“Martial arts” once meant European arts of Mars
Martial arts are codified combat traditions used for defense, sport, ritual, fitness, and film. John Clements traces the Latin “arts of Mars” label to European fighting systems as early as the 1550s. 1970s Hong Kong cinema and Bruce Lee made the English phrase global slang.
Before that pop boom, “martial science” or “Chinese boxing” often labeled Asian systems. Some writers prefer “fighting arts,” noting many styles never served professional warriors. Categories split traditional versus hybrid, armed versus unarmed, and countless technical taxonomies.
Unarmed styles lean toward striking, grappling or both. Boxing, Wing Chun and karate emphasise punches; taekwondo, capoeira and savate favour kicks; Muay Thai, Lethwei and Bokator add elbows and knees. Judo, sumo, aikido and Shuai Jiao specialise in throws, while Brazilian jiu-jitsu, catch wrestling and Chin-na work joint locks and chokes. Armed traditions such as eskrima, silat, Kalaripayattu and Italian Renaissance swordsmanship use blades and polearms, and some arts centre on one weapon, as kendo does the sword, bojutsu the staff and kyūdō the bow.
Philosophy varies by region. Korean styles such as taekkyon, taekwondo and hapkido stress inner peace reached through meditation and training, and hold that force is justified only in self-defence. Japanese arts are called budō, the suffix meaning way or path toward a fulfilling life, and Chinese tradition divides styles into external and internal. Iran's zourkhaneh rituals, a warrior training system that took its present form under the Safavids, appear on UNESCO's heritage list.
Combat itself is ancient. Cave paintings in eastern Spain from between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE show organised groups fighting with bows, and wrestling, the oldest combat sport, appears as belt wrestling in Mesopotamian and Egyptian art from around 3000 BC and later in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Source: Martial arts
