Why Learn Martial Arts?

The tradition of learning martial arts dates back thousands of years in both the Orient and the Occident. Both the East and West often integrated martial arts in the broader context of a ‘complete’ education system, recognizing the need to be learned, healthy, and able to defend yourself.

In the Western European tradition, martial arts were once considered an important part of a complete education. The so-called ‘Renaissance Education’ often included wrestling, boxing, fencing, running, riding, and swimming as well as language, history, mathematics, and philosophy. The surviving martial texts from the Renaissance attest to the diversity of martial systems taught by Western masters of self-defense.
The extant Western martial arts are found in the modern sports of western boxing, wrestling, and fencing.

In the East, martial arts survived intact as part of the physical culture. The diversity of systems and styles were the result of both national and family traditions. These martial arts were often passed down from one generation to the next. These family systems were influenced by, and in turn influenced, the military and monastic systems of martial arts at the time. Philosophy and occasionally, religion were mixed with the martial arts to produce a lifelong study. Examples of general categories of Eastern martial arts include Kung Fu, Chinese Boxing, Karate, Jujitsu, Judo, Silat, Kali, and Muay Thai. There are thousands of systems of martial arts within the national categories. Examples of some of the more famous Chinese systems include: Tai Chi Chuan, Hsing-I Chuan, Pa Kua Chang, Wing Chun, Shaolin, Hung Gar, Eagle Claw, and Baoding Shuai Chiao.

Today, the students of martial arts begin their studies for many reasons. These reasons include health, self-defense, sport, mental discipline, personal growth, and because of an interest in history. Often, the reasons for studying will change over the course of one’s martial arts career. Fortunately, the availability of many different systems of martial arts allows the student to choose the specific aspect that interests them.

Read our other Chinese Boxing Articles for more information.