Sports

Types of Martial Arts

Major martial arts from around the world — from ancient wrestling to modern MMA, covering origins, fighting styles, and what makes each art unique.

Types Of Martial Arts is a structured sports dataset with 20 entries. Its fields include Martial Art, Origin, Type. The source values are preserved as a structured reference table.

Every row is shown below and is also available as CSV, JSON, or Excel.

20rows

6columns

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#martial arts #fighting #combat sports

Dataset details

Table scope: All 20 rows
Fields: 6 columns
Source: Not provided
Data updated: Not provided

Included fields: Martial Art, Origin, Type, Belt System, Weapons, and 1 more.

The table contains every record in this dataset; the same records are available in each download format.

Preview observations

Type groups: 6 distinct values; Across 20 preview rows
Weapons groups: 10 distinct values; Across 20 preview rows

Useful for

Comparing Martial Art, Origin, and Type across sports entries
Building reference tables, charts, or analyses from 20 downloadable records

20/20

Martial Art↕	Origin↕	Type↕	Belt System↕	Weapons↕	Known For↕
Karate	Okinawa, Japan	Striking	Yes (white to black)	None (empty hand)	The most widely practiced martial art in the world — linear punches and kicks, kata forms, became an Olympic sport in 2020, 'wax on, wax off' from The Karate Kid
Judo	Japan	Grappling	Yes (white to black/red)	None	The gentle way that's anything but gentle — throws and pins, founded by Jigoro Kano in 1882, Olympic sport since 1964, uses opponent's force against them
Taekwondo	South Korea	Striking	Yes (white to black)	None	Spectacular high kicks and spinning techniques — 80% kicks 20% hands, Olympic sport since 2000, Korea's national martial art with over 80 million practitioners worldwide
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu	Brazil	Grappling	Yes (white to red)	None	The ground game king — smaller fighters can defeat larger opponents through leverage and submissions, revolutionized MMA when Royce Gracie won UFC 1 in 1993
Muay Thai	Thailand	Striking	No (armband ranking)	None	The art of eight limbs — uses fists, elbows, knees, and shins, Thailand's national sport, clinch fighting and devastating leg kicks, fighters compete from childhood
Boxing	Ancient Greece / England	Striking	No (weight classes)	None	The sweet science — hands only, the oldest and most celebrated combat sport, Muhammad Ali made it a global phenomenon, footwork and head movement are everything
Wrestling	Ancient civilizations	Grappling	No	None	The oldest combat sport in human history — depicted in 15,000-year-old cave paintings, takedowns and pins, Olympic since the ancient Games, builds unmatched physical toughness
Kung Fu	China	Hybrid	Varies by style	Yes (sword, staff, nunchaku)	Hundreds of styles developed over millennia — Shaolin monks, animal forms (crane, tiger, mantis), Bruce Lee made it global, as much philosophy as fighting
Aikido	Japan	Grappling	Yes (white to black)	Yes (bokken, jo staff)	The art of peace — redirects attacker's energy with joint locks and throws, founded by Morihei Ueshiba, Steven Seagal popularized it in Hollywood, no competitions
Krav Maga	Israel	Hybrid	Yes (varies by organization)	Defense against all weapons	No rules, no sport — developed for the Israeli Defense Forces, focuses on real-world self-defense, simultaneous defense and attack, the most practical street fighting system
Capoeira	Brazil (Afro-Brazilian)	Hybrid	Yes (cord system)	None	Part martial art, part dance, part music — developed by enslaved Africans who disguised fighting as dance, acrobatic kicks in the roda circle, berimbau music sets the rhythm
Jeet Kune Do	United States	Hybrid	No	None	Bruce Lee's personal martial art philosophy — 'absorb what is useful, reject what is useless,' no fixed patterns, adapt to any situation, the precursor to modern MMA
Sambo	Soviet Union	Hybrid	No (ranking by sport achievement)	None	Soviet military combat system combining judo and wrestling — two forms: Sport Sambo and Combat Sambo, Khabib Nurmagomedov's base, dominant in Russian MMA
Wing Chun	Southern China	Striking	No (forms-based progression)	Yes (butterfly swords, long pole)	Close-range combat with rapid straight punches — reportedly created by a woman (Ng Mui), Ip Man taught Bruce Lee, chain punching and trapping hands, the wooden dummy is iconic
Kickboxing	Japan / United States	Striking	No (varies)	None	Punches and kicks in a ring — emerged in the 1960s combining karate with boxing, K-1 Grand Prix was its showcase, cardio kickboxing became a huge fitness trend
Fencing	Europe	Striking (weapon)	No	Yes (foil, épée, sabre)	Olympic sword fighting — three weapons with different target areas, electronic scoring since the 1930s, the only combat sport where you fight with actual weapons, incredibly fast
Hapkido	South Korea	Hybrid	Yes (white to black)	Yes (cane, short stick, rope)	Korea's comprehensive self-defense art — joint locks, throws, and kicks combined, water principle of flowing around force, influenced by Japanese Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu
Kendo	Japan	Striking (weapon)	Yes (kyu/dan ranking)	Yes (bamboo shinai, wooden bokuto)	The way of the sword — descended from samurai swordsmanship, practitioners wear armor (bogu) and fight with bamboo swords, the kiai shout is essential, deeply ritualistic
Tai Chi	China	Hybrid (internal)	No	Yes (sword, fan)	Moving meditation practiced by millions — slow, flowing movements that are actually martial applications, morning parks full of elderly practitioners in China, proven health benefits
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)	Brazil / United States	Hybrid (all ranges)	No	None	Combines everything — striking, wrestling, and submissions in a cage, UFC made it the fastest-growing sport globally, ended the 'which style is best' debate by requiring all skills