The traditional elements of most ancient oriental cultures were a variety of martial arts. Owning them was very important in the Middle Ages. Over time, this need almost disappeared, and the martial arts found their embodiment in the form of modern martial arts, which have become very popular. Today, millions of people around the world are engaged in martial arts.
Oriental martial arts, like any others, are a special type of sports. Their goal is that one of the participants, through physical resistance within the framework of certain rules, using only physical strength or additional equipment, defeats one or more opponents.
Martial arts are classified as oriental solely on the basis of their origin in a certain territory - in the countries of the Asian region: Japan, Korea, China. However, the fundamental principles underlying the specific martial arts of a given group can be radically different. Some types of competitions involve the use of weapons, others allow only elements of wrestling, others can combine wrestling and contact combat, etc.
There are purely sports, martial and mixed martial arts. The first type includes competition systems in which there are strict rules that greatly limit the arsenal of techniques, rigidly determining the conditions for victory and defeat. Vivid examples are: Japanese Sumo wrestling, Japanese fencing art of Kendo. Only two opponents participate in such martial arts, often selected according to the principle of approximately equal opportunities.
Martial martial arts involve the development of abilities that allow you to survive in critical situations. Typically, training programs include sets of techniques to effectively counter multiple opponents. Much attention is paid to the possibilities of using any available items as weapons. Such martial arts include some types of Chinese Wushu (Kung Fu), as well as the Japanese martial arts Jiu-Jitsu, which involve the use of elements of wrestling, strikes, and cold weapons.
Mixed martial arts are sports in nature, but the arsenal of many of them includes techniques designed for self-defense (including against several opponents). Examples include: Judo, Aikido, Karate, Taekwondo.
