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| The early '''history of ]''' is difficult to reconstruct. Inherent patterns of ] which inspire practice of ] (in particular ]) and optimization of serious ] as ]s are doubtlessly inherited from the ] stage, and were made into an "]" from the ] of that concept. Indeed, many universals of martial art are fixed by the specifics of ] and not dependent on a specific tradition or era. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| Specific martial arts traditions become identifiable in ], with disciplines such as ], ] or ]. | |||
| ==Early history== | |||
| The earliest evidence for specifics of martial arts as practiced in the past comes from depictions of fights, both in ] and in ], besudes analysis of archaeological evidence, especially of ]ry. | |||
| The ] has been in use since the ] and retained its central importance well into the 2nd millennium AD. The ] appears in the ] and is likewise only gradually replaced by the ], and eventually ]s, in the Common Era. True ]s appear in the ] with the ], and diversify shape in the course of the ] (]/], ], ]) | |||
| One very early example is the depiction of ] techniques in a tomb of the ] at ] (ca. 2000 BC). An even earlier depiction of Bronze Age military equipment is depicted on the "war panel" of the ] (ca. 2600 BC), which does however not show actual combat. | |||
| Literary descriptions of combat begin in the 2nd millennium BC, with cursory mention of weaponry and combat in texts like the ] or the ]. Detailed description of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age hand-to-hand combat with spear, sword and shield are found in the '']'' (ca. 8th century BC). | |||
| ==Europe== | |||
| ⚫ | *] | ||
| ⚫ | **] | ||
| ⚫ | **] | ||
| ⚫ | **] | ||
| ⚫ | **] | ||
| ==East Asia== | |||
| *] | *] | ||
| **] | **] | ||
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| ** ] | ** ] | ||
| **] | **] | ||
| *] | |||
| ==South Asia== | |||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| **] | **] | ||
| **] | **] | ||
| **] | **] | ||
| ==Near East== | |||
| *Persia: ] | *Persia: ] | ||
| ⚫ | *] | ||
| ⚫ | **] | ||
| ⚫ | **] | ||
| ⚫ | **] | ||
| ⚫ | **] | ||
| {{disambig}} | {{disambig}} | ||
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| *] | *] | ||
| *] | *] | ||
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| {{disambig}} | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 16:03, 25 February 2008
The early history of martial arts is difficult to reconstruct. Inherent patterns of human aggression which inspire practice of mock combat (in particular wrestling) and optimization of serious close combat as cultural universals are doubtlessly inherited from the pre-human stage, and were made into an "art" from the earliest emergence of that concept. Indeed, many universals of martial art are fixed by the specifics of human physiology and not dependent on a specific tradition or era.
Specific martial arts traditions become identifiable in Classical Antiquity, with disciplines such as Gladiatorial combat, Greek wrestling or Pankration.
Early history
The earliest evidence for specifics of martial arts as practiced in the past comes from depictions of fights, both in figurative art and in early literature, besudes analysis of archaeological evidence, especially of weaponry.
The spear has been in use since the Lower Paleolithic and retained its central importance well into the 2nd millennium AD. The bow appears in the Late Paleolithic and is likewise only gradually replaced by the crossbow, and eventually firearms, in the Common Era. True bladed weapons appear in the Neolithic with the stone axe, and diversify shape in the course of the Bronze Age (khopesh/kopis, sword, dagger)
One very early example is the depiction of wrestling techniques in a tomb of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt at Beni Hasan (ca. 2000 BC). An even earlier depiction of Bronze Age military equipment is depicted on the "war panel" of the Standard of Ur (ca. 2600 BC), which does however not show actual combat.
Literary descriptions of combat begin in the 2nd millennium BC, with cursory mention of weaponry and combat in texts like the Gilgamesh epic or the Rigveda. Detailed description of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age hand-to-hand combat with spear, sword and shield are found in the Iliad (ca. 8th century BC).
Europe
East Asia
South Asia
History of Indian martial arts
Near East
- Persia: Zourkhaneh
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title History of martial arts.If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.