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Martial Arts
The martial arts consist of
a series of hand-to-hand unarmed combat tactics. The most
popular are karate, judo, jujitsu, and kung fu. Many experts
believe kung fu does not belong in the category of unarmed
self-defense because it can become a killer art in its most
violent form.
Chinese jujitsu and its
offshoot, judo, are thousands of years old. They began in
China and Japan. During the Middle Ages in Japan, common
people were not allowed to carry weapons. They devised a
self-defense technique that involved a series of holds, trips,
strangles, and falls. By the 1700's, judo and jujitsu were
no longer required for self-defense, but these sports survived
stressing grace, physical discipline, and spiritual concentration.
Jigaro Kano, a Japanese man,
founded the first judo school in 1882. He introduced the
system of "belts," with a white belt for a novice and a
black belt for an expert. This system has been extended to
karate as well. Judo came to America in 1902.
Karate was introduced in an
Okinawa school in 1905. By the year 1922, it had spread to
Japan, and eventually was practiced worldwide. Today, the
World Union of Karatedo (Karate) Organization sets the rules
governing the use of striking, punching, and kicking on various
parts of the body. Matches last from two to three minutes
and points are scored for blows to the neck, face, kidneys, and
midsection of an opponent. The blows are not actually
landed: if they were, they could disable or even kill.
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