OK, so I'm getting more interested in MA everyday and what I notice, (prompted by the sheer number of forum titles on MAP and followed up with a little research) is what a huge number of different MA, both armed and unarmed there appear to be. I was just interested in why so many might have developed and whether any of them are considered 'senior' against others? Does anyone on MAP have any thoughts please?
Each Martial arts started out as either a defence for a village/country or a spectator sport With so many countries in the world many different styles were created Then as each student moved away they took the style and made changes, maybe introducing other countries styles , adding refining, calling it a new name, with this being done over hundreds of years there are A LOT of styles teachings available However many died out, strong ones remained Then of course you have the modern day mc dojo claiming they have a new secret system that is unstoppable and cash in on it
Because claiming a Unique Selling Point gains students and revenue Essentially there are only a few categories of arts, and you could google Iain Abernethy's Martial Map for more ideas, but there is a Venn Diagram that goes goes something like this. Combat Sports We exist to beat other people of our art in a ring under our rules. Koryu Arts We exist to perpetuate our centuries old art. Self Defence Arts We exist to teach people how to defend themselves against violent attack. Martial Arts We do some sparring and some forms and it's all good. Now, there are lots of crossovers; lots of arts that have more than one component, lots that have 99% one and 1% another, lots that claim to answer a specific need whilst not actually specifically addressing it (see "self defence"), and lots that flat out lie to try to gain authenticity. But it's usually around these things, and most of the well known arts are in the first or the last category. It's only when they claim something else that people get annoyed, or when whole arts are predicated on scrolls that nobody other than the founder has everseen; but that hasn't stopped the Mormons doing well so maybe it works for all black-suited salesmen Mitch
