In Europe
In Europe, the martial arts declined with the rise of the firearms. As a consequence, martial arts with historical roots in Europe do not exist today to the same extent as in Asia.[citation needed]. Swordplay developed into fencing. Boxing as well as forms of wrestling have endured. European martial arts have mostly adapted to changing technology so that while some traditional arts still exist, military personnel are trained in skills like flying helicopters and marksmanship. These skills do not fall under the common use of the term, but may still be considered "martial arts". This is not to say Europe was not rich in historical martial arts traditions. Martial arts existed in classical European civilization, most notably in Greece where sports were integral to the way of life. Boxing (pygme, pyx), Wrestling (pale) and Pankration (from pan, meaning "all", and kratos, meaning "power" or "strength") were represented in the Ancient Olympic Games. The Romans produced Gladiatorial combat as a public spectacle. Khridoli (Georgian: ხრიდოლი) is an ancient Georgian martial art, which includes fighting with bare hands and different types of weapons. Glima is an unarmed Scandinavian martial art with, as some sources indicate, roots in the Viking age. [10] The tradition of glima has been kept alive as Iceland's national sport. Some traditional martial arts have been preserved in one form or another. For example, boxing, wrestling, archery, and fencing were preserved by being made into sports; of course this has changed the emphases of these arts significantly. Notably, savate still has a very strong following in modern-day France. Other martial arts, such as sabre duelling as mensur have been outlawed but practised secretly. A number of historical fencing forms and manuals have survived, and many groups are working to reconstruct older European martial arts. The process of reconstruction combines intensive study of detailed combat treatises produced from 1400–1900 A.D. and practical training or "pressure testing" of various techniques and tactics. This includes such styles as sword and shield, two-handed swordfighting, halberd fighting, jousting and other types of melee weapons combat. This reconstruction effort and modern outgrowth of the historical methods is generally referred to as Western martial arts. Many Medieval martial arts manuals have survived, the most famous being Johannes Lichtenauer's Fechtbuch (Sword Tome) of the 14th century. Today the Lichtenauer's tome forms the basis of German school of swordsmanship. Another aspect of the reconstruction effort involves more historically recent martial arts and combat sports, such as those practiced during the 1800 s and 1900 s. A partial list would include bare-knuckle boxing, Bartitsu, quarterstaff, fencing according to late 1800 s rules, etc. Some weapon systems have also survived as folk sports and as self-defense methods. These include stick-fighting systems such as Jogo do Pau of Portugal and the Juego del Palo style(s) of the Canary Islands. Other martial arts evolved into sports that no longer recognized as combative. One example is the pommel horse event in men's gymnastics, an exercise which itself is derived from the sport of Equestrian vaulting. Cavalryriders needed to be able to change positions on their horses quickly, rescue fallen allies, fight effectively on horseback and dismount at a gallop. Training these skills on a stationery barrel evolved into sport of gymnastics' pommel horse exercise. More ancient origins exist for the shot put and the javelin throw, both weapons utilized extensively by the Romans.
In Europe, the martial arts declined with the rise of the firearms. As a consequence, martial arts with historical roots in Europe do not exist today to the same extent as in Asia.[citation needed]. Swordplay developed into fencing. Boxing as well as forms of wrestling have endured. European martial arts have mostly adapted to changing technology so that while some traditional arts still exist, military personnel are trained in skills like flying helicopters and marksmanship. These skills do not fall under the common use of the term, but may still be considered "martial arts". This is not to say Europe was not rich in historical martial arts traditions. Martial arts existed in classical European civilization, most notably in Greece where sports were integral to the way of life. Boxing (pygme, pyx), Wrestling (pale) and Pankration (from pan, meaning "all", and kratos, meaning "power" or "strength") were represented in the Ancient Olympic Games. The Romans produced Gladiatorial combat as a public spectacle. Khridoli (Georgian: ხრიდოლი) is an ancient Georgian martial art, which includes fighting with bare hands and different types of weapons. Glima is an unarmed Scandinavian martial art with, as some sources indicate, roots in the Viking age. [10] The tradition of glima has been kept alive as Iceland's national sport. Some traditional martial arts have been preserved in one form or another. For example, boxing, wrestling, archery, and fencing were preserved by being made into sports; of course this has changed the emphases of these arts significantly. Notably, savate still has a very strong following in modern-day France. Other martial arts, such as sabre duelling as mensur have been outlawed but practised secretly. A number of historical fencing forms and manuals have survived, and many groups are working to reconstruct older European martial arts. The process of reconstruction combines intensive study of detailed combat treatises produced from 1400–1900 A.D. and practical training or "pressure testing" of various techniques and tactics. This includes such styles as sword and shield, two-handed swordfighting, halberd fighting, jousting and other types of melee weapons combat. This reconstruction effort and modern outgrowth of the historical methods is generally referred to as Western martial arts. Many Medieval martial arts manuals have survived, the most famous being Johannes Lichtenauer's Fechtbuch (Sword Tome) of the 14th century. Today the Lichtenauer's tome forms the basis of German school of swordsmanship. Another aspect of the reconstruction effort involves more historically recent martial arts and combat sports, such as those practiced during the 1800 s and 1900 s. A partial list would include bare-knuckle boxing, Bartitsu, quarterstaff, fencing according to late 1800 s rules, etc. Some weapon systems have also survived as folk sports and as self-defense methods. These include stick-fighting systems such as Jogo do Pau of Portugal and the Juego del Palo style(s) of the Canary Islands. Other martial arts evolved into sports that no longer recognized as combative. One example is the pommel horse event in men's gymnastics, an exercise which itself is derived from the sport of Equestrian vaulting. Cavalryriders needed to be able to change positions on their horses quickly, rescue fallen allies, fight effectively on horseback and dismount at a gallop. Training these skills on a stationery barrel evolved into sport of gymnastics' pommel horse exercise. More ancient origins exist for the shot put and the javelin throw, both weapons utilized extensively by the Romans.
