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Martial Arts In The Americas

The native peoples of North America had their own martial training which started at childhood. Many Native American men considered themselves warriors and trained to use the bows, knives, blowguns, spears, and warclubs. War clubs were the preferred martial weapon because Native American warriors could raise their social status by killing enemies in single combat face to face. Warriors honed their archery and war club skills through lifelong training. According to early historical accounts, they demonstrated impressive skill in using war clubs and were favorably compared to European fencing masters. Over 1.5 million Americans practice martial arts as of 2003

The European colonists (and later, Asian immigrants) brought over their own martial arts such as boxing, fencing and wrestling.

In 1831 Jim Bowie is reputed to have won a duel, killing three bandits with his soon-to-be-famous Bowie knife. Due to the sensationalism of American newspaper reports, the Bowie knife soon became the most popular personal blade being sold in the US. Schools of Bowie fighting quickly sprung up across the country, which probably drew from European influences and possibly drew from native influences.

In 1960 Keichu Do was officially founded. Keichu Do is arguebly the first modern American martial art. Based on elements of Ju-jitsu, Judo, Karate, American boxing, and street fighting it was founded as a self-defense art. Since its founding it has grown into a more multi-faceted art but its core is still self-defense.

Another Brazilian martial art is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The pre-war years saw many Japanese people emigrate to Brazil, some of whom were proficient in Judo. Carlos Gracie and his brother Hélio Gracie adopted this system of fighting and refined it into a more comprehensive groundfighting system. The system, known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has become a popular martial art and proved to be extremely successful in mixed martial arts competitions such as the UFC.

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