What will the Martial Arts be 50 years from now?

[dvcochran]

The Martial Art's have certainly evolved more in the previous 50 years than ever before. What will change in the next 50 years?
What styles may disappear?
What styles will become or remain popular and why?
Will there be styles at all?
Will continued style consolidation much like MMA has done morph the meaning of martial art into something else?

 

[Headhunter]

No styles are going to dissapear. I know the Mma fanboys like to say that Mma has caused traditional styles to die out but that's simply not true. There's still plenty of people doing karate or Kung fu or aikido or tai chi.

It's not going to change because simply there's only so many ways you can punch and kick and grapple.

 

[Deleted member 39746]

Anything thats popular now will remain popular probably.

judo isn't likely to die out, neither is TKD, Karate, wrestling etc. MMA and a few other different combat sports may pop up in popularity and join them though.

Hopefully the mc dojo will die in that time though. Hopefully more combat based martial arts will pop back up again as there has been a increase in popularity for that.


kind of hard to say really, trends change a lot and unforeseen circumstances can happen and it semi depends where you live as well as different things are popular across the world.

 

[skribs]

The Martial Art's have certainly evolved more in the previous 50 years than ever before. What will change in the next 50 years?
What styles may disappear?
What styles will become or remain popular and why?
Will there be styles at all?
Will continued style consolidation much like MMA has done morph the meaning of martial art into something else?

I doubt that many styles may disappear. There may be a few fringe styles that do. I think it will have less to do with MMA and more to do with the Internet or changes in politics. For example, people are exposed to forums like this and may get more direction in what is a "good" vs. a "bad" art. Or, should North and South Korean relations improve, there may actually be a unification of KKW and ITF. (Or not, since they are different styles).

What we will see is people coming up with their own consolidated arts, for things outside of MMA. I take both Taekwondo and Hapkido. I can easily find ways for those to work together. Having watched videos of Boxing, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Wrestling, and BJJ, I can see ways to apply all of those to what I know already. Now, some of those combinations are pretty popular already. Anything involving Boxing or Muay Thai with Wrestling or BJJ is a pretty good striking/grappling combination for MMA.

But I can easily see how learning Muay Thai or BJJ would combine well with my Hapkido. Hapkido tends to focus on wrists and elbows, and Muay Thai on shoulders. So that would help me work my way up the arm. Hapkido tends to want to stay standing, BJJ wants to go down. Wrestling would sort of combine the two - more focus on shoulders and hips, more focus on groundwork, and I could use my knowledge of submissions from Hapkido to apply it to the ground control of wrestling. So those provide a more comprehensive grappling style. I could combine Hapkido with Wing Chun, since they use a little bit different way of trapping and controlling your opponents hands and wrists.

Boxing simply fills a gap in my training, to get me used to sparring with punches and get me used to reading incoming combinations.

How many new combinations would come out of mixing Hapkido with any of these arts?

 

[jobo]

The Martial Art's have certainly evolved more in the previous 50 years than ever before. What will change in the next 50 years?
What styles may disappear?
What styles will become or remain popular and why?
Will there be styles at all?
Will continued style consolidation much like MMA has done morph the meaning of martial art into something else?

well probably not going to disappear completely, just become increasing rare/ harder to find, because few e will be taking them up, so it's really a problem that the dojo will become unprofitable a people die off/ get old.

 

[geezer]

well probably not going to disappear completely, just become increasing rare/ harder to find, because fewer will be taking them up, so it's really a problem that the dojo will become unprofitable a people die off/ get old.

Yeah, I see that happenning with a lot of the less common and very traditional systems. Although part of that may be a projection of my own gradually increasing disillusionment with what I personally consider to be unrealistic and impractical systems.

Some of these systems were once practical fighting systems, if somewhat limited in scope. But they have become increasingly less practical over the years as those inclined to be fighters predictably gravitate towards combat sports such as MMA, Muay Tahai, BJJ, Boxing, Wrestling and so forth. That has left the traditional style instructor in a situation where he is forced to market his system to hobbyists and/or children with no real interest in fighting or hard sparring, but rather more of a fantasy-based fascination with the exotic aspects of the style, and often with a heavy dose of magical thinking.

After a few generations, you inevitably end up with people teaching these arts who have never themselves been fighters, although they may be athletic and have technical skill and oodles of "knowledge" about their tradition. Will such arts continue to survive in today's world where martial skills are tested and every fail ends up all over Youtube and social media?

The answer is probably yes. But in what form? All kinds of crazy quazi-religious and absolutely ridiculous belief systems exist in modern society. Flat earthers anyone?

It's just that I don't want really to be part of such a group, and the way things are heading, that could be a problem.

 

[geezer]

By the way, where is old KPM when you need him? He's exactly the guy to follow up on this.


BTW- I just started a new thread following up on these comments on the Wing Chun forum. Please feel welcome to check it out and comment, even if you're not a WC person. Perhaps, especially if you're not a WC person!

 

[Gerry Seymour]

The Martial Art's have certainly evolved more in the previous 50 years than ever before. What will change in the next 50 years?
What styles may disappear?
What styles will become or remain popular and why?
Will there be styles at all?
Will continued style consolidation much like MMA has done morph the meaning of martial art into something else?

We've seen contraction and expansion over that time period. Some styles die off - and some will continue to - because not enough people train in them. Others thrive for a time, and usually fall out of favor after a time (boxing is an example of one that fell out of the top spot, without really fading away). New styles - really, just blends and re-imaginings of existing material - come along.

All of that will continue. Likely MMA will continue to develop into a more cohesive style (the way that "boxing" is a recognizable style), though I'd also expect to see some style splits within that over time. You can kind of see where those lines might happen, with different bases being used.

Some styles will likely become less martial over time (I think we already see that in large areas of Aikido) and will be used mostly for their health benefits (like Tai Chi is, in many places).

But all of that is just the same patterns we've seen. We'll probably see acceleration of the changes. I think more mixing is inevitable, as information (especially video tutorials) is more available than ever before.

 

[Buka]

I look at this in a different way. It's not so much how the arts will change, it's how the world will. For those of you that weren't around fifty years ago this might not make sense, but anyway....

If you told somebody fifty years ago that their telephone would have no wires, that they could film a Martial Arts training session on their telephone and send it to another Martial Artist with a similar device thousands of miles away in the blink of an eye just to share a technique - people would think you're either nuts or want some of what you were smoking. The very idea that telephones could take pictures and movies didn't exist.

Heck, if you tried to describe this forum to somebody fifty years ago.....

Fifty years from now could be just about anything. I know if certain factions have their way they're won't be any fighting in Martial Arts schools at all, because, you know, little Johnny’s feelings might get bruised.

Fifty years from now the largest animal food processing plant might be PETA Grinders Association.

Fifty years from now ice cream might be accurately called a medicine. Along with pizza.

Maybe fifty years from now you'll be able to spar with somebody in virtual reality. Certainly a possibility.

I think the ONE thing you can count on, though, is this - MY style is better than your style! My Master even says so. (yes, slavery has reared it's ugly head again)

 

[hoshin1600]

I agree with Buka but would expand on that in that the condition of the political environment could have drastic effects. The more secure the world is the more people will move towards leisure activities.the more insecurity there is the more people will want real self defense. Now what is offered as self defense may or may not be real just as today but the the emotional movement of the masses will change martial arts.

 

[isshinryuronin]

Great topic. I got my black belt almost 50 years ago, and comparing to what martial arts are today, there are some notable differences, but not extreme. MMA has cut into the market for a particular segment, and the "mystique" has faded so there is less excitement and enrollment of another segment. Video games and smartphones have lobotomized the high school and young adult market, so for once I must agree with jobo's post Popularity has gone down.

At the same time, there is a resurgence in the practical applications of traditional karate and some blending of other arts into the mix. The next 50 years may yield fewer, smaller, but better quality dojos. That was the rule 100 years ago. As Buka and hoshin1600 point out, however, it's hard to predict the future. As a boy, skinny neckties were in. As an older boy, fat ties were the style, then medium wide ties, then skinny was stylish again, then medium again. I haven't worn a tie in fifteen years so I don't know what the look is now.

Whatever happens to the Art in decades to come, I hope that the roots are remembered with respect and those future instructors pass on the high ideals that accompany it.

 

[dvcochran]

I have often wondered it the majority of the arts will consolidate into one and become a singular martial art. Very hard to wrap my head around but possible.

 

[jobo]

I have often wondered it the majority of the arts will consolidate into one and become a singular martial art. Very hard to wrap my head around but possible.

no two i suspect, the big divided is already there between hobby arts and sports arts and that will become wider and the arts in each class will get closer together.

it's almost unthinkable that mma won't be much more closely regulated in a ( hopefully more)civilised society if not straight banned, similarly boxing will end up with the tkd protective equipmen, at which point you may as well make them the same sport, judo might survive

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I have often wondered it the majority of the arts will consolidate into one and become a singular martial art. Very hard to wrap my head around but possible.

I doubt it. We humans like to classify things, and that means naming them. We find something slightly different, and give it a slightly different name to identify it as such. I don't see that ending any time soon.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

no two i suspect, the big divided is already there between hobby arts and sports arts and that will become wider and the arts in each class will get closer together.

it's almost unthinkable that mma won't be much more closely regulated in a ( hopefully more)civilised society if not straight banned, similarly boxing will end up with the tkd protective equipmen, at which point you may as well make them the same sport, judo might survive

That probably depends what science tells us about brain injury, and whether science wins the decision on rules (it doesn't always). There's a convincing argument that TKD-style gear might lead more quickly to CTE if nothing else changes.

 

[jobo]

That probably depends what science tells us about brain injury, and whether science wins the decision on rules (it doesn't always). There's a convincing argument that TKD-style gear might lead more quickly to CTE if nothing else changes.

theres a growing movement towards banning heading of soccer balls, if using head gear doesn't lessen the effects of being punched repeatedly in the head or even increasing it, then head shots will also be banned, which ends legal boxing, I see that as inescapable, if law makers won't do it, then insurance companies will, once a few multi million $ law suits have been done

it does perhaps need science to catch up a bit yet, but we are talking decades in the future, when brain scanning tech will presumably have improved somewhat

 

[Buka]

I have often wondered it the majority of the arts will consolidate into one and become a singular martial art. Very hard to wrap my head around but possible.

I don't think there's a chance of that. God, I hope not. People are just too different in the Martial World.

And imagine if that happened, somebody would have to be the Grand Poobah. Good God, he'd probably make himself a 20th degree Black Belt.

 

[Martial D]

The Martial Art's have certainly evolved more in the previous 50 years than ever before. What will change in the next 50 years?
What styles may disappear?
What styles will become or remain popular and why?
Will there be styles at all?
Will continued style consolidation much like MMA has done morph the meaning of martial art into something else?

I'm with Joe Rogan on this one. I think styles will mostly die out, and people will just be learning 'martial arts' . It's already heading in that direction, as we learn more and more what works in a competitive environment and that gets refined more and more.

I think classical 'styles' will always exist, but in more of a cultural history way like native American war dance.

 

[Yokozuna514]

The Martial Art's have certainly evolved more in the previous 50 years than ever before. What will change in the next 50 years?
What styles may disappear?
What styles will become or remain popular and why?
Will there be styles at all?
Will continued style consolidation much like MMA has done morph the meaning of martial art into something else?

Interesting question. Personally, I think that if there is no major conflict that will require people to learn to fight for survival, MA will proliferate and we will have even more 'styles' or 'systems'. The older styles will continue to be around being supported by their faithful but they may be a shade of what they once were, modified to survive the new landscape and to appeal to a new audience. In the same respect as we have boxercise, Tai Bo and Cardio kickboxing, we will probably get many new forms of mixed martial exercise systems based on what once was actual fighter prep.

 

[skribs]

I have often wondered it the majority of the arts will consolidate into one and become a singular martial art. Very hard to wrap my head around but possible.

As long as there are different sports, this won't happen. You're not going to have a unified art that will cover boxing, wrestling, judo, and Taekwondo competitions.