Martial arts

2005-03-26
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Physicality >

"Martial" is a reference to being a warrior; being trained or suited for war.

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There are a three pillars for martial arts: The physical, the mental, the spiritual.

Table of Contents [hide]

What is martial arts? ∞

The term "martial arts" has come to be generally accepted as having roots from asian martial arts, although the term "martial arts" really isn't solely a reference to any specific method.

The heart of martial arts has always been The Way [ 1 ] - the following of a personal path or the idea of the embracing of a philosophically 'appropriate' lifestyle. Herein lies much of the philosophies of martial arts: be it Buddhism, Daoism, Zen or even combinations or "more contemporary" ways of looking at life.

Many martial arts were developed under a shroud of secrecy because of a political climate (weapons ban), or were just exclusionary and coveted. Most major martial arts remain covetous for the sake of practicality, as there are things learned by elder practitioners which would prove to be, for lack of a better word, damaging to those who are not acclimatized.

The foundations of asian martial arts are not fully known for a number of reasons. The aforementioned political climate often forced practitioners to relocate or live under assumed names. Shaolin Kung Fu training, in particular, was ferreted out and scattered by a number of groups. For the older arts, even the most elderly practitioners rarely know the true roots of their training. The loss of history and its perceived value drive many arts have towards the zealous need for the pursuit of lineage lore and for the passing of stories.

Some martial arts adhere to ancient ideas and methods, where others are combinations of other arts and "fresh ideas". Some martial arts are all about tournaments, where others eschew such things. As with so many things in this world, there are a great many varieties of martial art.

The concepts of the importance of history and lineage, ranking and promotion exists in most martial arts.. as is the importance of what may be seen as a form of root culture. Furthermore, as terminology is deeply rooted in other languages, language studies are commonplace.

Major topics ∞

Kinds of martial art ∞

The entire "kinds of martial art" project was done as a means to help me grasp some of the many different choices out there. It was useful for me for a time, but it became entirely and hopelessly disorganized, inaccurate and very possibly misleading.

This remaining list is really just those arts which I took extra notes on.

On the term "martial art" ∞

Many items found here or out there in the world may not consider themselves "a martial art". At least to me there does not appear to be an excellent way to articulate the deeper intention of the experience of one of these items, and I do like using "item" because it is generic. One problem is that many of these items may use terminology differently than others.

For example, I've heard very well-respected practitioners state quite plainly that they do not study a martial art, but is a lifestyle or warrior art or such. Again, terminology varies, as does personal expression, from item to item and person to person.

I use the term "martial art" because it's handy and at least vaguely representative of the topic at large.

On classification ∞

There is a fundamental problem with attempting to categorize things because there are often either mixes or variations which ruin an attempt at classification. It is for this reason that much of this part of the project is very untidy and disorganized. I read through these resources in order to help understand these styles, their practitioners, and my desires. Relating things together is a natural habit for me, especially during the learning process.

Judgement ∞

Judging is a difficult thing to do, but it is something we are all skilled at.

Martial arts is spotty. From old traditions, customs and cultures to new methods and ideas. From secrecy and cliques to politics and marketing. From opinion and personalness to practice and competition. From health and athletics to military application. There are many issues at hand, and many and widely varying experiences and opinions.

Judgement is for those who seek to absorb the qualities of what they judge. It is the process from seeking and learning to knowing and absorbing. For this reason, I am not equipped to judge the things which I am not willing to try. All I can go on are my biases and opinions of the topic for judgement.

For you, perhaps things are different. In any case I urge moderation in judgement and to use more universal and less personal means to grasp things.

Resources for Judgement ∞

The first and foremost resource is trial. By trying something yourself you are better equipped to understand it. Unfortunately, this may take many years for some in some circumstances.

For me, my method for judgement is a sort of personalness. I compare with biases and desires and a sort of faith in fatefulness. It doesn't make much sense even to me, but I believe in a sort of instinct with judgement.

Well, your tools are your own. Of note, I could recommend exploring:

There are other resources available within individual Health and Fitness, Diet and nutrition or even general Well-being topics.

Tools ∞

just some random notes

Writing ∞

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  • Someone once spoke to me about fighting like a "mad dog". Fine, but what do you do with a mad dog? --

(unknown)

--

Comedy ∞

Primary Resources ∞

Secondary Resources ∞

Unsorted Resources ∞

Misc ∞

[ 16 ]

** Umm.. not a martial art. A not insignificant amount of writing which still leaves me with the question of "what the hell is it?"

Last updated 2025-03-18 at 12:01:40

Footnotes

  1. Capitalization [ ↩ ]
  2. was http://www.grapplearts.com/InterviewsAndArticles.htm [ ↩ ]
  3. was https://web.archive.org/web/20041211204138/http://www.wahnam.com/zurich/wahnam/equalities.htm[ ↩ ]
  4. See also SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSJUNE 1998 PART 1 [ ↩ ]
  5. was http://judoinfo.com/humor.htm [ ↩ ]
  6. was http://judoinfo.com/articles.htm [ ↩ ]
  7. was http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/index.php [ ↩ ]
  8. was also http://go.to/stickgrappler [ ↩ ]
  9. was http://www.shoto.com [ ↩ ]
  10. was http://www.peterconsterdine.com [ ↩ ]
  11. was http://www.tonyblauer.com [ ↩ ]
  12. was http://www.peterconsterdine.com [ ↩ ]
  13. was http://martialarts.about.com [ ↩ ]
  14. was http://chineseculture.about.com/cs/mythslegends/ [ ↩ ]
  15. was http://members.tripod.com/OniBushi/id7.htm [ ↩ ]
  16. was http://www.usui-do.org [ ↩ ]
  17. was https://www.grapplearts.com/bjj-articles/ [ ↩ ]
  18. was https://www.grapplearts.com/articles/ [ ↩ ]
  19. was http://www.grapplearts.com/InterviewsAndArticles.htm [ ↩ ]
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