Types Of Martial Arts

Martial arts have been a popular subject in movies for centuries. The art of extreme fighting and self-defense looks like a highly fancy act of fight. But you would be surprised to know that martial arts are also considered as a sport as well.

So, what are martial arts actually? To simply define it, martial arts are a combination of fighting and art. This extreme act of self-defense comprises different combating acts like punching and kicking, clinching and ground take over and paired with a style of principles that makes you an ultimate fighter. It is a complex form of extreme sport that makes you physically very tough but also makes your mind a strong mental vessel to achieve peace.

Martial arts come in a variety of forms and it takes time to understand them individually. However, if you are looking to get into extreme fitness and a strong approach to keeping a good mental strength then you should study deep about extreme and popular types of martial arts to train yourself like a proper athlete or warrior.

A Brief History:

Martial arts are not just fighting and self defense but it is deeply rooted with emotional strength and spirituality. If we trace the earliest dates of martial arts, it is found that around 2500 years ago the religion of Buddhism was celebrated and was spread widely in India and travelled its way up to China and there the real martial arts were finally revealed to the World.

Some Historical records show that a legendary monk named Bodhidharma, who travelled to China and preached his religious knowledge to his followers developed a comprehensive set of exercises for them to foster their learning. This practice of religious knowledge and physical exercises shaped its way in one form and was passed down as martial arts in the world. Martial arts have its origin from China and it evolved with time with Japanese, Korean and Indian Styles.

Now let’s dive into the different types of martial arts and their uniqueness:

Kung Fu

Kung Fu is a form of Chinese martial arts in which different forms of punching and kicking are used for self defense purposes. The art uses hand strikes, kicks, defense and distance management against the opponent. Another purpose of this practice is to follow a pattern of exercises to achieve mental and physical strength in your body.

Aikido

Originated from the Japanese martial arts, Aikido is a fighting technique in which opponents’ attacks are reversed by using their energy. This uses different spherical movements and immobilizing the joints to counter the attack to take control of the fight.

Judo

This combating style has one main purpose and it is to get power over your opponent. The techniques used in Judo are somewhat similar to Aikido like joint immobilization but the difference comes in the technique. In Judo, you put more pressure on the opponent and their body to pin them to the ground by grappling technique to take control of their movements.

Karate

Karate is the most famous and easiest word known to us in martial arts. This fighting form is a combined set of hand strikes and kicks to oppose and fight your opponent. It includes open hand striking techniques, punching and grappling of your attacker.

Brazilian Jui-Jitsu

Brazilian Jui-Jitsu is mostly focused on the grappling techniques to undertake your opponent. This fighting style includes joint locks, chock holding and pinning the opponent to the ground. The basics of this fighting technique is to take control over your combater regardless of their size and strength.

Muay Thai

Originated from Thailand, this combating technique uses certain practices like stand-up fighting style and uses hand strikes and elbow and knee strikes. It also involves clinch punching which is also known as Thai boxing to combat your opponent.

Mixed Martial Arts MMA

This is an interesting sport which is a blended mixture of martial arts and non-martial arts fighting techniques molded in one form MMA which is a popular sport practiced around the world. The sport is a close contact fight that involves grappling, striking and ground fighting. Talking about its popularity, around 2.52 million people in 2022 in the United States took part in MMA for fitness and health purposes.

Hapkido

This form of Korean martial arts includes punches, strikes and joint locks and kicks. It uses the basic practices of combat like other types of martial arts but what makes Hapkido different is its analogy. The fighting style uses circular motions and use of non-resisting techniques to make yourself grow stronger against your opponent.

Taekwondo

It is the most famous form of Korean martial arts fighting in which open handed techniques like punching, strikes, take downs, throws and joint locks. One famous act in Taekwondo is also block kicking. All of these techniques are used for the purpose to build strong focus and muscle strength to achieve higher form of self-defense.

Tai Chin

Tai Chin has its history from the 13th century in China where this form of martial arts was used to practice relaxation and meditation. This is an act of slow movements of hand, feet and body to achieve balance, harmony and focus. In modern times, this martial art category is widely used for sport and fitness purposes.

Krav Maga

This is a powerful combating style that was developed in 1930 by a Hungarian-Israeli martial arts artist to provide a strong fighting practice for Jewish communities to get self-defense against antisemitic forces. The fighting style involves punches, kicks but the main technique used in this fight is clinching. Krav Maga highly focuses on clinching your opponents close to your body to take control over them during the self-defense.

Kick Boxing

This is a very famous form of martial arts practiced by both professionals and common people. It is also considered as a sport which includes boxing, punching with the use of gloves and kicking. This fighting style requires strength, speed, endurance and good rhythm. It originated in Japan in 1960 but with modern influence it has become a common sport that is widely taught in America.

Jeet Kun Do

With the mention of martial arts, one can’t forget to mention Bruce Lee. So, this fighting style was actually founded by the legendary martial arts artist who developed his own principles and philosophy and brought out Jeet Kun Do. This fighting style solely focuses on philosophy, simplicity and adaptability. The three of these techniques are used in combat styles with strikes, leg kicking and ground grappling to achieve ultimate strength and control over your opponent.

Kendo

Kendo is a beautiful form of martial arts that has its ties connected with Japanese culture. The fighting involves two people using bamboo swords called shinai for a combat match. The fight sequence uses strikes and defensive techniques to counter the attack.

Martial arts have great history and richness in its fighting styles and techniques. Previously, this training was only utilized to have yourself covered with self defense purpose. But with the modern media’s involvement and gym cultures and training centers, these activities have become common in people. Many gyms and training centers have specialized courses on these martial arts types and anyone who wants to bring strength, courage and stability in their body can effectively conquer this art.