RODUCTION M artial arts are any of a variety of fighting sports or skills They are most often associated with com bat between individuals but they are also practiced to promote self defense and fitness Many people around the world use martial arts to improve their physical emotional spiritual and mental health Martial arts can be traced to ancient cul tures Paintings on Egyptian pyramids dating as far back as 3400 BCE depict battles that can be linked to martial arts Poems and other forms of writing around that time also describe early forms of combat that can be associated with martial arts Drawings in Vietnam about 500 years later show that primitive armed martial arts had been practiced in Asia These drawings display the use of spears bows and swords More modern martial arts extend back to means of combat in sixteenth century Europe The term was first used to describe fencing as
INTRODUCTION Buddhist monks practice kung fu at Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song in China The Shaolin monks are renowned for their prowess in the martial arts Nancy Brown Photolibrary Getty Images
MARTIAL ARTS AND THEIR GREATEST FIGHTERS far back as 1639 But such disciplines as kung fu judo karate and kendo are mostly linked to East Asia Martial arts can be divided into the unarmed and armed styles of battle and sport The origins of European martial arts included the use of archery and spears Those styles were practiced later in Japan Unarmed mar tial arts were born and developed in China They stressed striking with feet or hands The advancement of martial arts in Asia also X Two students practice kendo drills using shinai wooden usually bamboo swords Kendo the Japanese style of fencing originated from the fighting methods of the ancient warrior class called the samurai Boston Globe Getty Images
INTRODUCTION included the use of everyday work tools such as sickles and knives In modern times offshoots of some of the armed martial arts such as kendo fencing and kyudo archery are practiced as sports Spinoffs of unarmed forms of battle such as judo sumo wrestling karate and tae kwon do are also embraced So are self defense forms such as aikido hapkido and kung fu Forms of martial arts once used in fighting including a Chinese style of unarmed combat called tai chi chuan have also been simplified for peaceful purposes They have been used to improve health and spiritual well being East Asian martial arts boast a strong tie to mental and spiritual strength That sets them apart from martial arts disciplines practiced elsewhere East Asian martial arts are heav ily influenced by religions of the region such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism They place an emphasis on creating an ideal relationship between body and mind so the two can work in unison The goal is to shut down the calculating and rationalizing functions of the mind That shutdown allows the mind to react immediately and in harmony with the body to whatever situ ation it might encounter This book will examine some of the mar tial arts forms from their beginnings in Asia
