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Japan is home to both the samurai and the ninja, two of the most revered and feared warriors in history. And from these and many other areas of the culture we glean an enormous variety of martial arts native to this country. It is really mind boggling that such a small country could have produced so much. It is like condensing things like that only served to amplify the warrior culture that much further...

At first samurai were a sort of society of bodyguards expected to be proficient in all weapons. After awhile they grew into this philosophical system of perfecting the self and through doing so attaining spiritual benefit.

The martial arts that developed in relation to the samurai were so diverse and varied that it would take a novel to properly incorporate them all. With that said Japanese martial arts are generally divided into two classifications-koryu and gendai budo. This is meant to refer to the date they came from, before and after the Meiji Restoration, respectively.

Koryu included by Sumo, Jujitsu and Swordsmanship. Kenjutsu was also popular. Sword drawing and other arts became their own disciplines and in general mastering all of them was prerequisite for becoming a samurai.

Gendai budo translates to "modern martial way" and there are many martial arts that fall under its heading. Kendo, Judo, Aikido and Karate all came from this period. This is generally considered to be the most prolific period for martial arts in the history of mankind.

Japan also originated the art of Bushido and in general spearheaded the movement to incorporate the spiritual side into martial arts. Truly Japan has done more than any other country, even the giant China right next door, to benefit the martial arts culture as a whole.

Learn more about this author, Royce Radcliffe.
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