How can martial arts be considered sports?

Question

To me, a martial art is a system of combat for use in battle/war only put into an art form (hence the word martial). This means that martial arts can use any weapon, including the body. Martial arts are much more than self-defense, but can be used as such. Sports are games with rules and regulations for safety. Real martial arts dont have rules. Are you seriously going to say in a real fight "sorry, you cant do that becuase its cheating". What defenatly makes martial arts not sports is the fact of spiritual development. Real martial artists are beyond a mere athlete. Martial artists strengthen their spirit to increase their fighting potential. This MMA isnt a real martial art. All they do is grab their opponent and pound their face in. Thats an art? Many will say that martial arts wont work in a real fight because they dont know what real martial arts are. I am very frustrated on this topic because such a complex and beautiful thing is dying out. Please help me out here.

Also, there is this notion that a black belt is a master. That is true to a point. In modern martial arts, a black belt far from a master. The requirements of becoming a black belt are dropping more and more each year. Ive seen so called "masters" that seem like they have only practiced the art for a few months. Form is excelent, but fighting skill and spirit is crap.

Answer 1

I agree with you on the pure traditional definition of a martial art. The MMA styles are fighting systems but I don't know if they fit the traditional definition.
Everyone must train their own way, their path may differ from ours. This does not make what they are doing wrong. Do not let their training methods unbalance your harmony.
You must be like the lily, the lily rises from the slime of the swamp to be pure and pristine.

Answer 2

Well that is a bit difficult. Normally when i think of a sport i think of an activity with score keeping for competition but not really martial arts. If you define a sport as physical competition with score keeping then tournement martial arts would be a sport under that definition because every type of tournament in martial arts has some way to determin points or a winner. On a more primitive scale if boxing is a sport competition martial arts are a sport the only differance is the rules that are used just like in every other sport.

Answer 3

People here in America derive sports from the practice of martial arts like breaking boards or whatever, your right martial arts arnt a sport but a way of life to many people in foreign country's. The use of the arts is a form of meditation of the body and soul but here in America people here don't need a way of life they want another sport to play. So we make our own idea of what the arts are used for.Most of the moves an art teaches will probably or probably not help you in a fight. We don't use martial arts to kill people any more, using a gun is a lot faster and easier. I agree that we should do every thing to preserve these great arts but there not dying out, it is just expanding to other countries that chose to use them for another purpose

Answer 4

I was about to chew you up like a rat chew dead prisoner up, but I'm tired and have a really bad head aches and my vision is blurry and jared pretty much answered it for me. I will make this simple.

Would you hold a weapon away for years and years and wait until war come to use the weapon? Would you think about wearing british red coat and use a flint musklet (cant spell the rifle name) that you haven't fired in 1000 years against a well trained special force armed with modern techniques?

MMA is way to keep martial arts up to date and bring it up to the next level. Thats why boxing, wrestling, and Muay Thai are still so effective after over thousands of years because they use it as a sport. Also in other competitive styles, you can see how they evolved over time. With the competition, those styles keep evolving into something better. Any martial arts can do this, but many instructor choose to stick to old out of date methods. It's people like you who keep martial arts out of date and make it pretty much worthless in the time you need it the most.

Answer 5

people only call martial arts a sport when they talk about sparring in a tournament, because like you said, "Sports are games with rules and regulations for safety" and the tournament sparring are games with rules and regulation for safety.

now, martial arts could be used as a self defense, but really how many times would people use the martial arts to fight in self defense situations? rather i believe ppl use it more to fight a fight that could have easily avoided if they only killed their ego, and if there was a real self defense situation most likely the other person would have a weapon. now, how many ppl that try to fight out of weapon situation really live? there are more effective ways than martial art to self defend, and those are being taught in self defense classes that only take few hours to learn at best and they are about avoiding conflict and escaping a hostile enviorment.

spirit goes out the window nowadays. why? the masters of the past had life and death situations put on them many times, just because those days were like that. now when put in those life and death situations they go through an experience after wards where they start philosophizing about life and it's worth and the death that will come after. then when they teach their art, these philosophies and their conclusion on what life is about is also teached enriching the student's spirit. now when was the last time a MA teacher taught you about life? most of them don't teach them because their masters hasn't done it or you really didn't come for a life lesson, but to learn only their art. (their master didn't teach them because your master probably had the same attitude as the most of us) thus they won't teach you the spirit part of the art and only the physical.

i feel like i bashed a lot about the thing i love... hmm... i guess what i'm trying to say is that MA isn't better than other athletics nor is it spirit enriching experice anymore. however it is something many ppl love an enjoy and the social community that is created around it is something very positive, so do not practice for self defence or spirit purpose alone, but rather for the love of the art itself and the community of the ppl that you must have grown to love as you have trained in the art.

Answer 6

how can martial arts be considered sports?

well, not all are, but many are.

the key is whether they have tournaments, with point scoring and award giving.

even though they are designed for fighting in war, the nature has changed with the audience. we no longer need to kill, so it is softened.

MMA is more of a martial science, than an art. It is aimed at a specific set of rules. this does not make it less effective on the street though, as the training and visciousness of the fighter makes them formidable on the street. I just wouldnt grapple if there is more than one opponent.

Answer 7

Hey buddy, i disagree with u 100%. Want to know why?
1st off Martial arts means it is self defense. and a good defense can be a offense, think if u were stuck in a cage with someone else? are u only gonna try and block of his hits? u would be one dumb idiot if u were.

Lets Talk MMA because that is the sport part of martial arts.
1. There are many rules and regulations of safety to this, NO headbutting, no kicking to the head while on the ground, no biting, no groin shot, no poking in the eyes, no scratching, no using ropes or fence to your advantage on purpose, the fact they have gloves on and a ref and doctors in the corners. It is a safe sport as far as death goes but yeah u can get injured easy.

2. I never heard in all my experience "sorry you cant do that it's cheating" in MMA during the fight. You must of made that up. Email me the clip were someone says that.

3. Ok Real martial arts seams like you are really hung up on that. What makes it a martial art? Self Defense that's what makes it buddy. It's not all Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Caopoari (spelled wrong) stuff. Your pretty dumb if u think thats all martial arts is. Not saying thats what u think but u get the idea.

4. Ok Spirtial development to fight stronger. That is total horse**** man, Ive seen karate masters that break cinderblocks but thats all concentration and practice. I go to church for spiritual things.

5. "In MMA all the do is grab their opponent and pound their face in" is that a art? yeah it is, everything in life is a art buddy even if it's not pretty like flowers and dancing.

6. Martial arts, do they work in real life. Sure they do, well i found that most of them mismatch real situations, thats the problem. But most of old martial arts arnt so much on fighting, they are more on development

7. Dont worry the old martial arts wont die out, they have them in record, how to do the routines i forgot what they are called i forgot its been awhile. But dont worry about things that are not really happening, martial arts are not dieing out.

Answer 8

Martial arts are really a beautiful thing.There are many stiles of martial arts as I suppose you already know but not all of them include hitting your opponent,for example Taijiquan-an old form of Chinese martial arts.I agree that martial arts are more than self-defense for many people martial arts are a way of living.For me-I myself practice martial arts they are the most beautiful sport.

Answer 9

Maybe you should be more specific. Their are thousands of Martial Arts throughout the world. Since your question wasnt about anything more important than sports, here is your answer.
The olympics. Tae kwon do; judo; wrestling; fencing; greco roman; archery: get the point. If you are frustrated and confused about all this it is because you are thinking to much and not doing. Sign up for Tae kwon do, stick with it and get a black belt.
MMa? how about jui jitsu; gracie; japanese, try that out and see how much face pounding really takes place.

Answer 10

Judo is a form of Ju-jitsu, which originates in Japan. It has long and very complicated rules, there are penalties and safety regulations (e.g, leglocks and spine locks are banned), and you can be DQ-ed from a contest. It's globally recognised as a 'real' martial art. Just one example. It also takes at least five years to become a black belt - you can only grade every three months, you have to do three gradings to move up a belt, from orange belt onwards you have to fight to get a belt.