INTRODUCTION
‘Martial Arts’ is a loose term that encompasses many types of combat training (mainly unarmed) that have been developed or systematised. Generally, these different systems or styles have all been designed for one purpose: To enable a user to utilise that system to physically defeat (an) opponent/s and/or to defend against violent physical threats to their person. Thanks to the onscreen brilliance of Hong Kong cinema legends such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, the majority of people think of Asia when they hear the term ‘martial arts’. However, there is far more to Martial Arts than just Karate or Kung Fu. In fact, numerous arranged and systemised methods of combat are practised right around the world today.
Many of the Martial styles today are hybrids of other fighting arts that have existed or do still exist. International travel in the ancient and the modern world allowed the transportation of ideas. This included knowledge of martial arts techniques. Knowledge of techniques originally developed in one country would be adopted (and in some cases improved upon) by neighbouring countries. Over time these new systems branched out in their own way, becoming unique, martial arts in their own right.
Each martial art has something different to offer. While some styles are very traditional and steeped in history, others are much more contemporary.
Please enjoy this list of ten international martial arts
Combat Sambo
Capoeira
Sanda/Sanshou
Senegalese Wrestling
Lethwei
Krav Maga
Savate
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
Pankration
Arnis
COMBAT SAMBO
Sambo is the official combat sport and tactical system of the Russian special forces. It was developed by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand-to-hand combat skills. The techniques have their roots in Judo, Greco-Roman wrestling and various other traditional Russian wrestling styles. Sambo was meant to be a melding of all of the different martial arts styles available to come up with the most efficient one yet. Living in the largest country in the world covering both Europe and Asia, the Russian people had access to a variety of traditions and fighting styles. These included contact with warrior cultures such as the Chinese, Japanese, Vikings, Cossacks, Tatars, Mongols, to name a few! The practical and effective techniques found in the combat systems of these cultures served as the foundation to what eventually became Russian Sambo.
Sambo practitioners are known for three things: takedowns that combine wrestling and judo manoeuvres, ground control skills, and leg locks. Depending on the style of Sambo, striking may also be taught, such as in the case of Combat Sambo. However, it is primarily a grappling art that focuses on takedowns and submissions.
The goals of Russian Sambo tend to vary depending on the style. However, Sambo teaches practitioners how to end fights quickly. This is often done by taking an opponent to the ground and applying a fast submission hold or strikes (in the case of the more combat-oriented styles). Famous students of Sambo include MMA legends Khabib Nurmagomedov and Fedor Emelianenko.
CAPOEIRA
Capoeira is a martial art thought to have been developed in the 1500s by African slaves as a method of survival. These slaves were taken to South American countries such as Brazil and Bolivia and forced to work in sugar cane fields.
Since slaves would be punished severely if they were seen to be practising any kind of self-defence they needed to disguise their practice. They did this by incorporating moves into ‘dances’ performed to music. In the dance, one performer played the slave and the other, the ‘master’. During this performance, the slave defended himself against the master. . Eventually, techniques travelled from Bolivia to Brazil via transported slaves, where it was refined and became known as Capoeira.
Capoeira is a fast and versatile martial art with a focus on fighting outnumbered or being at a disadvantage. Attacks rely heavily on direct or swirling kicks, sweeping leg techniques, elbow strikes, several punches, takedown and head strikes. The head strike is an important counter-attack move in capoeira often preceded by feints or pokes. The fakes and feints are designed to mislead and trick the opponent, leaving them open for an attack or a counter-attack.
From a defensive standpoint, evasion is used for defence rather than blocking. The emphasis is for the capoeirista to be in constant motion, thus preventing them from being a still and easy target. Evasive moves such as rolls, cartwheels and acrobatics enable the fighter to evade an attack or close the distance quickly for a counter strike.
SANDA/SANSHOU
Sanda aka Sanshou is a fighting system developed by the Chinese military based upon traditional Chinese martial arts (Kung Fu, Shuai Jiao, Chin Na) and foreign combat fighting techniques (Judo and Sambo).
In 1924, the Guomindang (Chinese Nationalist Party) was eager to create a modern military force. Having formed a strategic alliance with the Soviet Union in 1923, they had been impressed with Soviet methods of training of military personnel (including their hand-to-hand combat training). The Russian’s had vastly improved their own unarmed fighting systems with the development of Sambo (see above).
Under the tutelage of Soviet advisors, the Chinese created a similar method of training their military forces in CQC. The Chinese military instructors fused what they learned from the Soviets with existing Chinese martial arts traditions and created Sanda. The military Sanda curriculum was designed to provide military personnel with realistic, hand to hand combat skills.
Sanda is a complete martial art teaching striking, head butting, elbows, kicks, knees, kick catches, stomping, sweeps, joint locks, strangulation, takedowns and throws. Sanda employs all parts of the body as anatomical weapons to attack and counter with. The sport version of Sanda excludes the elbow and knee strikes but most Sanda gyms teach these techniques as well.
The sport version of Sanda uses a more kickboxing-like format. Grappling and ground fighting are discouraged with staying on your feet the primary consideration. There is a greater emphasis on striking, kicking and wrestling although not the grappling component (no submissions, throws or ground fighting).
SENEGALESE WRESTLING
Senegalese wrestling (aka ‘Laamb’) is a traditional combat sport from Senegal. More popular than any other sport in the country, Laamb packs out Dakar’s biggest arenas on a regular basis.
The rules are straightforward and brutal. First of all the combat area is formed using a large circle of sandbags. The fight consists of 2 rounds of 10 minutes with extensions if necessary with three referees to judge the action. There are many similarities in terms of technique between it and other forms of wrestling, including Graeco-Roman and Japanese Sumo. Wrestlers can win in three ways; knocking out the other fighter using bare-handed punches to the face and body (with only a mouthguard as protection); if an opposing wrestler’s body part other than feet touches the ground; or if one wrestler falls out of the circle.
The entry of the striking component has made the wrestling aspect more difficult and given it a tactical element. The boxing can be used as a distraction to give the wrestler the upper hand so they can attempt a takedown or if they are a powerful puncher they can end the fight with a KO. The striking appears to incorporate many close quarter punches, uppercuts, hooks etc than longer range punches.
For the wrestlers and their trainers, superstition, magic and folklore play a significant part in the games. Senegalese wrestling is littered with mystical ceremonies and rituals to ward off bad spells before each match. The sport fuses together physical, spiritual and cultural traditions.
KRAV MAGA
Krav Maga is an Israeli fighting system and the official hand-to-hand combat system of the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces). It was derived from street-fighting skills developed by Imi Lichtenfeld. Lichtenfeld made use of his training as a boxer and wrestler, to help defend the Jewish quarter from anti-Semitic activity in Bratislava during the mid-to-late-1930s. Lichtenfeld migrated to Israel after WWII and further developed the techniques that gradually evolved into Krav Maga. It has since been refined for both civilian and military applications.
Generally, there are no rules in Krav Maga, anything goes. The emphasis is on protecting the user and incapacitating the opponent by any means necessary as quickly as possible. The system has no sporting federation, official uniforms or attire, although some organisations recognise progress through training with a basic (but intense) grading system.
General principles in Krav Maga include neutralising the opponent as quickly as possible, striking before your opponent can; responding to hostility with an unbroken stream of attacks/counter strikes, takedowns and joint breaks. It is encouraged to target the body’s most vulnerable points to incapacitate your opponent as quickly as possible.
Training also covers situational awareness to anticipate threats before attacks occur. Situational awareness while dealing with the hostilities looking for escape routes, further attackers, potential weapons to use etc. Krav Maga training tries to create situations relevant to a real-life street attack to prepare for ‘unfair’ encounters on the street, being outnumbered, attacked by weapons or fighting from a disadvantage (on the ground etc).
LETHWEI
Lethwei is a form of kickboxing from Burma known as the ‘Art of 9 Limbs’, it is widely considered one of the world’s most brutal fighting arts. Hidden from the rest of the world for over a thousand years it is fought without gloves and has few rules.
Traditional Lethwei contests are held during festivals or religious and cultural celebrations. Participants wrap their hands in hemp or gauze cloth. These wraps provide little padding and can cause nasty cuts to the skin of fighters and opponents. The fights are held outdoors in circular sandpits. Traditional Lethwei matches have no weight classes with fighters merely sized up and matched by referees.
Lethwei fighting techniques include punching, headbutting, elbowing, kneeing, kicking and grappling methods such as clinching, throwing, choking, and trapping. In this, Lethwei’s techniques are similar to other martial arts found in neighbouring Asian regions such as Muay Thai, Pradal Serey, Muay Lao, Tomoi and Musti-yuddha. The similarities lie in the execution of their strikes, roundhouse kicks, clinches, elbows and knee strikes predominantly.
However, Lethwei is the only Southeast Asian boxing method still fought using bare-fists (neighbouring countries’ systems have all adopted wearing gloves in competition). In Lethwei, the lack of gloves allows for a wider range of striking techniques with the hands. Bare-fist punches must be thrown with greater skill and precision than those thrown when wearing gloves.
The use of headbutts adds to the unique and practical nature of Lethwei. Head-butting is an effective means of attack and counterattack.
SAVATE
Savate is the French combat system developed circa the 1800s for self-defence. It uses the hands and feet combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. It is actually based on the combination of three fighting styles, a) a southern kicking art popular with sailors called ‘Chausson’, b) a northern French street-fighting style ‘Savate’ and c) English boxing. The creators of the sport were Michel Casseux and his student Charles Lecour.
Modern Savate is solely a striking art so grappling, chokes, takedowns and throws are all prohibited. It is distinguished by its flamboyant, dynamic kicking style. These kicks are unique to the sport and involve a combination of high and low kicks to confuse opponents, with high attacks setting up a low attack and vice versa. Savate’s lower inner leg kicks such as the ‘Chasse frontal’ kick have become popular in MMA and are regularly used by UFC fighters including Conor McGregor.
In competitions, competitors wear a vest, trousers, boxing gloves and savate boots. Savate is one of the only combat styles to use footwear. Only foot kicks are allowed (sole, the top of the foot, the toe, or the heel), unlike systems such as Muay Thai, which allow knees and shins.
As a self-defence system, Savate is used by various divisions of the French Police. As well as the punching and kicking techniques, they are shown how to use weapons, the baton and the cane to defend themselves against armed and multiple opponents in a range of situations.
BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. BJJ. Martial arts. MMA. Fight Club.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (aka BJJ) is a martial art based on grappling, ground fighting and submissions. It focuses on controlling an opponent, gaining a dominant position and using a number of techniques to gain a submission via joint locks or chokeholds.
In 1914-17 Kodokan Judo master Mitsuyo Maeda stayed with Brazil’s Gastao Gracie and taught Gastao’s eldest son, Carlos judo. Over time, Carlos taught the other Gracie children (Oswaldo, Gastão jr, George and Hélio) what he had learned. The Gracie family developed and modified much of what they had learned, these modifications went on to become their own system which they named Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
Today, nearly all MMA fighters train in BJJ due to the success that past practitioners have had in the sport. Indeed, the very first UFC competition was won via submission by Renzo Gracie. BJJ has become an essential part of a rounded MMA fighters repertoire, and many fighters not versed in this discipline often find themselves highly disadvantaged on the ground against those that are skilled in BJJ.
BJJ empathises grappling, ground fighting and controlling the opponent. It utilizes factors such as leverage and weight distribution to take a fight to the ground and then using submissions (chokes, locks) to defeat the opponent.
BJJ places little emphasis on ‘standup’ techniques (striking/throws) utilising only basic takedowns, such as sweeps and single/double leg takedowns. Many BJJ clubs and practitioners cross train with wrestling, judo, and sambo to improve their skill in getting their opponent to the floor.
PANKRATION
Pankration was a combat sport introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC. The athletes utilised boxing, kicking, grappling, locks and chokeholds. It was infamous for its ferocity with such tactics as knees to the head and eye-gouging. Severe injuries and death were very common. Pankration was eventually abolished from the Olympics
in 394 AD and the sport was seemingly lost to the annals of history.
In 1969, Greek-American combat athlete Jim Arvanitis decided to resurrect the system. Arvanitis studied striking and grappling from traditional martial arts styles (Muay Thai and Judo) and spent long hours researching ancient descriptions of Pankration techniques. Taking what was useful from every style he studied and combining techniques from the ancient sources, Arvanitis created a style that eventually became known as ‘Modern Pankration’ or ’Neo-Pankration’.
Later in 1985, Aris Makris tried to bring Pankration even closer to its origins, removing obsolete and impractical techniques. Over the years Greek scholars and martial artists worked together to make Modern Pankration as true to the original as possible.
Modern Pankration appears similar to MMA, but there are a few rules which make it unique. With regards to striking straight punches used to set up takedowns with hooks and uppercut punches rarely employed, Kicks are a big component, in particular, a kick to the stomach not dissimilar to a Muay Thai ‘Teep’. However, there is big emphasis on takedowns as opposed to stand-up fighting. On the ground, ground and pound and submissions are used to gain victory.
ARNIS
Arnis is the national martial art of the Philippines. Arnis emphasizes weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed weapons and hand-to-hand combat techniques.
Arnis was developed by the indigenous populations of the Philippines, who used an assorted range of weapons for combat (such as the rattan, swords, daggers and spears). When the Spanish invaded, even with their technological superiority with firearms, the conquistadors were hard-pressed in dealing with the largely unarmored Filipino defenders. Equipped with nothing more than bladed weapons and their fearsome Arnis abilities, the islanders defeated the musket-bearing conquistadors when they initially tried to invade.
The Spanish eventually returned with greater numbers and firepower and successfully conquered parts of the Philippines. The traditions of Arnis were prohibited and had to go underground. Although Spanish influence had a pacifying effect on Filipino martial culture, the original warrior ethos survived and continued to be an integral part of Filipino culture. In 2009, the government of the Philippines declared Arnis the national sport of the Philippines.
In Arnis, weapon use is seen as extensions of the limbs. Arnis practitioners practice transitioning from fighting with weapons to empty hands fluidly, as there is always the possibility of being unarmed. Arnis practitioners are renowned for rapid attacks and efficient footwork when wielding weapons. The philosophy is in inflicting lethal damage to opponents with weapons and unarmed techniques to end a fight as quickly as possible. In the hand-to-hand component, striking (kicks, punches), grappling, throwing, takedowns and even vicious moves such as biting are taught.
Conclusion
As can be seen, the world of the martial arts is not limited solely to South East Asia. Indeed there are far more martial arts available than this limited article can ever hope to cover. The ability to defend oneself in a hostile world transcends international borders.
With each martial art comes its own colourful and unique history and traditions. These techniques and traditions have in many ways been developed sometimes through necessity (Krav Maga, Karate or Capoeira); sometimes for sport or competition (Boxing, kickboxing) and sometimes for military applications (Sambo, Sanda).
It can certainly be argued that Martial arts enrich the world, brutal perhaps? Maybe, a counterfoil to that suggestion would be that martial arts also offer a way of channelling aggressive energy, promote growth, physical wellbeing, mental and spiritual balance, self-discipline and promote positive social interaction with our peers. Each one offering something entirely unique be it specialisation in a particular component (grappling/striking), self-defence and others devoted to spiritual elements (Tai-chi/Baguazhang).
Most international languages continue to develop by borrowing words from other languages. This is similar with the martial arts, with many borrowing techniques from other styles to make their styles more effective.
In recent years, many schools are teaching several martial arts styles together ‘MMA’ (Mixed Martial Arts) which has been popularised by contests such as the UFC.
With the popularity of MMA perhaps more of the obscure martial traditions will become more visible to the public and gain the popularity that they deserve.