by Jon Simpson

Created on: January 22, 2010

Number one famous Belgian, Jean-Claude Van Damme, was probably the first on-screen martial arts traveller, in his cult classic - Kickboxer.  Determined to enact a horrible revenge on a Thai fighter who has paralysed his brother, he trains in the jungle with a moustachioed guru and spends some time doing the splits and kicking trees.

Much as this remains firmly in the realms of the “very silly, but quite entertaining” category, the intrepid traveller with a penchant for fighting can get

cheap flights all over the world to experience authentic martial arts first hand.

1. Muay Thai boxing, Thailand

This is the Van Damme one and is known as the “art of the eight limbs” – presumably this is when your original four have each been broken.  It is Thailand’s national sport, and those keen to get involved will find plenty of training opportunities.  One course I found had training starting at 5:30am (with tree kicking from six I imagine) and if this isn’t living out a movie dream, then I don’t know what is. So why not pick up some flights to Bangkok and have a martial arts adventure for your next holiday.

2. Yal güre – Turkey

Another alternative holiday option would be to get cheap flights to Dalaman and have a go at the Turkish favourite of Yal güre!  This tradition involves large men covered in oil and wrestling in a slippery kind of way.  There may be some skill in there, but it is not entirely obvious where.  The other benefit of this sport is that I am not sure it’s entirely necessary to travel to Turkey to do it either.  Recreate, your own version at home by putting on your Y-fronts, covering yourself in chip fat, and jumping on the fat bloke next door.

3. Kung Fu, China

Bruce Lee brought this fighting style to prominence in the West and remains its iconic figure.  There are a number of Chinese martial arts academies which will happily take foreigners to perfect their skills.  In the blurb on one, I found out that “Many students who have been studying for 1-3 months have been able to cut a brick in two using their bare hands by the end of their stay.” Not a bad pub trick, I think you’ll agree.

4. Krav Maga, Israel

Krav Maga is the martial art of choice for everyone’s favourite amnesiac assassin, Jason Bourne, which he uses in the highly successful films.  Developed in the late 1940s in Israel, the translation literally means “contact

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