What is the "font "of all martial arts?

Answer 1

The traditional answer to this question is "Shaolin."

In reality, no one knows. I like the theory of Greek Pankration being the original systematized martial art, and its derivatives making their way through India into China and out into the rest of Asia. But that's just a personal preference. No one really knows.

- Cai

Answer 2

I don't know if you could put a name on the original weaponless marital arts form(s) ("empty hands" in karate). These probably arose in very oppressed cultures where the people were not allowed access to weapons. The Shaolin priests were said to emulate insects and animals. Tai Chi is a martial arts meditation form that has been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. Different cultures (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc.) all developed slightly different martial arts forms. Let me know if you find out- I'm interested, too!

BTW- There are also non-Eastern forms that are ancient. The Egyptians had one (I don't remember the name) and there are some very old African forms, too.

Answer 3

Huh. I wasn't thinking "font" in letter terms, like typographical even....I thought you meant like "font" as in fountain, or the original ones. Oh well, pardon me for barking up the wrong trees.

You're tied for your first original martial arts. In terms of unarmed arts, both boxing of some sort and wrestling of some sort are older than history itself, they were both around in primitive forms in the days of ancient Egypt, became more refined in the city-states of ancient Greece. From there it gets sketchy but historians have suggested that when Alexander the Great extended the former Persian Empire he had conquered to the borders of India, that he possibly brought some knowledge of *pankration* or ancient no-rules, all-powers Olympic fighting to the Hindus, which later mutated into Kalari Payattu and others....

Armed fighting is older still, though the thing with prehistory is that you have to rely on fossil evidence to figure it out. In some parts of the world, the spear came first, in others, it was a tie between the stone-headed axe and the club....

but hey, as long as you are relying on paleontology! It's been proven by the physical evidence of countless scientists that the Neandertals--an older species of human--evolved their big, wooly, muscular frames like they did in part because they hunted big game (think wooly mammoths) in packs and killed their prey mainly by wrestling it down *en masse*.

*lol*, So that is your oldest Martial Art right there. Dogpiling, swarming, piling on, etc. As in, older than *Homo Sapiens* itself.

Just my two cents, don't mind me.

Answer 4

the font of all martial arts is that there are different types of styles in martial arts

Answer 5

All people have a head, shoulders, elbows, fists, palms, fingers, hips, knees, heels, feet and toes.

Shape them how you like.

Answer 6

The fist.

Answer 7

Easy!

Balance and confidence!