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| Hieroglyphics on a tomb at Ben-Hasan, Egypt depicting Nuba Wrestling |
Martial Arts, as the name itself suggests is a form of art
practiced and adapted by the military, or at least have its roots in the armies
of the olden days. Martial arts involve a combination of specific moves with or
without weapons with an intention of attacking an opponent or defending oneself
from such an attack.
Everything must have started at some point of time. Where
does the origin of these martial arts lie? We can trace the origin of certain
forms of martial arts to different regions of the world, but these forms are
all relatively new, dating few centuries back. But, if you ask me the same question, I would
say that the origin of martial arts is as old as man itself. The first time a
man faced a threat from another, the birth of “pre-historic” martial arts took
place. The reason for which is none other than nature itself.
Yes, you heard it right… It came “naturally” to man. Every
organism is programmed by default to work towards the only two aims of life and
try to achieve it by any means necessary. The two aims being Self preservation
and continuation & preservation of species. In other words: Trying not to die and “making out” with the
members of opposite sex with the intention of procreating. But yeah, when it
comes to humans the second act serves the purpose of both procreation as well
as recreation.. Damn..!! It is getting interesting but got to focus on the
topic here.
So, coming back to the martial arts, hope you still remember
that I mentioned about the man who is under threat by another. In that kind of “fight
or flight” situation the need of self preservation would have kicked in and in
fight mode they would have traded blows while defending oneself from the
opponent’s blows, jabs, kicks or whatever he throws at him, and hence giving
birth to what would later turn into an art.
The martial arts, as we know I today has undergone a long
process of evolution since its inception to transform from a crude way of
fighting for food, shelter or mate in the prehistoric days to the art as we
know it today, used to attack/defend in warfare and also as a sport and self
defense technique in day to day life.
There are numerous forms of martial arts, varying from one
region to another and the effectiveness of these martial arts depends upon the
conditioning of the body and biomechanics in combination with the natural
forces. Each form has its own tradition and codified practices.
Now this is just about how martial arts originated, there is
lot more to it once one starts studying individual forms and I hope to check
out at least two or three forms sometime soon.
Source: Image
