells and incantations for combat, is also said to have existed. Angampora's distinct feature lies in the use of pressure point attacks to inflict pain or permanently paralyze the opponent. Fighters usually make use of both striking and grappling techniques, and fight until the opponent is caught in a submission lock that they cannot escape. Usage of weapons is discretionary. Perimeters of fighting are defined in advance, and in some of the cases is a pit.

A number of paintings related to angampora are found at Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka. These include Embekka Devalaya, Gadaladeniya Rajamaha Viharaya, Temple of the Tooth, Saman Devalaya (Ratnapura) and Lankathilaka Rajamaha Viharaya. (Full article...)

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Susianna Levonovna Kentikian (Armenian: Սյուզի Կենտիկյան; born Syuzanna Kentikyan on 11 September 1987) is an Armenian-German former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2016. She was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, but left the country with her family at the age of five because of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Kentikian has lived in Hamburg since 1996 and began boxing at the age of twelve.

Kentikian is a two-time flyweight world champion, having held the unified World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) female titles between 2007 and 2012, and the WBA female title again from 2013 to 2017. Additionally, she held the Women's International Boxing Federation (WIBF) title twice between 2007 and 2017. During the 2009 WBA convention in Colombia she was named the first ever female Super champion. It was announced that this belt would be called "Susi Kentikian belt" for all other future Super champions. (Full article...)

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The 2003 SummerSlam was the 16th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place August 24, 2003, at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

Seven professional wrestling matches were set on the event's supercard, a scheduling of multiple high-level matches. The first main event was an Elimination Chamber match, in which World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defeated Chris Jericho, Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Randy Orton, and Shawn Michaels to retain his championship. In the other main event, defending WWE Champion Kurt Angle defeated Brock Lesnar in a standard wrestling match. The undercard included Kane defeating Rob Van Dam in a No Holds Barred match, and Eddie Guerrero defending his United States Championship against Chris Benoit, Rhyno, and Tajiri. There was also a match that occurred on the Sunday Night Heat pre-show.

The event marked the second time the Elimination Chamber format was used by WWE; the first was at Survivor Series 2002. SummerSlam (2003) grossed over $715,000 ticket sales from an attendance of 16,113 and received about 415,000 pay-per-view buys, more than the following year's event. This event helped WWE increase its pay-per-view revenue by $6.2 million from the previous year.

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Credit: York Museums Trust staff

The Wrestlers is an oil painting on millboard by English artist William Etty, painted around 1840 and currently in the York Art Gallery, in York, England. It depicts a wrestling match between a black man and a white man, both glistening with sweat and under an intense light emphasising their curves and musculature. While little documentation of the painting exists prior to 1947, it is likely that it was painted over a period of three evenings at the life class of the Royal Academy. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Ancient Chinese weapons (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 2The 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 3Fol. 4v of the I.33 (from History of martial arts)
Image 4Vale tudo match between thai boxer Flávio Molina and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner Marcelo Behring, 1984 (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 5Karate in Naha before the war; (before 1946) (from Karate)
Image 6Kung fu in Iran (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 7Japanese judoka Takamasa Anai Vs French judoka Thierry Fabre during the 2010 World Judo Championships held in Tokyo (from Judo)
Image 8Bronze medal match at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (from Karate)
Image 9Masters 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 10MMA fighter attempts a Triangle-Armbar submission on his opponent. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 11MMA gloves. They are fingerless gloves which allow both striking and grappling to occur. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 12Bruce Lee is known for practicing many martial arts styles, including Karate, having trained with Chuck Norris for many years. (from Karate)
Image 13Bōgutsuki, a form of full-contact karate fought with armour, one of the competition formats for kumite (from Karate)
Image 14Throw during competition, leads to an ippon (from Judo)
Image 15GAMMA medallists on the podium at the 2023 African Games (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 16A ring used by PRIDE (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 17Bruce 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 18Pankratiast in fighting stance, Ancient Greek red-figure amphora, 440 BC. (from History of martial arts)
Image 19King Shō Shin (from Karate)
Image 20Two judoka wearing judogi (from Judo)
Image 21Fighter performs a takedown on his opponent. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 22Karate training in front of Shuri Castle in Naha (1938) (from Karate)
Image 23Juji gatame (十字固, cross lock)(armbar), a kansetsu-waza (from Judo)
Image 24Jigoro Kano and Yamashita Yoshitsugu performing Koshiki-no-kata (from Judo)
Image 25Gina Carano applying a ground-and-pound on her opponent (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 26Eisho-ji temple, Tokyo (from Judo)
Image 27Judo (1935) (from Judo)
Image 28Mural at Shaolin temple from 1830's depicting forearm strikes and reverse kicks (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 29Olympic Judo pictogram (from Judo)
Image 30Jigoro Kano, founder of judo (from Judo)
Image 31A ring-side doctor attends to a fighter following a loss. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 32Ancient Greek pankratiasts fighting. This drawing is an early 20th century copy of a scene from a Panathenaic amphora. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 33Gichin Funakoshi (from Karate)
Image 34Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu attempting to throw Toshiro Daigo with an uchi mata in the final of the 1951 All-Japan Judo Championships (from Judo)
Image 35jūdō (柔道, "Judo"), written in kanji (from Judo)
Image 36Martial arts fan (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 37Two 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 38Depiction of fighting monks demonstrating their skills to visiting dignitaries (early 19th-century mural in the Shaolin Monastery). (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 39Harai goshi (払腰, sweeping hip), a koshi-waza (from Judo)
Image 40The Yang style of tai chi being practiced on the Bund in Shanghai (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 41Karatekas at a dojo with different colored belts (from Karate)
Image 42International judo camp in Artjärvi, Orimattila, Finland (from Judo)
Image 43Modern forms are used in the sport of wushu, as seen in this staff routine (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 44Masahiko 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 45Kung fu sword (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 46A "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 47Two children training in judo techniques (from Judo)
Image 48UFC 74; Clay Guida vs. Marcus Aurelio (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 49Chōki Motobu in Naihanchi-dachi, one of the basic karate stances (from Karate)
Image 50Yuki Nakai fights UFC 1 finalist Gerard Gordeau at Vale Tudo Japan 1995. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 51Karate movements in Lappeenranta (from Karate)
Image 52Karatekas wearing different colored belts (from Karate)
Image 53An octagon cage used by the UFC (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 54The judogi is made from a heavy weave to withstand the stress of throwing and grappling. (from Judo)
Image 55All-Japan Judo Championships, 2007 men's final (from Judo)
Image 56Groundfighting 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 57A Chinese martial artist preparing to throw his opponent during a lei tai contest in ancient China (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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