Popular Martial Arts

“Hiyah! Hiyah!” Those were the words which I usually hear when my daughter and husband play with each other. Usually it's because they were pretending to be martial artists like those numerous martial arts films we have seen. Of course, as much as we love to watch various martial arts films; we uusally avoid the fairly violent ones.

There are many forms of Martial Arts, possibly all over the world, which are depicted in many movies and programs which nowadays are not only used by many people as self defense but also as a means of keeping fit and losing weight. Boxing and kickboxing are two examples we commonly hear that many people learn to keep fit and lose weight.

Judo

Japan is well-known for its Judo Martial art. During the 14th century in Japan, soldiers are considered shameful if they were to wield weapons against peasants who merely had a stick to wield in defense. So they developed a fighting technique that uses body throws rather than relying on the use of weapons. The name Judo means ‘way of yielding’, where a person does not need to be bigger than his or her opponent in order to defeat their opponent. Securing and throwing are the two techniques which are basically employed to bring down an opponent in Judo.

Karate

Karate is probably the most loved martial arts in films and movies. Students who wish to learn Karate are first taught the basic punching, kicking and blocking moves. Karate is not just about physical fighting where you should learn to endure the pain to get the highest rank of a black belt. Karate is all about self-discipline that teaches delivering solid blows.

Kung Fu

Kung Fu is another martial arts which Chinese movies are famed for. Kung Fu is a form of martial art that is based on Tao Philosophy and involves fighting styles imitating actions of animals like frog, snake and dragon. Styles of Kung Fu are also developed such as Wing Chun which includes soft and hard styles.

Krav Maga

Krav Maga is one on the contemporary martial arts developed. This martial art incorporates various fighting elements from other fighting arts like jujitsu, judo, boxing and karate. This fighting art purposefully teach a student useful defensive techniques that are sure to beat an attacker easily. Some of the moves in Krav Maga are Spinning Ball Buster, Groin Slap Head lock and choke hold. The concept is to disarm the opponent of likely weapons such as a knife or a gun.

Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a kind of martial art for you if you want to kick a lot like the martial artists in the cartoon Street Fighter. In Taekwondo, a student of martial arts is taught to be quick, to be agile and to have total control of movements. Kicking and feet maneuver are not the only techniques in Taekwondo. There are also punching and other defensive actions. Taekwondo is one of those martial arts which are used also for fitness, for becoming flexible and for feeling confident about one’s self. In fact, some women who look quite feminine and demure are surprisingly black belters of Taekwondo.