Which Martial Arts to take up is a question many people ask themselves. A lot will come down to personal tastes, wants and needs. However many will be limited to what is available to them locally. Why not take a look through this guide, to help you decide which martial art may suit you best.

Firstly let me say that martial arts has now become one of the most popular pass times in the world and is still on the increase. There are so many types, ancient and traditional all the way to modern hybrids, that cover everything from general mental, spiritual/religious and physical health, sports competitions, weapons based training and street/war self defence combat systems.

The term martial art comes from the Roman Greek god ‘Mars’ who was the god of war, giving us the ‘Art of War’. The term now covers just about any fighting system, which encompasses both Western and Eastern cultures.

Although it is likely practised martial arts existed before 1000BC, there is very little documented, although from around 500BC evidence can be found of Chinese/Indian martial arts, Greek wrestling and boxing and Roman gladiatorial combat being used.

From then on with warring states and countries both armed and unarmed combat systems have been developed and used by both the military and civilian population.

In more modern times, we now have thousands of movies, spawning many household named martial arts stars, health and fitness promotions, self defence clubs and classes, TV sporting events and various national and international competitions.

What you will find on this site are:

26 of the most popular martial arts (this is not a definitive list).

Each Martial Art listed has:

• A brief history and background
• A description of the training involved
• The equipment/gear used
• What weapons if any are used
• A list of celebrity practitioners
• A list of movies featuring that martial art
• Images and YouTube videos

Aikido  /  Bare Knuckle / Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu  /  Capoeira  /  Eskrima/Arnis/Kali
Greco-Roman Wrestling  /  Japanese Jiu-Jitsu  /  Jeet Kune Do  /  Judo
Karate  /  Kendo  /  Kenjutsu  /  Kickboxing  /  Krav Maga  /  Kung Fu / Wushu
Mixed Martial Arts (Freestyle fighting/hybrid fighting systems)
Muay Thai  /  Ninjutsu  /  Shootfighting  /  Silat  /  Sumo Wrestling  /  Taekwondo
Tai Chi Ch’uan  /  Vale Tudo  /  Western Boxing  /  Wing Chun

Also why not checkout the section on street defence arts/combative systems.

Section on Martial Arts of the Olympics:

Each Olympic Martial Art listed has:

• Background information
• Weight Classes (if applicable)
• Common terms used
• Olympic years for that martial art
• The equipment/gear used
• Images and YouTube videos

Introduction  /  Olympic Boxing  /  Olympic Fencing  /  Olympic Freestyle Wrestling  Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling  /  Olympic Judo  /  Olympic Taekwondo