There may be a vast and wide variety of martial arts techniques, but not everyone has knowledge of every one of them. If someone plans on pursuing a martial arts class but does not know the various styles and forms that can be practiced, they will have an awful lot of trouble finding an appropriate studio to learn at. The following is a brief introduction to some of the more popular styles as well as their history.
Styles and Countries
Many martial arts beginners think that the most popular martial arts form is karate because it is much more prevalent in countries like America due to classic movies such as the Karate Kid, and the media attention that has followed these movie productions. However, karate really is not as globally popular as you would think. While it is frequently practiced in America, its popularity across the world does not reach as far. Depending on the country, there will be a different, more popular martial arts form. For example, you would find the Judo style prevalent in Japan, the Muay Thai popular in Thailand, and the BJJ frequently practiced in Brazil.
Karate
The art of karate was in fact founded by farmers in Japan. When the Samurais tried to constantly invade their land, they invented this technique as a form of defense. Later, the fighting style expanded to all areas of Japan, causing the details of the method to be varied per individual island, such as the residents in Okinawa who had their own karate variation called Okinawa Karate. The two major emphases on all of these techniques are the elaborate punches and kicks that are exerted and that it is primarily a form of self-defense.
Tae Kwon Do
Another popular form that many know well is Tae Kwon Do. This style has its roots in Korea and emphasizes powerful kicks and punches, with one of its most popular moves being the roundhouse kick. This kick is used almost ninety percent of the time as a last resort move to win during in sparring matches. And the Tae Kwon Do martial art is a great style for any person who has a preference for kicking or would like to learn to kick better. The styles are represented by three different organizations--the World Tae Kwon Do Federation or WTF, the International Tae Kwon Do Federation or ITF, and the American Tae Kwon Do Association or ATA. The WTF is on the Olympic level, the ITF is not Olympic but still is used by several countries, and the ATA is only located within one country.
Judo
The next highly popular martial arts style is Judo. The Judo technique is extremely popular on the islands of Japan and is also considered an Olympic sport. Interestingly, this style was used as a substitute to Jujitsu back in the early 1800s. Since Jujitsu was extremely harsh and resulted in many injuries, Judo was created so that those who wanted to learn the style, but did not wish to get hurt seriously hurt. They could practice a technique that was more safe.
Originally posted 2010-03-22 03:19:30.
This post involves:163, awful lot of trouble, bjj, emphases, farmers, fighting style, karate kid, martial arts class, martial arts techniques, media attention, Muay Thai, okinawa karate, popularity, punches, roots, roundhouse kick, samurais, self defense, tae kwon, variation
... and focuses on:Judo, karate, Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do
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