Kick Boxing - General (american martial art shoes) Background
January 5th, 2008
Kick boxing is a relatively modern martial arts system, who syllabus derived by combining several fighting techniques from a variety of the more traditional disciplines, including Kung fu, Kyokushinkai Karate, Muay Thai, Kyokky shinkai and Tae kwon do. History: Martial arts boomed during the early 1970s and interest was greatly increased by their emphasis on competition fighting. Chinese styles of fighting began to take a more westernised form in the UK, and even more so in the United States, where the first real freestyle systems were beginning to be created. Indeed, many people claim that Kick boxing originated in the US during the 1970s. This, they say, was due to various American Karate practitioners becoming frustrated with the limitations of tournament competitive scoring. While Karate and the other disciplines were viewed as being entrenched with theories and set kata, and were performed in a controlled environment, practitioners wanted to see how effective their moves would be in a more realistic environment. Great emphasis began to be placed on specialised techniques, such as kicks and punches, being delivered with full force. Although full contact Karate was already established, concerns were expressed for the safety of competitors. Development: There is a close affinity between Kick boxing and Muay Thai. While it is believed that the Americans had created this concept in their attempt to find a sport that could refine full contact competition, it is believed that the development of Kick boxing was borne out of the World Kick boxing Association finding common ground between Eastern and Western fighting cultures. It is also believed that Joe Cawley, Don and Judy Quinn, along with Howard Hansen, a Shorin ryn Karate black belt, were the initial promoters of Kick boxing and worked together for improved recognition. Hansen took Kick boxing a stage further by introducing fights in a boxing ring rather than the usual Karate tournament bouts. He became known as a ring matchmaker, staging a variety of successful events with stars such as Bill Superfoot Wallis. New rules evolved and were introduced into Kick boxing, most notably weight divisions ” from fly weight to heavy weight ” similar to those in traditional boxing. A down side to the discipline in those early days was criticism of a high risk injury. This led to improvement in the safety rules, such as contestants wearing protective clothing to cushion the impacts of the blows.
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Karate - General Background
Karate, or Karate-do, loosely translates empty hand (”kara” means empty and “te” means hand). This art is indeed predominantly concerned with fighting with bare hands and feet. The basic principle is to turn the body into an effective weapon to defend and attack when and where it is appropriate. History:
Karate is one of the most widely practised of the oriental martial arts. It evolved during one of the Japanese occupations of the island of Okinawa, part of the Ryukyu chain of islands, in the 15th century. Its roots, however, can be traced back much further than this - all the way back to ancient India. Many people hold the view that what we regard today as the oriental martial arts have their roots in India. In fact, when we look at such disciplines as yoga and the breathing techniques that originated in India, there does seem to be a great similarity between those and many of the modern martial arts systems. Zen Buddhist monks took the Indian fighting techniques to China from as early as the 5th century BC. Bodhidharma, an Indian monk, travelled at the end of the 5th century AD from India to China, where he became an instructor at the Shaolin monastery. He taught a combination of empty hand fighting systems and yoga. This became the well-known Shaolin Kong Fu - the system on which many Chinese martial arts systems are based. In 1470, the Japanese had occupied the island of Okinawa. The law of the land dictated that anybody found carrying weapons would be put to death. In order to protect themselves from local bandits, who largely ignored the prohibition on weapons, Zen Buddhist monks developed the empty hand system known as “te”, importing new techniques from China. Eventually the new art was translated as “t’ang” (China hand), but was familiarly known as “Okinawa-te” (Okinawa hand). It was not until the 20th century that t’ang became known as Karate-do. The suffix do was added by Gichin Funakoshi’s son Yoshitaka Funakoshi, in friendly opposition to his father’s Okinawa-te style. Practice and demonstrations until that time had been extremely violent. Punches were not pulled and full contact was an integral part of the Okinawa-te style. Yoshitaka Funakoshi transformed the techniques of Okinawa-te into a gentler system, seeking not to deliver blows fully, but to focus strikes at skin level. The do suffix expressed the move away from the aim of the warrior and towards physical and spiritual development. Styles:
There are numerous styles of karate practised. Wado Ryu and Shotokan are just 2 of them. Other popular systems include Shinto Ryu, developed in 1948, and now one of the main systems in the world. It is also important to realise that the various styles of Karate are the results of the personal ideas of many individuals about how each basic technique should be carried out or applied. The different techniques within the styles of Karate also dictate whether strength, speed, hand or leg techniques are emphasised. Competitive Karate:
Karate has been a self defense system and a form of physical exercise. The competitive and sporting elements have a further part to play in the individual’s enjoyment of this activity. It is because of the possibility of participation in competition that many people take up this art. Competition is not the only reason for engaging in this art. It is possible to learn Karate without participating in competitions, however for some people, competition provides motivation and stimulation for training. The sense of achievement that comes from just taking part can be carried over into everyday life.
- Thanaseelan, click on <a target="_new" href="http://www.worthofwordplay.blogspot.com">http://www.worthofwordplay.blogspot.com</a> to view his main blog. Don't forget to check out the categories on his blog.
The difference between martial arts and self defense
Many people refer to martial arts with the purpose of obtaining fighting skills to protect themselves on the streets. But what’s the difference between martial arts (in their technical aspect) and street self defense? At first, the difference is in the goal. The goal of martial arts competition is to win, to show your technical superiority over an opponent. But it’s not a good idea to compete with an assailant on the street - your aim is to protect yourself or even survive. Also the street is different from the ring or tatami because in the ring you’re prepared for the fight, but on the street people usually face with sudden violence. Thus, you have no time to develop a strategy - you have to get into action immediately. Generally, martial arts practitioners are used to fight in nearly constant and well-known conditions, wearing appropriate and comfortable clothes. On the street situation dramatically changes: attack might occur in any inappropriate place; surrounding conditions may be not on your side (slippery ground, poor illuminance, bad weather, etc); your clothes may be not good for fighting, confining moves. Martial arts have certain rules, ethics, and admit fair combat; some techniques are forbidden for the safety reasons. But street fights have no rules, and you should expect every dirty trick of an assailant - don’t reckon on a fair combat. Contrary to sparring, in a self defense situation you will quite probably deal with two or more attackers and they might be armed (with edged weapons, baseball bats, bottles, chains, etc). You should realize, that where’s no need for you to prove your fighting abilities to somebody on the street - your safety is crucial, and such solution as a quick escape might be optimal in a self defense situation.
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