What makes a Martial Art??

[Koga-Shinobi]

This may seem and incredibly dumb question to most, but what make's a martial art a martial art?? What are the factors that make it a martial art? Why is boxing not a martial art?? Is wrestling a martial art. Someone asked me this the other day, and I battled for an answer.

Wonder if you guys can enlighten me please

 

[Antares33]

Who said boxing and wrestling weren't martial arts?

 

[Koga-Shinobi]

Didnt say wrestling wasnt. So what then defines a martial art. On what premise is something a sport or a MA?

 

[MountainSage]

Martial is generally accepted to mean military or fighting. So as a result any combat system is a form of martial art. I don't believe there is an extreme diffrence between sport and combat in any MA. Rules in sport are there to protect the contestant and in true combat there really aren't any rules.

Mountain Sage

 

[ace]

Are as much a Martial Art as Judo, Ju Jitsu Tae Kwan Do,Kick Boxing. These all have sport sides to them.

 

[shadowdragon]

I think a greco-roman wrestling for example isn't a martial art, it is a sport. I think people do it just to compete in it. It doesn't have any philosophical side, no masters, no ranking system and it isn't learning how to fight or/and to defend oneself. I don't want to underestimate it though, just I don't consider it as a martial art.

 

[Despairbear]

Martial Art:
Combat Training

When the goal is to kill or disable your attacker it is a martial art.


Martial Sport:
Compition Traing

When the goal of the training is to "win" a contest, bout, round, trournement, match, etc. it is a martial sport.




Despair Bear

 

[MountainSage]

shadowdragon,
I agree with you about Greco-roman wrestling, but think of it like a piece of a wrestling art, much like joint-locks are a part of Hapkido.

Mountain Sage

 

[ace]

Originally posted by shadowdragon
I think a greco-roman wrestling for example isn't a martial art, it is a sport. I think people do it just to compete in it. It doesn't have any philosophical side, no masters, no ranking system and it isn't learning how to fight or/and to defend oneself. I don't want to underestimate it though, just I don't consider it as a martial art.

I totaly disagree Greco is a form of Martial Arts.

 

[shadowdragon]

You are right :asian: but I was just thinking about the word 'martial' the meaning of wrestling is not to beat an opponent in real battle/fight, which I think is the original idea behind all martial arts. Of course, these days the situation is different, since the sports aspect and others aspects have come to play, but I just refer to the original meaning. Of course, one can also argue about original wrestling, pankration etc. I hope you do get my meaning (maybe I can't express myself so well) :shrug:

 

[sweeper]

I don't think phylosophy or rank have anything to do with a martial art. If you were to look in a dictionary under martial art it would probaly refference eastern fighting systems, however if that were the correct deffinition the catagory of "western martial art" would be an oxymoron. If you look up the word art and the word martial I think you get a better understand of what martial art is, it's a rather broad range though, basicly if you are training for war or something that was once used in war (orI assume under martial law so any period where the military imposed law over civilians) it is in essense a martial art.. wether it's firearm use wrestling or whatever, the diffrence between sport and martial art are basicly what you train for. If you train boxing strictly for the ring, you care nothing about anything outside the ring and as such outside the rules of boxing than that's a sport, you have limited your field of vision for the sake of rules.. But that doesn't mean boxing is a sport all the time. and of course an art is basicly any field of study that does not include absolutes, basicly anything outside a hard science could be considered an art, allthough the word does cary a kind of asthetic implication. additionaly I think the word "martial" implies more than war,I think it could be extended to combat in genneral although I'm not sure if that's a literal deffinition.. any linguists or lexicologists out there???

 

[DAC..florida]

I think you all have good points, exellent discussion!

I must agree with sweeper on this one a martial art is whatever you train in!






Hard training breeds warriors.....

 

[Patty]

In a similar vein, at what point do you become a martial artist instead of someone who studies a martial art? Just curious!