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by Javier Gutierrez

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Martial Arts, More Than a Sport

When one thinks of sports, one automatically visualizes soccer, football, basketball, or even hockey. However, outside of our own culture, sports may be a little different. In China, several hundred years ago, before any of the previous sports mentioned ever came to be, hand-to-hand combat was considered a sport, lifestyle, and self-defense method. Martial arts, as they are called in the modern world carry different variations and styles, as many games today do as well. Four principal martial arts come together to form a great base for the sport.
One form of martial art, Tai Chi, is considered internal. Though still a sport, it is made up of soft movement and accurate balance. Balance is a fundamental in the martial arts, which is greatly stressed in the art of Tai Chi. This art is made complete with one fundamental rule: proper stance, which allows you to keep your balance at all times. As a sport, Tai Chi can become a fast paced movement, with direct and precise hits to the opponent. This is more a performance sport than a combat sport.

Another form of the Martial Arts is called Baguazhang, or "circle walking." Baguazhang stresses the importance of evasive techniques. In its early years around the 18th century, it became known throughout China with its unique style of circling the opponent in large circles and low stances, hence the name "circle walker." One Basic fundamental in this sport is flexibility. Flexibility is needed because of its lively and free movements. Baguazhang is a performance sport as well, but may be used in combat.
One of the most famous styles of Martial Arts is Kung Fu, made famous by Chinese movies. One variation of Kung Fu is called Shaolin. Monks practice it in the monasteries in Northern Shaolin, China. These monks take students under their wing and teach them exterior forms of Northern Shaolin King Fu. The basic fundamental in this martial art is agility, coming from what they call chi or energy. The second variation of Kung Fu is Hungar. This variation of Kung Fu is derived from the movements of two animals, the crane, soft power, and the tiger, hard power. These two were the first inspiration Kung Fu masters received to make the art more rugged and defensive, in contrast to Northern Shaolin.
Many people take the art of hand-to-hand combat, or martial arts, very serious in China and other Asian countries. It is a sport, even though many people do not view it as one. Some American sports are also derived from Martial Arts, which includes a very popular sport, boxing. In the end, what matters is our open mindedness on sports from different cultures. In my point of view, Martial Arts is one of the greatest sport invented by man.

Learn more about this author, Javier Gutierrez.

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