Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat. They are practiced for a number of reasons ranging from self-defense, street fighting, military, and law enforcement to non-violent exercising, ceremonial, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and to preserve the intangible cultural heritage of a nation. The term "martial arts" was originally used to refer to the traditions of East Asia, but has subsequently been applied to other practices which originated outside that region. (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, combat sports, 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.
Muay Thai or Muaythai (Thai: มวยไทย, RTGS:muai thai, pronounced[mūajtʰāj]ⓘ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contactcombat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching techniques. The name "Art of Eight Limbs" refers to the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins. Muay Thai became widespread internationally in the late 20th to 21st century, when Westernised practitioners from Thailand began competing in kickboxing and mixed-rules matches as well as matches under Muay Thai rules around the world. The professional league is governed by the Professional Boxing Association of Thailand, sanctioned by the Sports Authority of Thailand.
Sanda (Chinese:散打; pinyin:Sǎndǎ), formerly Sanshou (Chinese:散手; pinyin:Sǎnshǒu), is the official full-contact kickboxing combat sport of China. In Chinese, "Sanda" originally referred to independent and separate training and combat techniques in contrast to "Taolu" (pre-arranged forms or routines).
A pair of tonfa The tonfa (Okinawan: トンファーtonfā, Japanese: 旋棍; rōmaji: senkon Chinese:柺; pinyin:guǎi lit. old man's staff / "crutch", also spelled as tongfa or tuifa, also known as T-baton) is a melee weapon with its origins in the armed component of Okinawan martial arts where it is known as the tunkua. It consists of a stick with a perpendicular handle attached a third of the way down the length of the stick, and is about 15–20 inches (380–510mm) long. It was traditionally made from red or white oak, and wielded in pairs. The tonfa is believed to have originated in either China, Okinawa or Southeast Asia, where it is used in the respective fighting styles. (Full article...)
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Historically, Chinese swords are classified into two types, the jian and the dao. A Jian is a straight, double-edged sword mainly used for stabbing; the term has been commonly translated into the English language as a longsword. Meanwhile, a dao is a single-edged sword (mostly curved from the Song dynasty forward) mainly used for cutting, and the term has been translated as a saber or a "knife".
Bronzejians appeared during the Western Zhou period and switched to the more durable wrought iron and steel during the late Warring States period. In modern times, the ceremonial commissioned officer's sword of the Chinese navy has been patterned after the traditional jian since 2008. In contemporary martial arts practice, the historical jian is most widely preserved as the unsharpened taijijian (commonly referred to in English as the tai chi sword), which typically uses a tempered semi flexible 2Cr13 stainless steel or spring steel blade weighing 590 to 630 grams (1.30 to 1.39 pounds) balanced 6.0 to 9.0 centimeters (2.4 to 3.5 inches) in front of the guard for solo form training. Besides specialty weapons like the butterfly dao, Chinese swords are usually 70–110cm (28–43in) in length. However, longer swords have been found on occasion. (Full article...)
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Togakure-ryū (戸隠流) is a historical tradition of ninjutsu known as the "School of the Hidden Door", allegedly founded during the Oho period (1161–1162) by Daisuke Nishina (仁科大助) (a.k.a. Daisuke Togakure (戸隠大助)), who learned his original fighting techniques from a Chinese monk named Kain Dōshi. However, the history and early lineage of Togakure-ryū may be impossible to verify due to the antiquity of the time period and its claimed historicity has been disputed by Watatani Kiyoshi, writer for the Bugei Ryūha Daijiten. After Togakure, the title of Sōke (head of school) was recorded by Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu to have been passed down through other practitioners that kept the style secret from the outside world.
Toshitsugu Takamatsu is the recorded 33rd Sōke of this school. According to Bujinkan sources he became well known throughout China and Japan for his martial arts prowess and his knowledge from studying ninjutsu that he then imparted on various Chinese nobles. Takamatsu passed the title of Sōke to Masaaki Hatsumi, the recorded 34th Sōke; it was Hatsumi who largely brought the style to public attention, and subsequently resulted in wide-scale media and public attention given to ninja and ninjutsu in the Western world. Hatsumi recently passed on the school to Takumi Tsutsui. (Full article...)
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Shintō Musō-ryū, or Shindō Musō-ryū (神道夢想流), most commonly known by its practice of jōdō, is a traditional school (koryū) of the Japanese martial art of jōjutsu, or the art of wielding the short staff (jō). The technical purpose of the art is to learn how to defeat a swordsman in combat using the jō, with an emphasis on proper combative distance, timing and concentration. The system includes teachings of other weapon systems which are contained in Shintō Musō-ryū as auxiliary arts (Fuzoku ryuha). The school is sometimes abbreviated as SMR.
The art was founded by the samuraiMusō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi (夢想 權之助 勝吉, fl. c.1605, dates of birth and death unknown) in the early Edo period (1603–1868) and, according to legend, first put to use in a duel with Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, 1584–1645). The original art created by Musō Gonnosuke has evolved and been added upon ever since its inception and up to modern times. The art was successfully brought outside of its original domain in Fukuoka and outside Japan itself in the 19th and 20th century. The spreading of Shintō Musō-ryū beyond Japan was largely the effort of Takaji Shimizu, (1896–1978), considered the 25th headmaster, who, unlike many other traditional martial arts teachers, wanted Jodo to be known and taught internationally. With the assistance of his own students and the cooperation of the kendō community, Shimizu spread Shintō Musō-ryū worldwide. (Full article...)
Indian martial arts refers to the fighting systems of the Indian subcontinent. A variety of terms are used for the English phrases "Indian martial arts", deriving from ancient sources. While they may seem to imply specific disciplines (e.g. archery, armed combat), by Classical times they were used generically for all fighting systems.
Among the most common terms today, śastra-vidyā, is a compound of the words śastra (weapon) and vidyā (knowledge). Dhanurveda derives from the words for bow (dhanushya) and knowledge (veda), the "science of archery" in Puranic literature, later applied to martial arts in general. The Vishnu Purana text describes dhanurveda as one of the traditional eighteen branches of "applied knowledge" or upaveda, along with shastrashāstra or military science. A later term, yuddha kalā, comes from the words yuddha meaning fight or combat and kalā meaning art or skill. The related term śastra kalā (lit. weapon art) usually refers specifically to armed disciplines. Another term, yuddha-vidyā or "combat knowledge", refers to the skills used on the battlefield, encompassing not only actual fighting but also battle formations and strategy. Martial arts are usually learnt and practiced in the traditional akharas. (Full article...)
The UFC was founded by businessman Art Davie, martial artist Rorion Gracie, and film director John Milius, with the backing of Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) CEO Bob Meyrowitz, President David Isaacs, and Head of Programming Campbell McLaren. The first event was held in 1993 at 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...)
Judo (Japanese: 柔道, Hepburn: Jūdō; lit.'gentle way') is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), Paralympic sport (since 1988) and Commonwealth Games sport (since 1990). Judo is the most prominent form of Samurai throws and self-defense 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), and the judo uniform is called "judogi" (柔道着, jūdōgi; "judo attire").
The objective of competitive judo is to throw an opponent forcefully onto their backs, 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...)
Zhou Tong (Chinese:周同 and 周侗; pinyin: Zhōu Tóng; died late 1121) was the archery teacher and second military arts tutor of famous Song dynasty general Yue Fei. Originally a local hero from Henan, he was hired to continue Yue Fei's military training in archery after the boy had rapidly mastered spearplay under his first teacher. In addition to the future general, Zhou accepted other children as archery pupils. During his tutelage, Zhou taught the children all of his skills and even rewarded Yue with his two favorite bows because he was his best pupil. After Zhou's death, Yue would regularly visit his tomb twice a month and perform unorthodox sacrifices that far surpassed that done for even beloved tutors. Yue later taught what he had learned from Zhou to his soldiers and they were successful in battle.
With the publishing of Yue Fei's 17th folklore biography, The Story of Yue Fei (1684), a new, fictional Zhou Tong emerged, who differed greatly from his historical persona. Not only was he now from Shaanxi, but he was Yue's adopted father, a learned scholar with knowledge of the eighteen weapons of war, and his personal name was spelled with a different, yet related, Chinese character. The novel's author portrayed him as an elderly widower and military arts tutor who counted Lin Chong and Lu Junyi, two of the fictional 108 outlaws on which the Water Margin is based, among his former pupils. A later republican erafolktale by noted Yangzhou storyteller Wang Shaotang not only adds Wu Song to this list, but represents Zhou as a knight-errant with supreme swordsmanship. The tale also gives him the nickname "Iron Arm", which he shares with the executioner-turned-outlaw Cai Fu, and makes the outlaw Lu Zhishen his sworn brother. Because of his association with the outlaws, he is often confused with the similarly named outlaw Zhou Tong. (Full article...)
The 1999 Over the Edge was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the second annual and final Over the Edge and took place on May 23, 1999, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The first Over the Edge event was held under the In Your House series in May 1998, but following the discontinuation of the In Your House shows after February 1999, a second Over the Edge event was scheduled as its own PPV, thus being the first former In Your House event to do so.
The event is infamous for the fatal stunt accident involving wrestler Owen Hart, who was scheduled to face The Godfather for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Wrestling under his Blue Blazer gimmick, Hart was to make a superhero-like ring entrance, which would have seen him descend from the arena rafters into the ring. He was, however, released prematurely when the harness line malfunctioned, fell more than 90 feet (27m) into the ring, and died.
Criticism later arose over Vince McMahon's decision to continue the show after the accident. In court, Hart's widow Martha, children, and parents sued the WWF, contending that poor planning of the dangerous stunt caused Hart's death. The WWF settled the case out of court, with the McMahon family paying US$18 million (equivalent to $34 million in 2025) to Hart's surviving family. Due to the accident and controversy surrounding the event, the Over the Edge name was retired and its PPV slot was replaced by Judgment Day in 2000. The event was also not released for home video viewing until the launch of the WWE Network in 2014, where an edited version of the show displays a tribute to Hart at the beginning but otherwise removes any mention of his involvement.
Senegalese wrestling (Njom in Serer, Lutte sénégalaise or simply Lutte avec frappe in French, Laamb in Wolof, Siɲɛta in Bambara) is a type of folk wrestling traditionally performed by the Serer people and now a national sport in Senegal and parts of The Gambia, and is part of a larger West African form of traditional wrestling (fr. Lutte Traditionnelle). The Senegalese form traditionally allows blows with the hands (frappe), the only one of the West African traditions to do so. As a larger confederation and championship around Lutte Traditionnelle has developed since the 1990s, Senegalese fighters now practice both forms, called officially Lutte Traditionnelle sans frappe (for the international version) and Lutte Traditionnelle avec frappe for the striking version. This activity predates the modern-day countries of Senegal and Gambia, and Senegambian wrestling is perhaps more historically and geographically correct. (Full article...)
Image 15Depiction of fighting monks demonstrating their skills to visiting dignitaries (early 19th-century mural in the Shaolin Monastery). (from Chinese martial arts)
Image 16Pankratiast in fighting stance, Ancient Greek red-figure amphora, 440 BC. (from History of martial arts)
Image 38MMA gloves. They are fingerless gloves which allow both striking and grappling to occur. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 39Ancient Greek pankratiasts fighting. This drawing is an early 20th century copy of a scene from a Panathenaic amphora. (from Mixed martial arts)
Image 40The 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 42Groundfighting 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)
Martial arts, for me, is not just some kind of job to gain some money or whatever. No, martial arts, for me, is my lifestyle, my religion, my philosophy... Martial arts are everything for me.
See the list on the right of Martial art related projects who organise work on these articles. You can also add your self to the list of Wikipedians by martial art
![Image 1 A fighter leans back to evade a round kickMuay Thai or Muaythai (Thai: มวยไทย, RTGS: muai thai, pronounced [mūaj tʰāj] ⓘ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching techniques. The name "Art of Eight Limbs" refers to the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins. Muay Thai became widespread internationally in the late 20th to 21st century, when Westernised practitioners from Thailand began competing in kickboxing and mixed-rules matches as well as matches under Muay Thai rules around the world. The professional league is governed by the Professional Boxing Association of Thailand, sanctioned by the Sports Authority of Thailand.Muay Thai is related to other martial art styles of the Indian cultural sphere such as Musti-yuddha, Muay Chaiya, Muay Boran, Muay Lao, Lethwei, Kun Khmer, Benjang and Tomoi. A practitioner of Muay Thai is known as a Nak Muay. Western practitioners in Thailand are sometimes called Nak Muay Farang, meaning "foreign boxer". (Full article...)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Blank.png?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=parser&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
![Image 1 A fighter leans back to evade a round kickMuay Thai or Muaythai (Thai: มวยไทย, RTGS: muai thai, pronounced [mūaj tʰāj] ⓘ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching techniques. The name "Art of Eight Limbs" refers to the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins. Muay Thai became widespread internationally in the late 20th to 21st century, when Westernised practitioners from Thailand began competing in kickboxing and mixed-rules matches as well as matches under Muay Thai rules around the world. The professional league is governed by the Professional Boxing Association of Thailand, sanctioned by the Sports Authority of Thailand.Muay Thai is related to other martial art styles of the Indian cultural sphere such as Musti-yuddha, Muay Chaiya, Muay Boran, Muay Lao, Lethwei, Kun Khmer, Benjang and Tomoi. A practitioner of Muay Thai is known as a Nak Muay. Western practitioners in Thailand are sometimes called Nak Muay Farang, meaning "foreign boxer". (Full article...)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blank.png)
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Kung Fu in Iran (from Chinese martial arts)
The judogi is made from a heavy weave to withstand the stress of throwing and grappling. (from Judo)
Panel by Alfredo Storni featuring capoeirista Ciríaco defeating jujitsu fighter Sada Miyako with a rabo de arraia kick, O Malho, 1909. (from Mixed martial arts)
Bruce 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)
Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu attempting to throw Toshiro Daigo with an uchi mata in the final of the 1951 All-Japan Judo Championships (from Judo)
Mural at Shaolin temple from 1830's depicting forearm strikes and reverse kicks (from Chinese martial arts)
Martial arts fan (from Chinese martial arts)
Herb Dean pulls UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov off of Conor Mcgregor (from Mixed martial arts)
Karatekas wearing different colored belts (from Karate)
An octagon cage used by the UFC (from Mixed martial arts)
Depiction of fighting monks demonstrating their skills to visiting dignitaries (early 19th-century mural in the Shaolin Monastery). (from Chinese martial arts)
Pankratiast in fighting stance, Ancient Greek red-figure amphora, 440 BC. (from History of martial arts)
Karate movements in Lappeenranta (from Karate)
All-Japan Judo Championships, 2007 men's final (from Judo)
Masters 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)
Fighter performs a takedown on his opponent. (from Mixed martial arts)
Two 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)
Judo (1935) (from Judo)
A "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)
Two judoka wearing judogi (from Judo)
A ring used by PRIDE (from Mixed martial arts)
GAMMA medallists on the podium at the 2023 African Games (from Mixed martial arts)
Cosplayers of Karateka characters from Street Fighter (from Karate)
Eisho-ji temple, Tokyo (from Judo)
A ring-side doctor attends to a fighter following a loss. (from Mixed martial arts)
A Chinese martial artist preparing to throw his opponent during a lei tai contest in ancient China (from Mixed martial arts)
Gina Carano applying a ground-and-pound on her opponent (from Mixed martial arts)
MMA gloves. They are fingerless gloves which allow both striking and grappling to occur. (from Mixed martial arts)
Ancient Greek pankratiasts fighting. This drawing is an early 20th century copy of a scene from a Panathenaic amphora. (from Mixed martial arts)
The 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)
Groundfighting 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)
Bronze medal match at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (from Karate)
Throw during competition, leads to an ippon (from Judo)
Modern forms are used in the sport of wushu, as seen in this staff routine (from Chinese martial arts)
Olympic Judo pictogram (from Judo)
Kung fu sword (from Chinese martial arts)
Two children training in judo techniques (from Judo)_Mohammad_Akbari_27.jpg)
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