African Martial Arts
Martial arts are styles of combat that stem from various cultures and their traditions. In the past, the primary uses of these fighting styles were originally for war preparations, rites of passage, testing one’s courage, and combat dancing that stemmed from spiritual and folklore traditions. In modern times, most people practice martial arts for health and fitness reasons or discipline and character development.
When watching the various types of martial arts, one will notice many reoccurring themes in the methods of fighting: hand strikes, kicking, leg sweeps, throwing, pinning, submission holds, chokeholds, head butting, or the use of sticks, machetes, swords, and similar items that could be viewed as a weapon. Some of the more folkloric and ritualistic styles may include dance-like movements where the practitioners move to the rhythm of the music being played. The area of combat may contain boundaries, where one of the objectives is to remain within the constraints or knock your opponent outside.
Throughout the world, one can find various styles and hybrid versions of older styles. In the age of globalization, certain fighting styles have been gone international, creating a worldwide following of people from various backgrounds learning martial arts from a culture that differs from theirs. Karate, taekwondo, Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and kung fu have some of the largest…
