Custom Search

Martial Arts In Asia

In a Confucian influenced martial art, students with more seniority are considered older brothers and sisters; those with less seniority as younger brothers and sisters. Such clearly delineated relationships are designed to develop good character, patience and discipline.

Some method of certification can be involved, where one's skills would be tested for mastery before being allowed to study further. In some systems, especially in China, there may not have been any certifications, only years of close personal practice and evaluation under a master, much like an apprenticeship, until the master deems one's martial arts skills satisfactory.

Along with East Asia, martial arts were also studied in India, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, South America, and almost every other corner of the Earth. This led to further exploration of disciplines from China, Korea, and Japan for their historical and cultural value. In India, Indonesia and Malaysia, a huge diversity of martial arts of various styles with ancient origins flourishes.

Numerous martial arts were developed in South India and Sri Lanka, including Kuttu Varisai (empty hand combat), Varma Kalai (the art of vital points) and Adithada (kickboxing) in Tamil Nadu, and Kalari Payattu (way of the arena) in Kerala.

In Indonesia, many arts under the umbrella of Silat may also include Kateda and Sindo. Kuntao styles are found across this region. It's difficult to pin down the origin of these arts, which have much in common with Qigong, Yiquan, and possibly Shaolin Wushu. They have both internal and external qualities so perhaps could be seen as an hybrids of other arts, the origins of which are lost in the mists of time.

Modern history

Western interest in Asian Martial Arts dates back to the late 19th Century, due to the increase in trade between America and China and Japan. Few Westerners actually practiced the arts, considering them to be mere performances. Many of the first demonstrations of martial arts in the West were performed by Asians in Vaudeville shows, which served to further the perception of martial arts as dramatic performances.

As Western influence grew in the East a greater number of military personnel spent time in China, Japan, Korea and elsewhere. Exposure to martial arts during the Korean war was also significant. Gradually some soldiers began to see the value of Eastern martial arts and began training in them.

William E. Fairbairn, a Shanghai policeman and leading Western expert on Asian fighting techniques was recruited during World War II by the Special Operations Executive to teach UK, U.S. and Canadian Commando and Ranger forces Jujitsu. The book Kill or Get Killed, written by Colonel Rex Applegate, who worked closely with Fairbairn to train the "First Special Service" a joint US and Canadian army unit, became a classic military treatise on hand to hand combat. The fighting method was called "Defendu". A modern variation that can trace a lineage to Applegate is "Combato" (Jen Do Tao) as taught by Shinan Bradley Steiner (10th Dan).

With large numbers of American servicemen stationed in Japan after World War II, the adoption of techniques and the gradual transmission of entire systems of martial arts to the West started. It was in the 1950's, however, when this exportation of systems really gained momentum. Large groups of US Military personnel were taught Korean arts (Taekwondo) during the Korean conflict, and many of these brought their training home and continued to practice and teach after their demobilization. By the 1960's, Japanese arts like Karate and Judo had become very popular. The early 1970s saw martial arts movies, due in part to martial artist Bruce Lee, cause the rise in popularity of Chinese Martial Arts (Kung Fu).

This exportation of martial arts led to such styles as sport karate, which became a major international sport, with professional fighters, big prizes, television coverage, and sponsorship deals.

The later 1970's and 1980's witnessed an increased media interest in martial arts. Thanks in part to Asian and Hollywood martial arts movies and very popular television shows like "Kung-Fu" and "The Green Hornet" that incorporated martial arts moments or themes.

More recently martial arts have been forced to adapt to cope with more common forms of violence. This has lead to the development of various new systems such as: ACIMA, Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga and the Keysi Fighting Method. These systems focus on the practical application of techniques, rather than stylised forms of combat.

Instructors for any of these modern martial arts can be easily found by using the styles' name as a simple Internet search.

Custom Search