The Martial Arts History
Approximately 5000 years ago in Egypt
Hieroglyphics were painted on walls showing soldiers practising combat exercise,
theses exercises were done in a uniform manner, with large groups of soldiers
stood in lines doing different fighting moves simultaneously, the hieroglyphics
also show individual warriors practising their fighting skills against each
other. This was their way of practising for war.
Most primitive societies all over the world developed a way of training large
groups of soldiers in fighting arts, but this is the first written or pictorial
record that we have of this happening.
Over many centuries this type of practice spread from Egypt down
through India. These fighting forms were perceived as good means of self
defence and also seen as a good way of keeping fit, they were used by soldiers
and also by monks, because when monks were travelling from village to village
they needed to be able to defend themselves.
In the year 527 AD when the Bodhidharma travelled from India to the first
Shaolin monastery in China, he was disappointed to see the poor physical
condition of the monks, they were unable to do their meditation because of their
ill health, so Bodhidharma instructed them in basic martial arts.
The popularity of martial arts training carried on increasing,
with the general population in China being encouraged to take part.
Martial arts knowledge spread across the whole of China, and then down through
the Korean peninsular.
When Korea and China was invaded by Japan, the Japanese warriors
took back with the martial arts knowledge they gained. The Okinawan island
developed its own styles of martial art first, but gradually it spread through
the whole of the Japanese islands.
American soldiers came across the Japanese unarmed fighting
systems during the Second World War, some of these American servicemen learnt
them, this knowledge was then taken back to America, it spread rapidly in
America when the general public became more aware of it in the early 1960's
The Americans looked at the different fighting systems that were
available at the time, with all the different influences each country had given
to these arts, the Indian meditation, the Chinese forms, the Korean kicks,
Okinawan weapons, the Japanese way of practising etc, and they merged them all.
Using a boxing ring to contain the fighters they held tournaments, adding
western boxing gloves, groin guards, gum shield , foot pads, etc to prevent
injuries. So the art of Kickboxing was started.
Kickboxing came to England in 1972, its still spreading across
the world, taking the best parts of all Martial Arts the practitioners
encounter. Kickboxing is a complete and whole art which still continues to
develop, encouraged by forward thinking martial artists like Bruce Lee
