What are the differences of Ancient Martial Arts and Martial Arts of today?

Question

Were practitioners of the past as disciplined as movies would have us believe they were?

SDS, I'm sorry to say but that was a horrible answer.

thank you

Answer 1

Many of today's "martial arts" lack the ancient philosophy, making them a poor imitation at best.
Modern arts, even moderm versions of traditional arts use more science & are therefore more efficient & powerfull.
Don't believe everything (or anything?) you see in the movies.

Answer 2

I don't think you can ask this question as a whole because it is kind of like asking what is the difference between ancient art and the art of today, when each type of art (performance, literature, sculpture, painting, etc.) all have gone through different changes.

Also I can only guess at what you mean by "martial art" as the term martial art simply means the "arts of Mars" or the arts of war (Mars bieng the god of war). Obviously the plain answer to this is that martial arts has improved by an impossibly ridiculous margin. Feild an ancient army against a modern army both fully armed and equipped with the top weapons of the day and who would win? Even if you cut the modern army to 1/20th the size of the ancient one or more they would still slaughter the ancient one.

Certain martial arts today are still more applicaple to the battlefield like knife fighting. Others like learning to battle with a sword or spear are not so (however one could argue that go back a not too many decades and a rifle with a bayonet is a spear).

Unarmed martial arts? the development is still different. The main problem with martial arts that did "carry over" from ancient times is that they could suffer from bieng watered down for any number of reasons.

Take boxing for instance- boxing even 100 years ago is vastly different than today. And before that there was a time when boxing was a system with no rules (except the kneeling down rest, etc.). Other asian martial arts may have become watered down because they were taught as "art" with forms because they needed to disguise that they were learning to fight, or even further the popularity of some arts were spread only because of one aspect of it like tai chi (old people wanting health benefits). Or some were improved on or changed to suit a specific ruleset (judo, kendo, sport fencing).

Don't get this confused with the idea that the "street is a more different and deadly place" just because there is a ruleset. That doesn't mean that it is less effective (depends on the ruleset, obviously TKD, with limited point sparring contact will be much less effective than boxing or muai thai that is much closer to an anything goes kind of fight).

Answer 3

Well I believe there were differences without a doubt. First I think they were better with weapons b/c they had to use them. I believe we have lost a lot about ancient weapon usage. I believe they were a little more valuable but I would be hard pressed to say whole armies knew a particular martial art or at least knew it well. I guess your definition of Ancient makes a difference as well. There are lot martial arts that were created in the last few centuries claiming to be ancient. I'm sure there were some martial artists that were very dedicated. As far as Ancient martial arts there are records of Egyptian martial arts, of course the Greeks and the Romans had their martial arts, and then there is ancient India, China, and Japan...
As far as better than today... I'm not so sure. Sgt, makes a great point. We have made strides in training techniques, better understanding of the body, diet (although we are still a long ways off on nutrition and diet), and there are several folks who train hard core...
Good points Sgt.

Answer 4

In form there should be little if any change, however the application of that knowledge in the world today is different. We no longer have spears lying around, but we have brooms don't we? The principles taught are still the same and are applicable no matter the situation.

Also, many martial arts especially those from China were tribe oriented and contained pledges to that martial art or clan in a religious sense. Today these forms are translated to us around the world.

Answer 5

all things if allowed will evolve martial arts are no different.

who invented the punch ??????? no one knows

ancient arts were a product of war ... life and death warriors who stepped up fought to the death no rules referees.

weapons were used to inflict maximum damage to the opponent warriors fought knowing they would only lose once.

today rules be it competition or the law of the land means that one of the most important differences is the mental ability to kill.

the arts today talk about defence not killing and are taught more in the way to disable an attacker.

as for discipline when you fight today and lose you go to the next tournament and try again.
warriors fought if they lost they would be buried i think a seasoned warrior was probably the most disciplined person you could meet their life depended on it!!!!

Answer 6

The biggest differences I would say is the evolution of each discipline as it progressed throughout the centuries.

since the invention of guns, the techniques had to be adjusted to acompany disarming techniques that worked for longer weapons into more close quarters weapons disarmament or lure an opponent in closer for more efficacy in applying the techniques.

it is quite possible that they were trained quite intensely, but we may not know since we aren't sure except for the written accounts.

Answer 7

Weapons are a major difference. They used a lot in the "ancient" times because that was the way armies fought. We have lost a lot of that today because the necessity is not there. I think fighting today is better because we have evolved a lot of the arts and improved on many of them.

Answer 8

Ancient Martial Arts was precticed by people long ago...in ancient times

Martial Arts of today are practiced by people of this time

Thank You

Answer 9

ancient martial arts was tougher training then today. today its a little easier but now its mixed with other styles.

Answer 10

ancient from people long ago who practiced it, and modern is people now who practice it. maybe they change it a little though. thanks to you.