Bando
Bando a self-defense martial art from Burma. The earliest meanings of Bando were "self-discipline, self-development, and self-improvement".[citation needed] Later, it came to mean, "self-protection, or self-defense". Bando includes the empty-hands methods and animal forms: eagle, bull, cobra, panther, monkey, etc. Various bando arts are still very popular in Burma, especially among scholars.[citation needed] There are great number of schools and styles. The main branches are:Lethwei
Lethwei or Lethawae (Read as "Let-whae", but quickly) ; also known as Burmese Boxing and Myanmar Traditional Boxing, is a form of kickboxing which originated in Myanmar (Burma). Lethwei is in many ways similar to its siblings from neighboring South-East Asian countries such as Tomoi from Malaysia, Pradal Serey from Cambodia, Muay Lao from Laos and Muay Thai from Thailand.Muay Thai is referred to as the science of 8 limbs, so Lethwei can be called the science of 9 limbs, due to the allowance of head butts. In comparison, Lethwei can be interpreted as being bolder and more extreme. The techniques are a bit slower and stronger than in the other Southeast Asian kickboxing forms, possibly because it has more Indian influence than the other styles.. There are records recording Lethwei style matches dating back to the Pyu empire in Burma. Ancient Myanmar armies successfully used Lethwei, Bando and its armed sibling Banshay in winning many wars against neighboring countries.
Baguazhang Kung Fu
Baguazhang is an internal style of Chinese martial art. Bagua means "Eight Trigram". This refers to the eight basic principles described in the ancient metaphysical treatise the Yijing (I-Ching), or "Book of Changes". Bagua is meant to be the physical manifestation of these eight principles. "Zhang" means "palm" and designates Baguazhang as a style of martial art which emphasizes the use of the open hand over the closed fist. Baguazhang as a martial art is based on the theory of continuously changing in response to the situation at hand in order to overcome an opponent with skill rather than brute force.San Shou Kung Fu
SanShou or Sanda is a modern Chinese hand to hand combat, self-defense system, and combat sport. As an unarmed self-defense, close combat system, Sanshou includes da (punches), ti (kicks), shuai (grappling), and na (throws, locks, chokes).Bajiquan Kung Fu
Bajiquan literally "eight extremes fist" is a Chinese Martial ARt that features explosive, short range power and is famouse of its elbow strikes. It originated in Northern ChinaChow Gar
Chow Gar is a short range fighting system from the Southern Shaolin, and is a form of Southern Praying Mantis, which is one of many Chinese martial arts. It is an aggressive style with emphasis on close range fighting. These skills are developed by utilizing a range of training techniques a.k.a chongs and gungs, which have been developed over several centuries.Eagle Claw Kung Fu
Eagle Claw Kung Fu is a traditional chinese martial art and is one of the oldest and most complex of the surviving Northern Shaolin kung fu systems. Along with the long strikes and kicks that represent Northern systems, the Eagle Claw system is distinguished by its gripping techniques and system of joint locks, takedowns, and pressure point strikes, which represent one of the oldest forms of the Chinese grappling known as Chin Na.Modern Arnis
Modern Arnis is the system of Filipino martial arts founded by the late Remy Presas as a self-defense system. His goal was to create an injury-free training method as well as an effective self-defense system in order to preserve the older Arnis systems. The term Modern Arnis was also used by Remy Presas' younger brother Ernesto Presas to describe his style of Filipino martial arts; since 1999 Ernesto Presas has called his system Kombatan. It is derived principally from the traditional Presas family style of the Bolo (machete) and the stick-dueling art of Balintawak, with influences from other Filipino and Japanese martial arts.Hsing Yi Kung Fu
Xingyiquan or Hsing I Chuan is one of the major "internal" Chinese martial arts. Xingyiquan translates approximately to "Form/Intention Boxing", or "Shape/Will Boxing", and is characterised by aggressive, seemingly linear movements and explosive power.Hung Gar Kung Fu
Hung Gar Kung fu is one of the most popular fighting systems to emerge out of the southern regions of China. Dating back some 300 years, it was developed, nourished, and flourished as one of the most widely practiced art forms. When describing this particular fighting system, it is said to be power personified with devestating no-nonsense fighting techniques.Eskrima
Eskrima or Escrima refers to a class of Filipino Martial Arts that emphasize stick and sword fighting. Other terms which have entered into common usage include Kali and Arnis de Mano (harness of the hand); occasionally the abbreviation FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) is used. Eskrima and Arnis are among the many names primarily used in the Philippines today to refer to these arts. The name Kali, although primarily used in the United States and Europe, is seldom used in the Philippines and in most cases is an unknown word. But due to the popularity of the term outside of the Philippines and the influence of foreign practitioners, the term Kali is increasingly being recognized and accepted in the Philippines. Kalis, as used in the Philippines, refers to a sword. It is commonly mistaken as synonymous to or a derivative form of kali (note: postfixing of "s" is not used in Filipino languages or dialects to indicate plurality). However, for all intents and purposes, Eskrima, Arnis, Arnis de Mano, Kali and FMA all refer to the same family of Filipino weapons-based martial arts.The teaching of the basic skills in FMA are traditionally simplified. With limited time to teach flashy and intricate techniques, only skills that were proven effective in battle and could easily be taught en masse were used. This allowed villagers, generally not professional soldiers, a measure of protection against other villages, as well as foreign invaders. This philosophy of simplicity is still used today and is the underlying base of the FMA.
Because of this approach, the FMA are often mistakenly considered to be "simple" fighting arts. However, this refers only to its systematization, not effectiveness. To the contrary, beyond the basic skills lies a very complex structure and a refined skillset that takes years to master.
Northern Praying Mantis
Northern praying mantis is a style characterized by fast hand movements. Thehook hands are the "trade mark" of the style and they are found in all the northernsub-styles. Northern Tang Lang Chuen's main weapon is the blinding speed of thehand trying to control and punch the opponent. It has a balanced combination ofcircular and straight movements.Other important elements are the simultaneous block and punch, and strong choppingpunches. These are practical movements for full contact street fighting. SomeChinese martial artists say that Seven Star Praying Mantis Boxing (one of thepraying mantis sub-styles) is the most aggressive style created in China. Grappling,kicking, nerve-attack and weapons complete the northern branch.
Southern praying mantis is very different. It is an infighting system thatresembles Wing Chun. Chi Kung is very important in the Southern Praying Mantis.Movements are continuous and circular, soft and hard, except in attack, wherethe middle knuckle (phoenix eye) of the index finger is used like a needle topierce the internal organs. A punch with the fist produces an external muscularbruise, striking with the phoenix eye produces an internal bruise.
Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu
Southern Praying Mantis a Chinese Martial Art is a close range fighting system that places much emphasis on short power and has aspects of both internal and external techniques. In application, the emphasis is on hand and arm techniques and limited use of low kicks.Jujutsu
jujutsu, means the "art or science of softness", is a Japanese martial art consisting primarily of grappling techniques. Jujutsu evolved among the samurai of feudal Japan as a method for dispatching an armed and armored opponent in situations where the use of weapons was impractical or forbidden. Due to the difficulty of dispatching an armored opponent with striking techniques, the most efficient methods for neutralizing an enemy took the form of pins, joint locks, and throws. These techniques were developed around the principle of using an attacker's energy against him, rather than directly opposing it, and came to be known as jujutsu.There are many variations of the art which leads to a diversity of approaches. Jujutsu schools (ryū) may utilize all forms of grappling techniques to some degree (i.e. throwing, trapping, joint locking, holds, gouging, biting, disengagements, striking, and kicking). In addition to jujutsu, many schools taught the use of weapons.
Today, jujutsu is still practiced both as it was hundreds of years ago, but also in modified forms for sport practice. The Olympic sport and martial art of judo was developed from several traditional styles of jujutsu by Kano Jigoro in the late 19th century. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ("Jiu-Jitsu" is a common informal romanization of "jujutsu") was developed after Mitsuyo Maeda taught judo in Brazil, but at that time was still referring to it as "Kano's jujutsu".
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or BJJ SummaryBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling martial art that uses joint locks, strangulations, strong positioning to cause an opponent to submit / tap-out in competition or pass-out or break a joint in self defense.It is primarily a ground-fighting art and is well-known for its use in Mixed Martial Arts fights. It was made widely popular by Royce Gracie of the Gracie family who have basically "invented" BJJ.Royce's father Helio Gracie was taught Japanese Jujutsu / Kobokan Judo and refined it to work for his small stature.There are many schools and BJJ instructors in USA now. Primarily the art is now competition based - both grappling and MMA competitions. People train it without the gi and with a gi. Many schools are now called Submission Wrestling schools who train no-gi and also use more wrestling takedowns as well.The training is excellent for physical fitness as well as self-defense. Many argue that all fights go the ground eventually and that is where BJJ shines.
Hapkido
Hapkido is a Korean martial art and aims to be an effective form of self-defense. Hapkido employs joint locks, pressure points, throws, kicks, and other strikes. Hapkido practitioners train to counter the techniques of other martial arts as well as common "unskilled" attacks. There is also a range of traditional weapons including short stick, cane, rope, sword and staff which vary in emphasis depending on the particular tradition examined.Savate
Savate (also known as boxe française, French boxing, French Kickboxing or French Footfighting, is a French martial art which uses both the hands and feet as weapons and combines elements of western boxing with graceful kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed, unlike some systems, such as Muay Thai and Silat, which allow the use of the knees or shins. Savate is perhaps the only style of kickboxing in which the fighters habitually wear shoes (savate being a French synonym for "old shoe"). A practitioner of savate is called a savateur (male) or savateuse (female).Pencak Silat
Pencak Silat is the official name used to indicate more than 800 martial arts schools and styles spread across more than 13,000 islands in Indonesia.Kyokushin Karate
Kyokushin kaikan is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Masutatsu Oyama who was born under the name Choi Yong-I. Kyokushinkai is Japanese for "the society of the ultimate truth." Kyokushin is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training. Its full contact style has had international appeal (practitioners have over the last 40+ years numbered more than 12 million).Kyokushin has influenced many of the "full-contact" schools of karate, emphasizing realistic combat, physical toughness, and practicality in its training curriculum. Many other martial arts organizations have "spun-off" from Kyokushin over the years, with some adding additional techniques, such as grappling, but continuing with the same philosophy of realistic and practical training methods.
Okinawan Martial Arts
Okinawan martial arts refers to the martial arts which originated among the indigenous people of Okinawa Island, most notably karate, tegumi, and Okinawan kobudoChito-ryu Karate
Chito-ryu (千唐流, Chitō-ryū?) is a style of karate founded by Doctor Chitose Tsuyoshi. The name of the style translates as: Chi (千) - 1,000; Tou (唐)- China; Ryu (流) - Style. Thus meaning 1,000 year old Chinese Style. The character Tou (唐) refers to the Tang Dynasty Era of Chinese civilization. The style was officially founded in 1946.As a young man born and raised in Okinawa, Dr. Chitose grew up studying the pre-karate art of Tode (or "To-te") (唐手) from many of the top masters of the period. He later moved to mainland Japan to practice medicine, where Chito-ryu evolved as he utilized his modern medical knowledge of anatomy and physiology to modify traditional techniques to make them both more effective against opponents as well as less detrimental to the bodies and joints of long-term practitioners.
Although generally classified as a Japanese karate style simply because Dr. Chitose formulated and founded Chito-ryu principally while living in Kumamoto, Japan, some modern practitioners feel it is more properly categorized as an Okinawan style given that its roots and techniques are firmly grounded in and derived from traditional Okinawan Tode (唐手).