Martial Arts in India

Martial arts are basically a technique that covers a broad range of activities that involve fighting techniques, physical exercises, and methods of mental discipline and among other mixed skills. Martial arts originated in the ancient cultures of Asia, and are used today around the world for self-defense, exercise, health, spiritual growth, law enforcement, and athletic competition. Martial arts originated in East Asia but most historians believe that martial arts first originated in India.

During 11th and 12th century AD, there was a popular form of martial arts, which is known as Kalaripayattu, had been widespread in the southern states of India. Thereafter Bodhidharma, a famous Buddhist monk, learnt this art in India and when he went to China to proclaim Buddhism, he introduced this art of fighting to the Chinese which meant for physical exercise and self-defense to the backward class of society. Further he incorporated various changes in the Kalaripayattu way of fighting and gave birth to a new form of martial arts known as the Shaolin Kung Fu. Martial arts fundamentally include the intellectual concepts as well as physical techniques, and have been influenced by many of the religious and philosophical systems of the East Asia. The Taoist philosophy explains that the universe operates within laws of balance and harmony and that people must live within the rhythms of nature. Martial arts grow these concepts of balance and adaptation to the natural flow of events. Buddhism is thereafter believed to have introduced breathing methods, meditation and techniques of mental and spiritual awareness to the early founders of martial arts. That by the 20th century it witnessed a significant growth in the popularity of East Asian martial arts in the Western countries both the popular type of martial arts judo was added in 1964 and tae kwon do in 2000 were added to the Olympic Games as full medal sports. By the early 21st century a syncretic discipline known as mixed martial arts, which incorporated fighting techniques from various cultural traditions, had also achieved prominence. When it comes to education, Martial arts teachers are usually certified with the rank of an advanced black belt status. Many large schools of martial arts have organizations which oversee and certify the status regarding distribution of belt ranks. Like the Aikido Association of America recognizes training programs and certifies ranking procedures. Currently the USA Karate Federation is the largest organization for certifying ranking systems and schools of karate. While the Chinese Kung-Fu Wu-Su Association works with kung fu schools, ranking systems, and contests.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: http://mocomi.com/history-martial-arts/