WHY STUDY MARTIAL ARTS
Foe some time there has been a trend in the United States toward physical fitness.
However, not everyone is completely satisfied with some of the more popular fitness programs.
There are, for example, those who feel that jogging is beneficial, but that it is also boring.
Weight training, in the traditional "iron works" sweatshop or the modern health club, offers health and
strength benefits,but foe some, this, too, leaves something to be desired.
Then there are those who find aerobics an enjoyable way to improve fitness, but even they would prefer an exercise program with more purpose.
In an effort to find something that meets their fitness goals in a unique, enjoyable, and potentially practical way, many turn to martial arts. Asian martial arts are as diverse as they are popular.
In the United States you can study fighting and martial arts from
China, Korea, Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India.
The Chinese arts offer more variety (comprise more individual styles) than most of us can ever imagine.
They range broadly from the direct, often linear,rapid-fire, in-your-face wing chun, to the gymnastic
and acrobatic modern wu shu, to the graceful, almost hypnotic t'ai chi ch'uan.
And literally hundreds of distinct systems and styles fill the space between these three.
Then there are Korean arts which focus primarily on high kicking.
The requirement for flexibility is one reason so many young people take up tae kwon do, Korea's national martial sport.
Japanese karate came from Okinawa. Because of this, Japanese and Okinawan martial arts are often lumped together.
But karate is not the only are to come from the Land of the rising Sun. Japanese and Okinawan ares also include
extensive classical weapons training as well as a suite of grappling styles (primarily judo, jujutsu, and aikido).
Their weapons systems include bladed, impact, and throwing or projectile weapons like the classical Japanese sword,
the grain flail or nunchaku, and the bow and arrow.
The Philippine islands have repeatedly endured foreign rule.
Fighting arts and systems there developed with a strong focus on survival, so
there is considerable emphasis on weapons training. Often the training is other Asian martial
arts moves from empty-hand to weapons, but in the Philippines, just the opposite is true.
There, the student begins with sticks and knives and moves to unarmed training.
Among Filipinos there are nearly as many systems and styles as there are villages and masters.
Still, they all fall within three major groupings: kali from the southern end of that
island nation, arnis from the northern end, and escrima, practiced throughout the middle of the island chain.
Here too, the number of systems or distinct styles within these three major genres of Filipino arts number in the hundreds.
Among the plethora of other martial arts available to us today: are the increasingly popular
Brazilian jiujitsu: Brazilian capoeria: Malaysian bando; Korean tang soo do, hapkido and hwarang do;
Japanese iaido; Indian kalaripayit; Okinawan kempo and Chinese kenpo; Japanese kendo; Chinese kuntao;
Indonesian pentjak silat; French savate; and muay thai from Thailand.
Of all these and more that are available (this is the briefest of lists) stand-up striking
arts such as karate remain the most popular in the United States."Karate" here in the
most generic sense to mean, as it is defined by Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary ,
any, "Oriental are of self-defense in which an attacker is disabled by crippling kicks and punches."
Kung fu, tae kwon do, and a host of other arts are included under this broad definition.
Martial arts may be studied and practiced solely for fitness; however,
what makes them an attractive alternative to other fitness programs is what they offer in
their four main areas of expression: sport, philosophy, art, and self-defense. Historically,
each expression developed in response to specific needs, and by looking at each one we can get
a better feel for the broad attraction that the martial arts hold.