All Martial Arts

Complete catalog of martial arts and styles

Include primary styles499 results

Abir (Hebrew Warrior Art)

A modern Israeli system founded by Yehoshua Sofer in 2002; the claim to an ancient Hebrew lineage rests on his own testimony alone.

Israel

African Traditional Wrestling (ECOWAS)

Umbrella term for West African traditional wrestling and the ECOWAS tournament format, which according to the organisation began in 1986.

Aikibudo

Alain Floquet's French offshoot of aiki-jujutsu, blending Yoseikan, Daitō-ryū and Katori Shintō-ryū swordsmanship, with no competition.

France

Aikido

A Japanese art of throws and joint locks that Morihei Ueshiba developed from Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu. It is practiced mainly in paired kata, and only some schools compete.

Japan

Aluche (Cantabrian Wrestling)

A Cantabrian folk wrestling style. It begins with a forearm grip and the rules differ from valley to valley, in Campoo one variant starts lying down.

Spain

Alysh (Kyrgyz Belt Wrestling)

Kyrgyz belt wrestling. The belt grip may never be released during the bout, so the fight for grip disappears and what remains is the mechanics of the throw and balance.

Kyrgyzstan

Amateur Sumo

Sumo as a sport under the International Sumo Federation (IFS), outside the Japanese professional circuit. It has weight categories, a women's competition and world championships since 1992.

Japan

Araki-ryu

An old Japanese school whose curriculum koryu.com opens with torite kogusoku. Nihon Kobudo Shinkokai lists it three times, in Gunma and Kanagawa.

Japan

Army Hand-to-Hand Combat (ARB)

A Russian military applied sport with strikes, kicks, throws and holds, fought in a kimono and a helmet with a grille. It arose as a sport in 1979 at the first Airborne Forces championship.

Russia

Asayama Ichiden-ryu

A composite Japanese old school founded by Asayama Ichidensai. Several separate lines now carry the name, and the details about the founder differ among them.

Japan

Ashihara Karate

Japanese full-contact karate by Ashihara Hideyuki, dating from 1980. It builds on sabaki, deflecting an attack and counterattacking from the side or from behind.

Japan

Atarashii Naginata (Modern Naginata)

Modern sport naginata developed after the war by the All Japan Naginata Federation. Bouts are fought in protective armor, and besides kendo targets the shins are also struck.

Japan

Baguazhang

A Chinese martial art built on circle walking, with palm strikes, kicks, locks and throws. Linked with Dong Haichuan, who arrived in Beijing around 1864.

China

Baihequan (Fujian White Crane)

Southern Chinese styles from Fujian, traditionally ascribed to the legendary Fang Qiniang. Teachers documented from the 19th century, kata Sanchin shared with Goju-ryu and Uechi-ryu.

China

Baji Zhandao

A modern Chinese system founded in 2007 that combines bajiquan with other styles. Practiced empty-handed and with weapons, from the dagger to the spear.

China

Bajiquan

A northern Chinese style from Hebei built on a single idea: get inside. Crushing close-range strikes, whole-body impact and work with elbow and shoulder.

China

Bajutsu (Japanese military horsemanship)

Japanese military horsemanship: according to Nipponica it long developed as mounted shooting combined with archery. The Ogasawara-ryu and Otsubo-ryu schools, yabusame, kasagake, inuoumono.

Japan

Bak Mei Kung Fu

A southern Chinese close-range fighting style. The documented lineage begins with Cheung Lai Chuen, and the story of the monk Bak Mei is a legend.

China

Bak Sil Lum (Northern Shaolin)

Northern Chinese style in the lineage of Gu Ruzhang (1894–1952), an instructor at the Central Guoshu Institute, who spread it to Canton after 1928. It has no separate heritage listing.

China

Bakom (Vacon)

A Peruvian hybrid fighting style founded, according to English Wikipedia, by Roberto Puch Bezada in the early 1980s. UNESCO ICM links it to the streets and prisons of Lima.

Peru

Bakti Negara (Balinese Silat)

Balinese pencak silat school from Denpasar, founded in 1955 according to Draeger. Sources name the founders differently, and the technique rests on deception and palm blocks.

Indonesia

Balintawak Arnis

Filipino single-stick fighting system founded in Cebu in 1952 by Venancio Bacon after he left the Doce Pares club. It takes its name from Balintawak Street.

Philippines

Bando

Burmese unarmed martial art, part of the umbrella term thaing, brought to the United States by Maung Gyi.

Myanmar (Burma)

Banshay (Burmese Weapon Fighting)

Weapons component of Burmese umbrella term thaing, covering staff, dha sword, spear and other weapons and defence against them.

Myanmar (Burma)

Baoding Shuai Jiao (Kuai Jiao)

The Baoding branch of Chinese wrestling called kuaijiao, or fast wrestling, which Wikipedia and a family website link to the master Ping Jingyi.

China

Baok Chambab (Khmer Traditional Wrestling)

Traditional Cambodian wrestling in three rounds, accompanied by dance and drums. Phnom Penh Post reports its depiction on reliefs at Banteay Srei and Baphuon in Angkor.

Cambodia

Bartitsu

A self-defence system that Edward William Barton-Wright presented in 1899 in Pearson's Magazine. It combined jujutsu, boxing, savate and fighting with a walking stick.

United Kingdom

Bataireacht (Irish Stick Fencing)

An umbrella term for Irish stick fighting, best documented in the mass brawls called faction fights in the 19th century. Today two known family lines and reconstructions survive.

Ireland

Bâton français (French Long Stick)

Two-handed chestnut cane about 140 centimetres long, the second weapon of the French discipline canne de combat and bâton. It is contested only in the form of duo.

France

Batuque

Batuque is, according to IPHAN, an old tradition of combat in which two players in a circle fight with sweeps and rasteiras. According to IPHAN, the father of Mestre Bimba also played it.

Brazil

Beach Sambo

Standing sambo on sand under the International SAMBO Federation (FIAS). Bouts last three minutes, a throw onto the sand wins, groundwork, joint locks and chokes are not allowed.

Russia

Beach Wrestling

A United World Wrestling discipline on sand. Standing only, in a circle seven metres in diameter, one period of three minutes, the first wrestler with three points wins.

Switzerland

Beijing Shuai Jiao

A Beijing branch of Chinese wrestling descending from Qing dynasty court wrestlers. The national heritage list includes it as Tianqiao wrestling.

China

Bojuka

American self-defense system founded by Tom Schrenk in 1990. The name is an acronym of boxing, jujutsu, and karate.

United States

Bokator

Khmer martial art with strikes, holds, ground fighting and weapons, on the UNESCO Representative List of intangible heritage since 2022.

Cambodia

Bokh

Mongolian national wrestling, one of the three games of Naadam, inscribed by UNESCO since 2010. No weight categories or time limit, and touching the ground with anything but the feet loses.

Mongolia

Bolognese school of fencing

Modern term for a group of 16th-century Bolognese fencing texts, from Manciolino (1531) and Marozzo (1536) to dall'Agocchie. Whether they form one tradition is disputed.

Italy

Boxing

Fighting with the fists alone, in gloves, weight classes and rounds — the oldest codified combat sport.

United Kingdom

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

A Brazilian ground-fighting art built on joint locks and chokes; it lets technique control a stronger opponent.

Brazil

Brotherhood of Saint Mark (Marxbrüder)

German fencing brotherhood of sword masters that received a privilege from Emperor Friedrich III in 1487. It held public Fechtschulen and competed with the Federfechter.

Germany

Buhurt (Armoured Combat)

A modern full-contact sport in replicas of armor from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It differs from the behourd, which was rather a training bout of squires and young knights.

Ukraine

Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu

Japanese organization founded by Hatsumi Masaaki in Noda, Chiba Prefecture. It brings together nine ryuha inherited from his teacher Takamatsu Toshitsugu.

Japan

Buryat Bokh (Buryat Wrestling)

Buryat national wrestling from the Mongolian bökh family. Bouts are fought standing, in a belt, without strikes, until a fall, and the pre-bout ritual includes an eagle dance.

Russia

Buza

Combat system tied to G. N. Bazlov's Tver group and the Russian Style movement of the 1990s, which appeals to Russian folk tradition.

Russia

Byakuren Kaikan

Japanese full-contact karate school founded in 1984, according to Fukuoka Prefecture, by Masayasu Sugihara, according to Wikipedia a former guard of the Shorinji kempo founder.

Japan

Cabales Serrada Escrima

Filipino eskrima of Angel Cabales for close-range fighting with a short stick. His 1966 school in Stockton was, according to Wiley, the first public one in the USA.

Philippines

Canary Islands Wrestling

Canarian wrestling in a sand circle where whole teams compete. Wrestlers grip the trouser hem and win by making the opponent fall.

Spain

Canne de combat

French sport with a light chestnut cane, codified by Maurice Sarry in the seventies of the 20th century. Six codified strikes and no thrust.

France

Capoeira

An Afro-Brazilian art on the border of fight and dance. Two players play in a circle (roda) to singing and berimbau music, the technique rests on ginga, kicks and dodges.

Brazil

Capoeira Angola

A style of capoeira associated with Mestre Pastinha, who registered the CECA school in Salvador in 1941. Slower rhythm, emphasis on music, training in shoes.

Brazil

Capoeira Miudinho

A capoeira game associated with Mestre Suassuna of Cordão de Ouro. According to Suassuna, it is not a new style but a closer game with its own rhythm.

Brazil

Capoeira Regional

A style of capoeira created in Salvador by Mestre Bimba. Teaching in training sequences, an entrance examination, the grades calouro and formado, and the São Bento Grande rhythm.

Brazil

Catch Wrestling

British catch-as-catch-can wrestling from Lancashire traditions, won by pin (fall) or submission. Through Wigan and Karl Gotch it influenced Japanese shoot wrestling.

United Kingdom

Central Kalaripayattu (Madhya)

Central style of kalaripayattu, one of three styles recognised by the Kerala association. According to Zarrilli it adds techniques in a rice-flour drawing and steps in five circles.

India

Changquan (Traditional Long Fist)

Northern Chinese family of styles with long reach and high kicks, not one style. Competitive changquan arose by 50s standardization, and the IWUF builds it on chaquan, huaquan and paoquan.

China

Chaquan (Cha Family Boxing)

Chinese fist style of the Muslim Hui people from Guanxian County in Shandong, inscribed on the national intangible heritage list. It rests on tantui practice and ten routines.

China

Chausson

A Provençal foot game that J. Charlemont described in 1899 as an old game popularly called savate or chausson. Opponents touched with the toe and only slapped with the hands.

France

Cheibi Gad-Ga

Manipuri fight with a leather-covered stick and a leather shield, which according to ANI replaced the older sword and shield fight. Whoever scores more points wins.

India

Chen Style Tai Chi

A family style of taijiquan from the village of Chenjiagou, linked to Chen Wangting. It alternates slow and fast movements with explosions of force (fajin) in three frames.

China

Cheng Style Baguazhang

The baguazhang branch bearing the name of Cheng Tinghua, one of five students of Dong Haichuan who, according to Green, founded today's baguazhang schools.

China

Chess Boxing

A sport alternating rounds of boxing and chess. You win by checkmate, knockout, running out of chess time, or on points.

Germany

Chidaoba

Georgian national wrestling in the chokha jacket, combining combat with music and dance. On a UNESCO list since 2018.

Georgia

Chito-ryu Karate

Okinawan karate founded after the war in Kumamoto by the physician Tsuyoshi Chitose. The name means "a thousand years of Tang" and points to its Chinese roots.

Japan

Choukhe (Kurdish Jacket Wrestling)

Choukhe is a jacket wrestling style practised mainly by Kurds of northeastern Iran in Khorasan. Holds are only above the waist, and bouts are barefoot to drum and oboe.

Iran

Choy Gar

A southern Chinese family style that Nanhai's heritage list ranks among the five main styles of Guangdong. Known for its flexible footwork.

China

Choy Li Fut

A southern Chinese style founded in 1836 by Chan Heung from Xinhui in Guangdong. The national intangible heritage list of the PRC has carried it since 2008.

China

Chuka Gar (Chuka Southern Praying Mantis)

A branch of Southern Mantis tied to the Hakka community. Tradition traces it to Chu Fook-To, the Chuka Praying Mantis Kung Fu organization to Chu Nan-Chieh.

China

Chun Kuk Do

Chuck Norris's system based on tang soo do. It operated under the name Chun Kuk Do until 2015, today it is called the Chuck Norris System.

United States

Chuojiao (Poking Foot)

A northern Chinese style of low stances and rear kicks from Raoyang in Hebei. Since 2014 it has been on China's national list of intangible heritage.

China

Civilian Krav Maga

The civilian form of Israeli self-defence, adapted by Imi Lichtenfeld for ordinary people after he left the army. It has had its own association since 1978.

Israel

Collar and Elbow

Irish folk wrestling on foot with a collar and elbow hold, which Irish immigrants brought to Vermont in the nineteenth century.

Ireland

Combat Hopak

Ukrainian combat system developed by Volodymyr Pylat in Lviv since 1985. According to sources, it draws on Cossack traditions and folk dances and is reconstructed.

Ukraine

Combat Sambo

A competitive form of sambo that adds strikes, elbows, knees and chokes to throws and joint locks. Under the FIAS rules, bouts are fought in a helmet and protectors from age 18.

Russia

Combato (Canadian Tactical Combat)

A Canadian close-combat system from the early 20th century. It rests on leverage, not strength; after the war its author softened it into police-oriented Defendo.

Canada

Commando Krav Maga

Self-defence system of Moni Aizik from Canada, built on judo and jiu-jitsu. His military background and founder's titles are disputed.

Israel

Coreeda (Aboriginal Wrestling)

Australian wrestling in a ring four and a half metres across. It is a modern reconstruction built on pre-colonial games.

Australia

Cornish Wrestling

Cornish national wrestling in jackets where only the cloth is gripped. A back wins, a fall on three or four points of the back, and there is no ground fighting.

United Kingdom

Cossack Spas

Ukrainian combat system, officially the sport of Ukrainian rukopash Spas, developed in Zaporizhzhia since 1992 by Oleksandr Prytula, who claims Cossack origins.

Ukraine

Cotswold Shin Kicking

English folk contest at the Cotswold Olimpicks games. Opponents grip each other's shoulders and try to throw one another with shin kicks, and may pad their shins with straw.

United Kingdom

Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling

Folk wrestling from Cumbria in the backhold, which is kept throughout the match. The loser is the one who touches the ground with anything but the feet.

United Kingdom

Cuong Nhu (Vietnamese-American Martial Art)

Martial art founded, according to the style's association, by Ngo Dong in 1965 in Huế, Vietnam. It combines hard and soft techniques from seven styles, from karate to aikido.

Vietnam

Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu

A Japanese art of locks, throws and atemi from which aikido emerged. It was created by Sokaku Takeda, is learned in paired kata, and progress is certified by scrolls and licences.

Japan

Dambe

Traditional boxing of the Hausa people of northern Nigeria, striking with one wrapped fist, the head and kicks. Historically practised by butchers, it now has leagues and a YouTube audience.

Nigeria

Defendo

Scandinavian self-defense system founded by Jyrki Saario in 2005: simple solutions from natural reactions, four programs.

Finland

Defendu

A self-defence system that W. E. Fairbairn described in 1926 as a Shanghai police textbook. During the Second World War, Fairbairn taught close combat to British and American units.

United Kingdom

Destreza Vulgar

Period term for common Iberian fencing, which the authors of La Verdadera Destreza defined themselves against. Little of it survives, mainly Portuguese works such as Godinho 1599.

Spain

Ditangquan (Ground Tumbling Boxing)

Chinese style of falls, rolls and ground-based leg techniques. We did not find it on the national intangible heritage list, and in the 2019 IWUF rules it is just one traditional style.

China

Doce Pares

Filipino eskrima system from Cebu, whose beginning the Cebuano press places in 1932 and links to the Cañete family. Dionisio Cañete founded the WEKAF federation out of it.

Philippines

Dog Brothers Martial Arts

American stick-fighting group founded in California in 1988. They fight only in a mask and gloves, with no referees or prizes, and the DBMA system grew out of it.

United States

Donga (Stick Fighting)

Ritual duel with a stick over two meters long among the Ethiopian Surma and Mursi in the Omo River valley. Anthropologist J. Abbink calls it the Surma national sport.

Ethiopia

Duanquan (Short Range Boxing)

Northern Chinese style from Gaoyang County, Hebei, on the provincial intangible heritage list. Today widely practised in Gaoyang schools and showcases, its origin attested only by tradition.

China

Dumog (Filipino Wrestling)

Filipino wrestling that Green counts among the unarmed components of Filipino fighting. In Antique it is still played as a folk wrestling game at Easter and the fiesta.

Philippines

Dussack fencing

Fencing with a curved weapon called the dussack, often wooden, which Joachim Meyer described in 1570 as preparing pupils for rapier. Some HEMA groups practise it today.

Germany

Dutch Kickboxing

A Dutch school of kickboxing from the Amsterdam gyms Mejiro and Chakuriki, with roots in kyokushin and Japanese kickboxing. It rests on boxing combinations and low kicks.

Netherlands

Emeiquan (Emei Mountain Kung Fu)

Sichuan styles linked to Mount Emei, on China's national intangible heritage list since 2008. The item description gives 68 branches, the oldest treatise is on the spear (17th century).

China

English Quarterstaff Fencing

The English tradition of fighting with the quarterstaff. It is attested in writings from 1599, 1617 and 1711 and in Victorian manuals from 1883 and 1890.

United Kingdom

Engolo (Zebra Dance)

Fighting game of Nkhumbi herders in southern Angola, attacking mainly with kicks. Known as the alleged ancestor of capoeira, but Matthias Röhrig Assunção calls it its cousin.

Angola

Enshin Karate

Full-contact karate founded by Ninomiya Joko in 1988, headquartered in Denver. It rests on sabaki, deflecting an attack and moving to the opponent's blind spot.

Japan

Esgrima Criolla (Gaucho Knife Fighting)

Creole knife fencing of the gauchos from the Río de la Plata. According to La Nación and Domenech, a duel was more about marking the opponent's face than killing him.

Argentina

Eskrima

Filipino martial arts with stick, knife and bare hands, since 2009 the national martial art and sport of the Philippines. They have no single founder or system of grades.

Philippines

Evala (Togo Wrestling)

Wrestling of Togo's Kabyè ethnic group, above all an initiation rite. Held every July in the Kara region, it carries young men from youth into adulthood.

Togo

Fanziquan (Tumbling Fist)

A northern Chinese style called bashanfan under the Ming dynasty. Its yingzhao fanziquan branch, the eagle claw, from Xiong county is on the national list.

China

Fiore dei Liberi fencing (Fior di Battaglia)

Fighting art from the manuscripts of Fiore dei Liberi, dated around 1400 to 1410. Wrestling, dagger, sword, armor, axe, spear and mounted combat in the first known Italian fencing text.

Italy

Flankirovka

A term for work with edged weapons, historically mainly with the spear and today with the shashka. Yarovoy considers this form modern and unknown to the Don Cossacks.

Russia

Freestyle Wrestling

An Olympic wrestling style that allows leg holds and tripping. It derives from catch-as-catch-can and has been at the Games since 1904, for women since 2004.

Fu Jow Pai (Tiger Claw)

Tiger claw kung-fu style, formerly called Hark Fu Moon. According to its schools it leads to Wong Bil Hong, and his nephew Wong Moon Toy brought it to New York.

China

Fut Gar (Buddhist Family Boxing)

Southern Chinese style that by tradition arose as a synthesis of five Cantonese family styles in the Qingyun Temple. It uses fist and palm strikes and low kicks.

China

Gao Style Baguazhang

Baguazhang branch bearing Gao Yisheng's name. According to Wikipedia, it has a circular xiantian part and sixty-four straight-line houtian palms.

China

Gatka

Sikh martial art from Punjab, per the Indian Ministry of Sports a traditional style of Nihang warriors. Today also a sport with stick and leather shield.

India

Genbukan Ninpo Bugei

Ninpo organisation and curriculum founded, according to its website, by Tanemura Shoto on 28 November 1984 in Matsubushi. It draws on Takamatsu Toshitsugu's lines.

Japan

Gensei-ryu

Okinawan karate of Seiken Shukumine from 1949–1953, built on unexpected movement in three dimensions and on its own kata, such as Sansai.

Japan

George Silver Fencing

English fighting doctrine from the writings of George Silver of around 1600. It pits the short sword against the rapier and distinguishes true and false times.

United Kingdom

German School of Fencing

A fencing tradition that manuscripts of the 14th to 16th century trace to master Johannes Liechtenauer. His verse teaching was glossed by pupils and is reconstructed today by HEMA.

Germany

Gladiatorial Combat (Munus)

Armed combat between gladiators in the Roman world, whose first munus in Rome Smith's dictionary places in 264 BC.

Italy

Glima

Icelandic national wrestling in a belt with straps, wrestled upright. The rules were written down by Jón Jónsson in the eighteen-eighties.

Iceland

Goju-ryu

An Okinawan karate style founded by Chojun Miyagi. He took the name “hard-soft” from a verse of the Chinese text Bubishi, and its hallmark is the breathing kata Sanchin.

Japan

GongKwon Yusul

A Korean hybrid system from 1996. It joins striking, throwing and ground fighting into one free sparring format rather than separate subjects.

South Korea

Goresh (Turkmen Belt Wrestling)

Turkmen belt wrestling under UWW rules: three minutes, points for touching the ground with anything but the feet, classic and free style. Part of family celebrations.

Turkmenistan

Gouren

Breton wrestling in a cloth shirt roched, won by a fall onto both shoulder blades. It is recognised intangible cultural heritage of France.

France

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

The family branch of Brazilian jiu-jitsu carried by the Gracie family. It stresses self-defence and surviving from a losing position, not just sport grappling.

Brazil

Greco-Roman Wrestling

An Olympic style of wrestling that prohibits holds below the waist and use of the legs. It comes from French wrestling of the 18th and 19th centuries, not from antiquity.

France

Grima (Colombian Machete Fencing)

Umbrella term for more than thirty mostly Afro-Colombian styles of fencing with the machete, the bordón stick and other weapons, centred on the Cauca region.

Colombia

Gukgung (Korean Traditional Archery)

Korean traditional archery with the gakgung composite bow and a target at 145 m, without sights. Since 2020 it has been Korea's national intangible heritage.

South Korea

Gulesh

Traditional Azerbaijani wrestling. In 2022 UNESCO inscribed the Azerbaijani Pehlevanliq culture, meaning games, sports and wrestling in the zorkhana.

Azerbaijan

Gyokko-ryu Kosshijutsu

One of the nine schools of the Bujinkan. Green (2001) calls it the oldest of them and describes it as a mostly striking art with hard joint dislocations.

Japan

Haidong Gumdo (Korean Swordsmanship)

Modern Korean sword art with forms, cutting and practice sparring. Its founder, origin and name were disputed, even in court.

South Korea

Hakka Kuen (Hakka Boxing)

Umbrella term for the martial arts of southern Chinese Hakka communities, not one school. A Hong Kong exhibition places Chow Gar mantis and Dragon Style under it, among others.

China

Hakko-ryu Jujutsu

Japanese jujutsu from 1941 with no strikes and no kicks. Its whole content is work on the joints with the least possible force — a joint must not be broken.

Japan

Han Mu Do

A Korean system that, according to The Advocate, He-Young Kimm founded in 1989 in Baton Rouge. It combines elements of taekwondo, hapkido and judo.

South Korea

Hankido

According to English Wikipedia, a hapkido style developed in the eighties by Myung Jae-nam. It rests on the principles won, yu and hwa and on the power of softness.

South Korea

Hapkido

A Korean art of locks, throws, kicks and strikes rooted in Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu. It competes in demonstrations of techniques and forms, with several organisations and grading systems.

South Korea

Heki-ryu (School of Foot Archery)

The mainstream of Japanese archery per the Daijisen dictionary: a Muromachi-period school attributed to Heki Danjo Masatsugu, per Nipponica a school of shooting on foot with many branches.

Japan

HEMA

A present-day international movement that reconstructs European martial arts, above all sword fighting, from surviving manuals and treatises.

Higo Ko-ryu Naginatajutsu

Old naginata school from Kumamoto. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, it uses a four-shaku blade and shaft, and women have led it since the Taisho period.

Japan

Hikita Kage-ryu Kenjutsu

A branch of the Shinkage-ryu sword school, named after Hikita Bungoro, a pupil of Kamiizumi. We have not found a living lineage in the sources.

Japan

Hojojutsu (the art of binding with rope)

The Japanese art of binding a person with rope. According to Nipponica, it was first practised on the battlefield and later served to detain and escort criminals. A skill, not a school.

Japan

Hokushin Itto-ryu

A sword school founded by Chiba Shusaku at the end of the shogunate. According to Heibonsha, it had the greatest influence of all sword schools on the system and theory of modern kendo.

Japan

Hontai Yoshin-ryu Jujutsu

Japanese old school of jujutsu from the 17th century based in Nishinomiya: three pillars of jujutsu, bojutsu and kodachijutsu, paired kata, twenty heads from founder Takagi Oriemon.

Japan

Hou Quan (Monkey Kung Fu)

Collective name for Chinese monkey styles, attested by Qi Jiguang in the 16th century. Best described is the Hong Kong school Dasheng pigua men, Emei hou quan is part of the Emei wushu item.

China

Hozoin-ryu Sojutsu

A spear-fighting school founded in Nara by In'ei, a monk of Kofuku-ji. Its typical weapon is the kama yari, a spear with a cross-shaped transverse blade.

Japan

Hozoin-ryu Takada-ha Sojutsu

A branch of the Hozoin-ryu founded in the 17th century by Takada Matabei. It is the only surviving Hozoin line of spear fighting and returned to Nara.

Japan

Hryggspenna Glima

Old Icelandic strength wrestling in a clinch around the torso, in which opponents try to break each other backward. In 2024 the Iceland Open Hryggspenna tournament was held.

Iceland

Huaquan (China Flourishing Boxing)

Family fist of the Cai of Jining, Shandong. Practised by Cai Longyun, vice-chairman of the Chinese Wushu Association and editor of competition rules.

China

Huka-Huka

Wrestling of the Upper Xingu peoples in Brazil, fought from the knees. Its main setting is the Kuarup funeral ceremony, where the host village faces its guests.

Brazil

Hung Gar

A southern Chinese Kung Fu style with low stances and the symbol of the tiger and crane. The documented lineage begins in the 19th century with Wong Kei-ying and Wong Fei-hung.

China

Hung Sing Choy Li Fut

Foshan branch of Choy Li Fut founded by Jeong Yim (Zhang Yan), a student of Chan Heung. Hung Sing school in Foshan since 1851, in the Hong Kong intangible heritage inventory (3.72.2).

China

Huo Style Bajiquan

A lineage of bajiquan tied to Huo Diange, student of Li Shuwen and bodyguard of the last emperor Puyi. According to Chinese sources, it spread from Changchun.

China

Hwa Rang Do

A Korean system from the 1960s with four divisions — technique, internal work, weapons and healing. The hwarang lineage is tradition, not history.

South Korea

Iaido

Japanese budo of drawing the sword, practised as kata against an imaginary opponent. Run by the kendo federation and the All Japan Iaido Federation, with competition by performing kata.

Japan

Inayan Eskrima

American eskrima system of Mike Inay, according to English Wikipedia a student of Max Sarmiento and Angel Cabales. According to English Wikipedia it combines seven separate eskrima styles.

Philippines

Inbuan (Mizo Wrestling)

Traditional wrestling of the Mizo people from India's Mizoram. It is fought in three rounds, and kicking, leaving the marked area or bending the knees is not allowed.

India

Inuit Wrestling

Traditional Inuit wrestling in a firm grip behind the back. According to the Canadian federation, it is still practised in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

Canada

Irish Bare-Knuckle Boxing

The Irish form of bare-knuckle fighting: Irish pugilists of the 19th-century British prize ring such as Dan Donnelly, and the still-living fair fight among Irish Travellers.

Ireland

Iron Palm Kung Fu

A hand-conditioning method that, according to English Wikipedia, many Chinese schools know. It is not a separate style. According to Wikipedia, Gu Ruzhang was known for mastering it.

China

Isshin-ryu Karate

Okinawan karate of Tatsuo Shimabuku, named in 1956. It is recognised by the vertical fist with the thumb on top and by blocks using the forearm muscle, not the bone.

Japan

Istunka (Somali Stick Fighting)

An annual festival in Afgooye, Somalia, at which, according to Castagno (1975), groups of young men from opposite banks of the Shabeelle river met in a mock fight with sticks.

Somalia

ITF Taekwondo

A branch of taekwondo founded by Choi Hong Hi on 22 March 1966. It has 24 tul, a two-round match with controlled contact and scoring hand strikes to the head.

South Korea

Iwama Ryu

Aikido line from Iwama associated with Morihiro Saito. It trains techniques without weapons, the sword and the staff as one whole.

Japan

Jeet Kune Do

A system that Bruce Lee named in 1967. It grew out of Wing Chun, added fencing and boxing, and rejected prearranged forms. Today it is taught by the Original JKD and JKD Concepts lineages.

United States

Jigen-ryu

Sword school of the Satsuma domain, founded by Togo Shigekata. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai describes it as single-strike swordsmanship, and training uses strikes at a standing trunk.

Japan

Jikishin-ryu Jujutsu

A jujutsu school of Matsue domain that took the name Jikishin-ryu judo in 1724, using the word judo about 170 years before the Kodokan, per Fujioka 1996. Its founder is disputed.

Japan

Jikishinkage-ryū Naginatajutsu

An old naginata school, one of the two main surviving ones according to Heibonsha. It claims Jikishinkage-ryu, while Ellis Amdur considers it the work of Satake Yoshinori.

Japan

Jittejutsu (Art of the Jitte)

A Japanese martial art of the jitte, a hooked metal rod carried by Edo-period police officials. It is a skill, not a school.

Japan

Jodo (Staff Against Sword)

Japanese budo in which a student with a jo staff faces an opponent with a wooden sword. The All Japan Kendo Federation set its present form in 1968, and competition is in kata.

Japan

Jogo do Pau (Portuguese Stick Fighting)

Portuguese fencing with a long stick held in both hands, at home in Minho and Trás-os-Montes. In Lisbon gyms it was adapted to sport and displays from the late 19th century.

Portugal

Jow Ga Kuen

Southern Chinese style of Jow Lung, a combination of Hung Gar and Choy Gar with Shaolin kicks. Since 2019 it has been intangible heritage of Nanhai district.

China

Judo

A Japanese art of throws and grappling, Olympic since 1964; its idea is to use the opponent's strength instead of your own.

Japan

Juego de Mani

According to the Atlas Etnográfico de Cuba, juego de maní is a boxing dance in which a soloist in the middle of a circle attacks the opponents surrounding him.

Cuba

Juego del Garrote

A Venezuelan civilian self-defense system using the garrote walking stick, mainly associated with Lara state. Some styles add the machete and knife to the stick.

Venezuela

Juego del Palo (Canarian Stick Fighting)

Traditional Canarian stick game in which two players show attacks and defences without hurting each other. Gran Canaria's large stick has been protected cultural property since 2025.

Spain

Jujutsu (Classical Japanese Unarmed Combat)

Collective name for old Japanese schools of mostly unarmed combat: throws, locks, chokes, strikes to vital points and handling of short weapons. Kano's judo came from its schools.

Japan

Jukendo (Japanese Bayonet Art)

Japanese martial art with the wooden rifle mokuju, derived from army bayonet training. The only valid attack is the thrust, and the federation was founded in 1956.

Japan

Jundokan Goju-ryu

Okinawan goju-ryu karate dojo in Asato, Naha, founded according to the daily Ryukyu Shimpo by Eiichi Miyazato, a direct student of Chojun Miyagi.

Japan

Kabaddi

A South Asian team contact sport. During a raid the raider repeats the word kabaddi, touches opponents and returns, while a seven-player defence tries to hold him.

India

Kabaroan Eskrima

Ilocano family eskrima of the Estalillas with longer and heavier weapons. Wiley divides it into sencilla, bambolia and compuesta.

Philippines

Kadochnikov Systema

Russian close-combat system built on mechanics: leverage, centre of gravity and momentum instead of strength and speed.

Russia

Kajukenbo

The first martial art created on American soil as a deliberate blend of five schools. It took shape in 1947–1949 in Hawaii, where five masters of different systems met.

United States

Kalaripayattu

Traditional martial art of Kerala, rooted in at least the twelfth century. It teaches body training, wooden and metal weapons and the vulnerable points marmmam.

India

Kalinda (Caribbean Stick Fighting)

Trinidadian stick fight bois in the gayelle circle, accompanied by drums and singing. Today it is held as a competition with referees during carnival.

Trinidad & Tobago

Kalis Ilustrisimo

Filipino art of Antonio Ilustrisimo, known as Tatang. Wiley describes it as a blend of eskrima from the Visayas and kali from the Sulu archipelago.

Philippines

Kapap

The older Israeli close-combat system, a predecessor of Krav Maga. It emerged in the late 1930s in the Haganah and the Palmach.

Israel

Kapu Kuialua (Lua)

Hawaiian martial art of bone-breaking, wrestling and weapon fighting, whose modern revival, according to today's teachers, stems from students of Charles Kenn.

United States

Karakucak Wrestling

Turkish traditional wrestling without oil, in pırpıt trousers, under the Turkish Traditional Wrestling Federation since 2022. No bridge, world championship since 2025.

Türkiye

Karate

An Okinawan striking art reshaped in the 20th century into Japanese budo and an Olympic sport. Built on kata and hand and foot techniques.

Japan

Kard Chuek (Rope-Bound Muay)

A form of Thai fighting in which fighters wrapped their hands instead of wearing gloves. According to Green, wrapped hands were used until 1929.

Thailand

Karra Samu and Kathi Samu (Telugu Stick and Sword Fighting)

Telugu stick fighting from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. According to the press, kathi samu sword fencing is taught within the same tradition as part of it.

India

Kasagake (Mounted Archery at a Distant Target)

Japanese mounted archery at a distant target, one of three medieval disciplines. The target was the archer's hat, later a leather disc, and the arrow has a hollow head, not a point.

Japan

Kashima Shin-ryu

Versatile old school from Kashima, founded per dictionaries by Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami. Besides the sword it teaches jujutsu, naginata and spear.

Japan

Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryu

An old sword school tracing itself to Matsumoto Bizen-no-kami and Kashima. Dictionaries regard Yamada Mitsunori as its founder. Teaching rests on the hojo kata.

Japan

Kashima Shinto-ryu

An old sword school founded by Tsukahara Bokuden. The Yoshikawa family of Kashima transmits it, and it is listed as an intangible cultural property of Ibaraki Prefecture.

Japan

Kawaishi Judo

French method of teaching judo by Kawaishi Mikinosuke, with French names and numbered techniques. Coloured belts are linked to it, and from 1956 it coexisted with the Kodokan.

Japan

Kendo

Kendo is Japanese fencing with the bamboo shinai in bogu armor. A point comes just from a clean hit to four target areas under FIK rules.

Japan

Kene (Naga Folk Wrestling)

Traditional wrestling of the Tenyimi tribes in Nagaland and Manipur. Wrestlers grip a waist belt, and whoever touches the ground with a body part above the knee loses.

India

Kenpo Karate

Ed Parker’s system from the USA, rooted in his Hawaiian teacher William Chow, built on 154 named self-defense sequences and belts up to 10th dan.

United States

Keysi Fighting Method

A Spanish self-defence system for close quarters and against several attackers. Its "pensador" guard is familiar to viewers from the Batman films.

Spain

Khridoli (Georgian Martial Art)

A collective name for five Georgian martial disciplines brought together by a national federation since 1993. Not one school but an assembly of traditions.

Georgia

Khuresh

Tuvan national wrestling from Siberia, main contest of the Naadym festival. No weight classes, touching the ground loses, and wrestlers dance the eagle flight devig before and after a bout.

Russia

Ki-Aikido (Shinshin Toitsu Aikido)

An aikido style founded in 1974 by Tohei Koichi after he left Aikikai. It is built on the four basic principles to unify mind and body and on ki tests.

Japan

Kickboxing

A striking sport joining boxing hands with kicks. It appeared in the 1960s and 1970s in Japan and the United States at once, from a wish to give karate full contact.

Japan

King Mui Choy Li Fut

Choy Li Fut lineage from King Mui (Jingmei) village in Xinhui, birthplace of founder Chan Heung (1806–1875). On China's national intangible heritage list since 2008.

China

Kinomichi

A soft discipline derived from aikido, made independent in Paris in 1979 by Masamichi Noro. It has no dan grades and no competitions.

France

Kito-ryu

A jujutsu school from the early Edo period focused on throws and fighting in armour. Kano Jigoro studied it under Iikubo Tsunetoshi and preserved its kata in judo as koshiki no kata.

Japan

Kokh

Armenian national wrestling that begins with a dance to the sound of the zurna and dhol. A throw of the opponent onto the back wins, and grabbing the legs is forbidden according to Hetq.

Armenia

Komagawa Kaishin-ryu

A sword school that Wikipedia derives from Shinkage-ryu and links to the Kuroda family and the Shinbukan dojo. We are still looking for other sources on its history.

Japan

Kombatan (Presas Arnis)

Filipino system of Ernesto Presas, younger brother of Remy Presas according to the organization and Wikipedia. Per Presas Style Kombatan, it arose by renaming his form of Modern Arnis.

Philippines

Koresh (Tatar Belt Wrestling)

Tatar belt wrestling with a grip on the kushak belt. First official competition in Kazan in 1928, a national-level sport in Russia since 2013, the peak of Sabantuy.

Russia

Koryu Bujutsu

An umbrella term for the Japanese combat schools founded before 1868. It is not a style but the dividing line between the old schools and modern ways such as judo or kendo.

Japan

Kosen Judo

Judo of Japanese higher schools and universities, with unrestricted transition to ground fighting. The first tournament was held in Kyoto in 1914, and Nanatei continues it today.

Japan

Koshiki Karatedo

Competitive karate system with Super Safe protectors from the Kenkokan school. According to the WKKF, it was introduced in 1980 and allows strikes to the face and body.

Japan

Koto-ryu Koppojutsu

Koppojutsu school, one of the nine Bujinkan traditions, also taught by the Genbukan and Jinenkan. Wikipedia credits Sakagami Taro Kunishige as its founder.

Japan

Krabi-Krabong

Thai weapon-based martial art: krabi are short weapons, krabong long ones. Performed as a show and a contest to pi chawa and klong khaek music, national intangible heritage since 2011.

Thailand

Krav Maga

An Israeli self-defence system aimed at fast, simple responses to real danger rather than at competition.

Israel

Kudo

A Japanese full-contact sport from 1981 with strikes in a helmet with a plexiglass visor, throws and brief ground fighting. Categories are set by the sum of height and weight.

Japan

Kuk Sool Won

Korean system by Suh In-hyuk; the curriculum rests on three branches, but the claim to a court family lineage is disputed.

South Korea

Kukishin-ryu Bojutsu

Japanese old school of staff fighting, listed by the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai together with Takagi-ryu jujutsu under number 014. Traditions of its origin differ.

Japan

Kukishinden-ryu Happo Bikenjutsu

Weapons and taijutsu school taught in Bujinkan and Genbukan. Wikipedia and Genbukan give its origin differently. We have not found independent evidence.

Japan

Kumdo

Korean sport fencing with a bamboo sword, adopted from Japan under Japanese influence. It has its own terminology and domestic rules, and at world championships follows FIK rules.

South Korea

Kun Khmer (Pradal Serey)

Cambodian ring boxing with punches, kicks, elbows and knees, also called pradal serey, whose origin Cambodia and Thailand dispute.

Cambodia

Kung Fu

A collective term for the Chinese martial arts, not a single style. It includes sport wushu (taolu and sanda) and traditional schools. It has no founder, and Bodhidharma is a legend.

China

Kuntao (Kuntao)

Umbrella term for Chinese martial arts in Indonesia and Malaysia. Not a single style; it often blends with silat into kuntao silat.

Indonesia

Kuntaw

Kuntaw is a historical art of the Samal of the southern Philippines and the modern kuntaw lima-lima system, whose founder Carlito A. Lanada sets it apart from Chinese kun-tao.

Philippines

Kurama-ryu Kenjutsu

Sword school of the Tensho years, founded by Ono Shogen according to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai. It uses thick wooden swords, and one form is, per Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the model of a kendo strike.

Japan

Kurash

Central Asian wrestling in the yakhtak jacket, at home in Uzbekistan. Halal, yonbosh and chala throws score, levers and strangles are banned, and the commands stay in Uzbek.

Uzbekistan

Kyokushin

A full-contact style of karate developed by Masutatsu Oyama. Fighting is without gloves, kicks to the head are allowed, punches and elbows to the face are not.

Japan

Kyokushin Budokai

Style of Jon Bluming that, according to its organization IBK, combines full-contact kyokushin karate with throws and ground fighting. Today it bears the name All-Round Fighting.

Netherlands

Kyudo (Japanese archery)

Japanese archery with an asymmetric bow of standard length 221 cm. Competition is at 28 m at a 36 cm target or at 60 m, and Zen Nihon Kyudo Renmei awards kyu and dan grades and titles.

Japan

Kyujutsu (Martial Archery)

Older name for Japanese archery, now called kyudo. Schools such as Heki-ryu and Ogasawara-ryu, foot and mounted shooting, toshiya contests at Sanjusangendo.

Japan

Kyushin-ryu Jujutsu

A jujutsu school whose middle founder, according to Nipponica, was Inugami Nagayasu of Hikone. In the late Edo period it was practised in Kyushu.

Japan

Kyusho Jitsu (Pressure Point Art)

A system of strikes to sensitive points popularized by George Dillman. His claim of a contactless knockout failed a controlled test.

Japan

La Canne (French Cane Fighting)

French fencing with a walking cane, taught in Parisian halls in the 19th century alongside savate. In the 20th century it gave rise to the sport of canne de combat.

France

La Verdadera Destreza

Spanish fencing that Jerónimo de Carranza and Luis Pacheco de Narváez built on geometry and philosophy. Scholars say the tradition lasted until the 19th century.

Spain

Ladja (Danmyé)

Martinique combat dance in which two fighters face each other in a circle to drums and singing. On the island it is also called danmyé, kokoyé or wonpwen.

Martinique

Lameco Eskrima

Edgar Sulite's eskrima, assembled from the teaching of several Filipino masters. According to Wiley, the name combines larga mano, medio and corto.

Philippines

Lathi Khela

Bengali combat and display art with the bamboo stick lathi. Lathiyals served as the armed force of landowners. Today lathi khela is on Bangladesh's national heritage inventory.

Bangladesh

Lau Gar

A southern Chinese family style, one of the five main styles of Guangdong. Most of today's information about it comes from British clubs.

China

Lausatok Glima (Loose-Grip Glima)

Old Icelandic wrestling with loose grips anywhere on the opponent's body, related to glíma. The old glíma rules banned it in glíma, and the last documented contest dates from 2007.

Iceland

Lerdrit

The military form of Thai fighting used by the Thai army. It builds on muay thai but aims at taking an opponent out at once, not at scoring in a ring.

Thailand

Lethwei

A Burmese striking sport without gloves in which headbutts, elbows, knees and throws are allowed. Traditional rules know only victory by knockout, otherwise it is a draw.

Myanmar (Burma)

Li Gar

A southern Chinese family style, one of the five famous styles of Guangdong. Sources describe its origin in different ways, and it cannot yet be confirmed.

China

Li Style Tai Chi

A taijiquan line from Wuqing near Tianjin, compiled by Li Ruidong. It rests on three boards of 36, 72 and 108 movements and is on China's national list.

China

Liang Style Baguazhang

Branch of baguazhang bearing the name of Liang Zhenpu, one of five students of Dong Haichuan who, according to Green, founded today's baguazhang schools.

China

Libanda (Congolese Traditional Wrestling)

Wrestling of the Mongo people in Congo. Wrestlers paint their bodies with white leopard-like spots and fight to drums and singing.

Congo - Kinshasa

Limalama

A Polynesian martial system assembled in California by Samoan-American Tino Tuiolosega, blending dance movement, boxing, kung fu and judo.

United States

LINE (Marine Corps close combat system)

A close combat system used by the US Marine Corps from 1989 to 1998. Its six fixed technique sequences ended in a lethal finish and were replaced by Close Combat and MCMAP.

United States

Liu He Ba Fa (Water Boxing)

Internal style also called the water fist. Documented history begins with Wu Yihui (1887–1958), Hong Kong inventories it as intangible heritage, we did not find it on China's national list.

China

Loita Galega (Galician Wrestling)

A Galician folk wrestling style with a grip on work trousers called maón or a belt called faixa. Fifteen seconds of control over the opponent or a lead in points wins.

Spain

London Prize Ring Rules

Rules of English bare-knuckle boxing from 1838, revised in 1853. A round ended with a fall, the number of rounds was unlimited, and the last title fight under them took place in 1889.

United Kingdom

Lucha Leonesa

A wrestling style from León fought with a grip on a leather belt. Since 2017 it has been protected cultural heritage and the summer league fills the stands.

Spain

Lucha Libre

Mexican professional wrestling known for masks and aerial moves. Matches go to two falls out of three, and since 2018 it has been intangible cultural heritage of Mexico City.

Mexico

Lung Ying (Southern Dragon)

Southern Chinese Hakka style of Lam Yiu-gwai, related to Bak Mei. It rests on sixteen basic movements and is heritage of Canton and Nanhai district.

China

Luta Livre

Brazilian wrestling without a kimono by Euclydes Hatem, finished by a lock or a choke. It is contested in three forms: esportiva, combate and vale tudo.

Brazil

Luta Marajoara (Marajó Island Wrestling)

Wrestling of the vaqueiros from Marajó island in Brazilian Pará. Fought on sand or mud, a point is scored by soiling the opponent's back, a heritage of Pará state since 2022.

Brazil

Lutte Contact (French Contact Wrestling)

A French contact-wrestling sport from the nineteen-nineties. It allows punches, kicks, throws and locks, but forbids elbows, headbutts and knees to the head.

France

Lutte Parisienne (Parisian Wrestling)

Grappling component of savate from 19th-century Paris that, according to Green, hid its techniques. Since 1992 it has been called savate défense, according to Le Monde.

France

Maculele

According to Paranaguá (2024), maculelê from Santo Amaro is a blend of fight, game and circular dance in which players strike sticks called grimas to a rhythm.

Brazil

Malla-yuddha

Sanskrit name of Indian wrestling that, according to Joseph Alter, most wrestlers today regard as archaic. The medieval Manasollasa and Malla Purana describe its training.

India

Maniwa Nen-ryu

Sword school from the village of Maniwa in Gunma Prefecture, founded by Higuchi Sadatsugu in the early Edo period. The Higuchi family still leads it.

Japan

Maphilindo Silat

A designation used by schools around Dan Inosanto for their selection of silat. We have not found a separate traditional style.

United States

Mardani Khel (Maratha Martial Art)

An armed martial art of Maharashtra that Wikipedia links to the Marathas, known for the patta sword and vita spear on a cord. The press says it is practised in local talims.

India

Mas-Wrestling

A Yakut national sport in which two seated competitors, feet braced against a board, pull on a stick. Entered in the All-Russian Register of Sports in 2003.

Russia

Matayoshi Kobudo

Okinawan kobudo lineage of the Matayoshi family. Matayoshi Shinko (1888–1947) learned weapons on Okinawa and in China, and his son Shinpo continued the tradition until 1997.

Japan

Matsubayashi-ryu

A branch of Shorin-ryu founded in Naha in 1947 by Shoshin Nagamine. The name "pine forest" honors Matsumura and Matsumora, and the curriculum has 18 kata.

Japan

Mau rākau

A Māori martial art with traditional weapons such as the taiaha and patu, which according to the Te Ara encyclopedia has been undergoing a renaissance since the nineteen-eighties.

New Zealand

MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program)

The United States Marine Corps combat program, officially adopted on October 1, 2000. It combines armed and unarmed fighting with mental and character training and uses belts.

United States

Meibukan Goju-ryu

Okinawan branch of Goju-ryu founded in 1952 by Yagi Meitoku. It has its own series of five katas Meibuken named after Chinese constellations.

Japan

Meifu Shinkage-ryū (Shuriken Throwing)

Japanese shurikenjutsu school founded by Chikatoshi Someya and, according to its website, led since 2009 by soke Yasuyuki Otsuka.

Japan

Meihuaquan (Plum Blossom Fist)

A northern Chinese style that divides the school into a civil and a martial branch. Since 2006 it has been on China's national list of intangible heritage.

China

Mensur (Academic Fencing)

Fencing with sharp weapons called Schläger, practised by German student fraternities. Its present form settled in the 19th century, and a court confirmed its legality in 1953.

Germany

Merpati Putih Silat

Indonesian pencak silat school from Yogyakarta, founded in 1963: breathwork, tenaga dalam, breaking objects and getaran.

Indonesia

Meyer's Art of Fencing

Fencing according to the Strasbourg master Joachim Meyer, who in 1570 published a printed book on the sword, dussack, rapier, dagger, staff and halberd. His manuscripts also survive.

Germany

Mgba (Igbo Wrestling)

Traditional wrestling of the Nigerian Igbo, tied to the harvest and the coming of age of men. It settled disputes and still belongs to Igbo community festivals.

Nigeria

Mianquan (Cotton Boxing)

A Shanghai kung fu style of flowing, continuous movements that combine soft and hard. On China's national intangible heritage list since 2014, lineage from Meng Guangyin.

China

Military Krav Maga

The army version of Krav Maga in the Israel Defense Forces. Unlike the civilian form, it assumes attack, a weapon and a mission to complete.

Israel

Mizongyi (Lost Track Boxing)

A northern Chinese style associated with Huo Yuanjia and the Shanghai Jingwu school. It builds on unexpected changes of direction and light, open stances.

China

MMA

A full-contact sport combining strikes and wrestling standing, in the clinch and on the ground. It has no belts and is contested under several rule sets (Unified Rules, ONE, IMMAF).

United States

Modern Army Combatives (MACP)

US Army close combat program developed from 1995 in the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. It rests on Brazilian jiu-jitsu ground fighting and includes competitions.

United States

Modern Arnis

A Filipino system of arnis developed by Remy Presas from the island of Negros. From the mid-1970s he spread it through seminars in the United States and other countries.

Philippines

Mok Gar

Southern Chinese family style from Guangdong with close-range hand work and many kicks. Since 2021 it has been on China's national list of intangible heritage.

China

Montante (Iberian two-handed sword)

Fighting with the Iberian two-handed sword montante by the rules (reglas) of 16th and 17th century Spanish and Portuguese masters, including Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo (1651).

Portugal

Moraingy (Malagasy Bare-Knuckle)

Malagasy bare-knuckle fight that, according to the press, arose on the west coast. Today it is widely practiced in the north and northwest of the island, mainly among the Sakalava.

Madagascar

Motobu Udundi (Motobu Palace Art)

Art of the Okinawan noble Motobu family, with tuiti joint locks and throws and weapons, according to the Motobu-ryu website. Uehara Seikichi named it Motobu udundi in 1970 and published it.

Japan

Motobu-ryu Karate

Karate of Motobu Choki built on the kata naihanchi, close-range fighting and the use of both hands at once (me-oto-de). The school dates its origin to 1922.

Japan

Muay Boran

A collective term for Thai boxing before the sports reform of the twenties and thirties of the 20th century. Today mainly an exhibition art with Chaiya, Korat and Lopburi styles.

Thailand

Muay Chaiya

Southern line of Thai boxing from Chaiya in Surat Thani. Tight guard, elbows and knees up close, defense and attack in one rhythm, the principle of the four po: defend, deflect, close, open.

Thailand

Muay Korat

Northeastern line of Thai boxing from Nakhon Ratchasima. A proverb credits it with a heavy fist, the best-known blow is the buffalo punch swung from the waist, and the ropes reach the elbow.

Thailand

Muay Lao

The Lao form of Southeast Asian boxing: five rounds, eight weapons and a roundhouse kick with different mechanics than in Muay Thai.

Laos

Muay Lopburi

A central Thai line of traditional boxing from Lopburi. A proverb credits it with cleverness. It has the longest wai khru, with eleven movements, red shorts and wrapped ankles.

Thailand

Muay Pram

Thai grappling. Green lists thaiplum as a separate Siamese art, and websites today use the name for the muay thai clinch and the muay boran curriculum.

Thailand

Muay Thai

Thai boxing, the art of eight limbs — fists, elbows, knees and shins, complemented by clinch work. It moved into the ring in the early twentieth century.

Thailand

Muay Thasao (Muay Boran of Uttaradit)

Northern line of Thai boxing from Ban Tha Sao in Uttaradit, linked to Kru Mek and Phraya Phichai. A proverb credits it with speed, and kicks to all heights are typical.

Thailand

Mukna

Traditional wrestling from the Indian state of Manipur, associated with the Lai Haraoba festival. Sports Authority of India teaches it at two indigenous games centres.

India

Musangwe (Venda Bare-Knuckle Fighting)

Traditional Venda fist fight in South Africa's Limpopo province, held every year at Christmas near the village of Tshifudi. The winner traditionally receives neither money nor a prize.

South Africa

Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu

Sword-drawing school from Tosa, according to Green one of the two most popular iai schools. Named after its seventh holder Hasegawa Eishin, while sources differ on its founder.

Japan

Muso Shinden-ryu

An iai school that Nakayama Hakudo organised in the nineteen-thirties from the Tosa lineage of Eishin-ryu. One of the largest iaido schools, technically close to Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu.

Japan

Naban (Burmese Wrestling)

Burmese wrestling that Green classes among the branches of thaing and that is often part of other martial systems. Besides holds it includes palm and foot strikes.

Myanmar (Burma)

Naha-te

A historical Okinawan karate stream from the port city of Naha, tied to Higaonna Kanryo and his student Miyagi Chojun. Goju-ryu came from it, and Ryuei-ryu is listed beside it.

Japan

Nakamura-ryu Battodo

A battodo school that Taizaburo Nakamura founded in 1952 by adapting Toyama-ryu, according to the IBF and in his own words. Kakuseikai places the compilation of happogiri in 1953.

Japan

Nanbudo

A martial art based on evasion, created in 1978 by Yoshinao Nanbu according to APA. Under INF rules, competition covers kata, ju randori and kumite.

Japan

Nanquan (Southern Fist)

Umbrella term for southern Chinese styles and a competitive wushu discipline: low firm stances, short powerful strikes with vocalization and fewer leg techniques, per the IWUF.

China

Negishi-ryu Shurikenjutsu

A Japanese school of shuriken throwing founded by Negishi Shorei in the late Edo period. According to the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, the shuriken flies point first without rotating.

Japan

Nguni Stick Fighting

Stick fighting of the South African Nguni peoples, mainly Zulu and Xhosa, learned by herd boys. Zulu fighters use an attacking stick, a defending stick and a small shield.

South Africa

Nhat Nam

Vietnamese martial art that the press says Ngô Xuân Bính unified in Hanoi in 1983 from võ Hét schools of Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An. Now also practised in Russia and elsewhere in Europe.

Vietnam

Nihon Tai Jitsu

A French self-defence system derived from Yoseikan budo. It was formalised by Roland Hernaez after the death of Jim Alcheik.

France

Ninjutsu

Modern Japanese organizations (Bujinkan, Genbukan, Jinenkan) tied to the shinobi of Iga and Koga: kata, weapons, no competitions, lineage cannot be independently verified.

Japan

Nippon Kempo

Nippon kempo is a Japanese budo founded by Muneomi Sawayama in Osaka in 1932, in which strikes, kicks, throws and ground fighting are contested in armor.

Japan

Niten Ichi-ryu

A sword school of Miyamoto Musashi that teaches forms with the long sword, the short sword and with two swords. Today several lineages on Kyushu transmit it.

Japan

Northern Kalaripayattu

Northern style of kalaripayattu. According to Zarrilli, after 1958 this became the name for Kerala's own art, as opposed to the Tamil forms of the southern style.

India

Nuba Stick Fighting

Fights with a heavy stick and shield that S. F. Nadel described in a 1947 monograph among the Tira and Moro groups in the Nuba Mountains of Kordofan in Sudan.

Sudan

Nuba Wrestling

Traditional wrestling of the Nuba from the Nuba Mountains in Sudan's South Kordofan. In Khartoum it became Sudanese wrestling, drawing thousands of spectators.

Sudan

Ogasawara-ryu (Archery, Riding and Etiquette)

Ogasawara family school of archery, mounted archery and etiquette. It places its origin in 1187 with Minamoto no Yoritomo, historians date the documented shogun's teacher only to 1430.

Japan

Oishi Shinkage-ryu Kenjutsu

Sword school of the Yanagawa domain founded by Oishi Susumu. Known for thrusts with a long bamboo sword, with which the founder succeeded in Edo in 1832.

Japan

Okichitaw

A modern reconstruction of Plains combat technique, led by George Lépine since 1997. It is built on the weapons of the Cree and Assiniboine nations.

Canada

Okinawa Kenpo

Okinawan karate style of Nakamura Shigeru, who according to Ryukyu Shimpo promoted fighting in protective gear and a knockdown system of bouts.

Japan

Okinawan Kobudo

Okinawan martial arts with weapons such as bo, sai, tonfa, kama and nunchaku. In 1997 Okinawa Prefecture registered them with karate as a prefectural intangible cultural asset.

Japan

Okinawan Ti (Okinawa-te)

The Okinawan term ti (te in Japanese, hand) for the native martial art that, according to one theory, merged with Chinese fighting and gave rise to karate.

Japan

Olympic Boxing

A competitive form of boxing under World Boxing rules, at the Olympic Games since 1904. Three rounds, five judges, head guards for youth and women.

United Kingdom

Ono-ha Itto-ryu

Sword school of the Ono family, whose founder taught shogun Tokugawa Hidetada. According to the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, its core is kiriotoshi, victory in a single beat.

Japan

Pachi Tanglangquan

According to Wikipedia and school websites, the name of Taiwanese master Su Yu-chang's institute, teaching several mantis branches and bajiquan in separate syllabi.

China

Paika akhada

Martial tradition of Odisha's paikas, a peasant militia trained in village akhadas. Today performed with wooden swords, sticks and shields to the sound of drums.

India

Pak Hok Pai (Tibetan White Crane)

Hong Kong branch of Tibetan White Crane from the Lion's Roar lineage. Circular strikes from the waist, evasions and finger strikes, in Hong Kong's heritage inventory under number 370.

China

Pancrase (Hybrid Wrestling)

Japanese professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 1993 by Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki after they left Fujiwara Gumi.

Japan

Pankration

An ancient Greek combat sport that, according to the Perseus Project, combined boxing and wrestling, at the Olympic Games from 648 BC according to the Greek Ministry of Culture.

Greece

Pehlwani (Kushti)

Traditional wrestling of the Indian subcontinent, done in akharas in a clay pit. Per anthropologist Joseph Alter, a synthesis of Persian wrestling brought by the Mughals and Hindu tradition.

India

Pekiti-Tirsia Kali

Filipino system of fighting with blades and sticks, tied to the Tortal family and to Leo Gaje, who spread it in the USA from 1972. The Philippine Marine Corps teaches it.

Philippines

Pencak Silat

The collective name for the martial arts of the Malay archipelago — hundreds of schools differing by ethnic group, island and family. On the UNESCO list since 2019.

Indonesia

Pencak Silat Beksi

Betawi silat from Kampung Dadap in Tangerang. According to sources, the Peranakan Chinese Lie developed it. We have not found the year it arose.

Indonesia

Pencak Silat Cikalong

Sundanese style from the Cianjur area, locally called maenpo. According to a peer-reviewed article, mastery is recognized by a sense of touch, not by jurus.

Indonesia

Pencak Silat Harimau Minangkabau

Minangkabau tiger silat from West Sumatra. Fought from a low crouch, often straight from the ground, mainly with the legs.

Indonesia

Pencak Silat Mande Muda

A family pencak silat school from Bandung created, by its own account, by Uyuh Suwanda. It combines several styles, including Cimande.

Indonesia

Perisai Diri

Indonesian silat founded on 2 July 1955 in Surabaya. According to Draeger, it builds on straight punches and heel kicks.

Indonesia

Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate (PSHT)

Indonesian pencak silat organization and school from Madiun, descending from Setia Hati. According to Utomo 2017 it began in 1922 and co-founded IPSI.

Indonesia

Piguaquan (Chop-Hanging Fist)

A northern Chinese style from Cangzhou with fast strikes of explosive power and the long saber miaodao. On the national intangible heritage list since 2008.

China

Professional Boxing

A competitive form of boxing with a license from age 18: up to twelve rounds, no helmets, three judges and titles of the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO.

United Kingdom

Qazaq Kuresi

Kazakh national wrestling in the beren outfit, on the UNESCO list since 2016. A clean fall of the opponent onto the back wins, grabbing the legs is forbidden.

Kazakhstan

Qin Na (Chin Na)

A technical category in the Chinese arts: grips, locks and immobilisations in five groups defined by what is attacked.

China

Ranggeln (Austrian Alpine Wrestling)

An Alpine folk wrestling style, barefoot on grass in white linen clothing. The winner presses the opponent onto both shoulder blades, and there are no weight categories.

Austria

Real Aikido

A Serbian self-defence system derived from aikido, created by Ljubomir Vračarević in 1993. It drops the philosophy and adds strikes to sensitive points.

Serbia

Rince an Bhata Uisce Bheatha (Doyle Irish Stick Fighting)

A family line of Irish stick fighting that the Doyles preserved in Newfoundland. The stick is held in both hands and the fighting is mostly at close range.

Ireland

Ringen (Medieval German Wrestling)

Wrestling of the German martial art of the 14th to 16th century. Taught with the sword, one manual is attributed to master Ott, and the first wrestling print appeared around 1507.

Germany

Rough-and-Tumble Fighting

A rule-free fight of the lower classes in the American South and the frontier, documented from the mid-eighteenth century. Sources most often mention gouging out eyes.

United States

Ryuei-ryu

Okinawan karate of the Nakaima family, related to Goju-ryu and known for the kata Anan and Ohan. Olympic kata champion Kiyuna Ryo comes from this style.

Japan

Ryushin Shouchi-ryu

A sword-drawing school founded in 2006 in Tokyo. It trains with a short, light iaito, relying on drawing speed rather than blade weight.

Japan

S'Istrumpa (Sardinian Wrestling)

Traditional Sardinian wrestling in a fixed grip behind the back. The federation was founded in 1994 in Ollolai and CONI recognised it as a sport in 1997.

Italy

Sambo

A Soviet wrestling style in the kurtka with throws and locks on the arms and legs, without chokes. A sport since 1938, FIAS has had full IOC recognition since 2021, not at the Olympics.

Russia

Sanatan Shastar Vidiya

North Indian Sikh art of fighting with weapons, associated with the order of the Akali Nihangs. Today it is taught under this name by Nidar Singh's school in Britain.

India

Sanhuang Paochui (Three Emperors Cannon Fist)

North Chinese style from Jizhou, Hebei, on the provincial intangible heritage list (2012). Lineage from three emperors and Shaolin monks is tradition, Song Mailun of late Qing is documented.

China

Sankukai

Karate style of Yoshinao Nanbu, according to English Wikipedia a student of Chōjirō Tani. Wikipedia places its origin in Paris in 1971, later Nanbu moved on to nanbudo.

France

Satojuku Karate

A Japanese karate school founded in 1977, according to Wikipedia, by Katsuaki Sato, the winner of the first kyokushin world open tournament in 1975.

Japan

Savate

A French striking sport in which one kicks with the foot in a shoe and boxes with the hands. Its modern form was given by Charles Lecour and Joseph Charlemont in the 19th century.

France

Savate Défense

An associated discipline of the French savate federation focused on defence within the bounds of legitimate self-defence. Formerly savate bâton défense, it also uses the side-handle baton.

France

Sayoc Kali

A Filipino system of bladed-weapon fighting, founded in 1985 by Christopher Sayoc according to its own website. The website describes it with the motto All Blade, All the Time.

Philippines

SCARS (Special Combat Aggressive Reactionary System)

American commercial close combat system by Jerry L. Peterson. Navy special forces used it in the nineties, but the extent of that use is disputed.

United States

Scherma Genovese (Genoese Knife Fencing)

Genoese fencing with the knife and other weapons. The evidence is weak: one book from 2012 and mentions of the Genoese knife.

Italy

Schwingen (Swiss National Wrestling)

Swiss national wrestling in unbleached-fabric trousers on sawdust rings. The peak is the Eidgenössisches festival and the title Schwingerkönig.

Switzerland

Scottish Backhold Wrestling

Scottish folk wrestling on foot in a firm hold around the back. The loser is the one who lets go of the hold or touches the ground with anything but the feet.

United Kingdom

Seidokaikan Karate

Full-contact karate from Osaka, founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii according to the school's website. According to the Japan Times, Ishii organised the first K-1 Grand Prix in 1993.

Japan

Seiwakai Goju-ryu

Japanese line of Goju-ryu founded by Tasaki Shuji, a student of Yamaguchi Gogen. Fujiwara Seiichi leads it, and it has dojo in more than thirty countries.

Japan

Sekiguchi Shinshin-ryu

An old Japanese school from Wakayama, founded by Sekiguchi Ujimune. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai it rests on jujutsu, iai and kenjutsu, and the 13th holder leads it.

Japan

Sekiguchi-ryu Battojutsu

Sword-drawing line from Kumamoto, derived from the Sekiguchi family school in Wakayama. Nihon Kobudo Kyokai describes one-handed cuts and alternating steps.

Japan

Senegalese Wrestling

Senegal's national sport in three forms: traditional wrestling without punches (mbapatt), professional wrestling with punches and codified lutte africaine.

Senegal

Seven Star Praying Mantis

One of the main branches of Shandong mantis, which according to Wikipedia Luo Guangyu brought to Shanghai and Hong Kong.

China

Shaolin Quan

Martial arts connected with the Shaolin monastery in Henan. The monks’ training is documented from the 16th century, and the legend of Bodhidharma does not hold up historically.

China

Shibukawa-ryu Jujutsu

Jujutsu school of Shibukawa Bangoro Yoshikata (1652-1704), pupil of Sekiguchi-ryu's second head, dojo in Edo. Main house extinct, Hiroshima line alive in Osaka, Nihon Kobudo Kyokai member.

Japan

Shin Muso Hayashizaki-ryu

A sword-drawing school founded by Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu, according to Nipponica one of the sources of modern iai. Today it is practiced in Tokyo with Ono-ha Itto-ryu.

Japan

Shin no Shinto-ryu Jujutsu

Osaka jujutsu school of the mid-18th century, descended from the Yoshin-ryu line. With Yoshin-ryu, it is one of the two roots of Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu, according to the NKK.

Japan

Shinden Fudo-ryu Dakentaijutsu

Dakentaijutsu of Shinden Fudo-ryu, one of the nine traditions of the Bujinkan. According to Wikipedia it has no prescribed stance and techniques begin from a natural stance.

Japan

Shindo Jinen-ryu

Japanese karate of Konishi Yasuhiro, who also trained in jujutsu and kendo. According to Wikipedia the style arose in 1933 and is now led by Ryobukai.

Japan

Shindo Muso-ryu Jojutsu

Old Japanese school of fighting with the jo staff, founded by Muso Gonnosuke. Today's jodo of the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei draws on its kata.

Japan

Shindo Yoshin-ryu Jujutsu

A jujutsu school from which Otsuka Hironori, founder of Wado-ryu, received menkyo kaiden. According to koryu.com, transmission of its main line ended in 1989.

Japan

Shito-ryu

A Japanese karate style founded in Osaka by Kenwa Mabuni. The name joins the first characters of his teachers’ names, Itosu and Higaonna, and the style is known for its many kata.

Japan

Shojitsu Kenri Kataichi-ryu

Swordsmanship school built on drawing, the only surviving sword school of the Tsuyama domain. Trained with a wooden sword in its scabbard, one branch in armor.

Japan

Shoot Boxing

A Japanese standing combat sport founded by Caesar Takeshi in 1985 that adds throws, chokes and standing joint locks to strikes and kicks, and bans ground fighting.

Japan

Shooto

A Japanese mixed martial art (MMA) that Satoru Sayama founded as a separate sport. In Japan it is run by the Japan Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission.

Japan

Shorei-ryu

A classification term, not a school. The division of karate into powerful Shorei and light Shorin was used by Funakoshi, but sources disagree on what exactly it denotes.

Japan

Shorin-ryu

A family of Okinawan lineages descending from Shuri-te. The name points to Shaolin, but that is a claim to the tradition, not evidence of a direct line.

Japan

Shorin-ryu Kyudokan

Okinawan branch of Shorin-ryu founded by Higa Yuchoku in Naha. Typical features are makiwara training and the paired exercise kakie.

Japan

Shorin-ryu Seibukan

Okinawan Shorin-ryu school from 1962, founded by Shimabukuro Zenryo, a student of Kyan Chotoku. It added its own kata Wanchin.

Japan

Shorin-ryu Shidokan

Okinawan branch of Kobayashi Shorin-ryu led by Miyahira Katsuya. It has its own kata Tetsu Shou, and the first dojo was founded in 1948.

Japan

Shorin-ryu Shorinkan

Okinawan karate branch founded in 1975 by Nakazato Shugoro, a student of Chibana Choshin from the Kobayashi Shorin-ryu line.

Japan

Shorinji Kempo

Japanese art founded by Doshin So in 1947. It is the training of the religious organization Kongo-zen and competes only in demonstrations of embu sets.

Japan

Shorinji Ryu Renshinkan

A karate school of the Shorinji-ryu branch, which according to its website was founded by Isamu Tamotsu in Kagoshima in 1955. Its fighting is done in bogu protectors.

Japan

Shorinji-ryu Kenkokan

Japanese karate of Kori Hisataka from the postwar years: vertical fist, heel kick and sparring in protective gear, from which the koshiki karatedo competition system emerged.

Japan

Shotokan

A karate style from the teaching of Gichin Funakoshi in Tokyo, named after his dojo. It rests on deep stances, kihon and kata, and competition is scored by points for a controlled hit.

Japan

Shuai Jiao

The oldest documented Chinese wrestling style, rooted in the ceremonial contest jiaodi. A throw scores higher the more cleanly the thrower stays on his feet; there is no groundwork.

China

Shuri-te

A historical stream of Okinawan karate from the royal city of Shuri, linked with Matsumura Sokon and Itosu Anko. It gave rise to Kobayashi-ryu, Shorin-ryu and Japanese Shotokan.

Japan

Sibirsky Viun (Siberian System)

A Novosibirsk school of Russian close-combat founded in 1988 by Dmitry Skogorev. Close-range fighting, knife work and falls.

Russia

Sibpalgi (18 Martial Disciplines)

Eighteen foot-soldier martial disciplines of the Joseon dynasty army, described in 18th-century manuals. Modern Korean associations also promote them under this name today.

South Korea

Sikaran

A Filipino art of the legs from Rizal province. The hands only cover: in traditional competition a hand strike is grounds for disqualification.

Philippines

Silambam

Tamil stick-fighting art. The Tamil Nadu sports university syllabus covers footwork, stick swings and sparring against one to five opponents.

India

Silambam Nillaikalakki

A line of silambam brought to Malaysia by a master from Tamil Nadu. The Silambam Nillaikalakki association in Penang was founded in February 1975.

India

Silat Cekak

A Malay silat from Kedah whose public teaching began on 28 December 1965. Sources differ on whether Hanafi Ahmad was its founder or reviver.

Malaysia

Silat Cimande

One of the three main Sundanese styles of pencak silat from West Java. It relies on arm and hand work, a deep stance and a circular evasion.

Indonesia

Silat Gayung Fatani

Malay silat developed since 1976 by Anuar Abdul Wahab's association PSGFM. Four foundations, seven levels, from bunga to tempur.

Malaysia

Silat Melayu (Malay Silat)

Umbrella term for Malay silat, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2019. It covers over 150 styles, not a single school.

Malaysia

Silat Pattani

A silat from southern Thailand that, according to a Chulalongkorn University thesis, was originally a martial art. We have not found its founder or year of origin.

Thailand

Silat Pulut

The demonstrative form of Malay silat for weddings and festivals: free-flowing paired movement in light contact, with locks.

Malaysia

Silat Seni Gayong

A Malay silat linked to Meor Abdul Rahman. Originally Sendi Harimau, with the registered organisation PSSGM since 1963.

Malaysia

Silat Suffian Bela Diri

Bruneian silat that, according to Maul Mornie, serves survival, not tournaments. Information about it comes mainly from its representatives.

Brunei

Sin Moo Hapkido

According to Wikipedia, a hapkido branch of Ji Han-jae (1936 to 2026), who spread it in the USA from 1984. Wikipedia says it stresses meditation and ki more than traditional hapkido.

South Korea

Singlestick

English wooden-stick fighting with a basket guarding the hand. In the 19th century a training substitute for the sabre, at country fairs fought until blood ran from the head.

United Kingdom

Six Harmonies Praying Mantis (Liuhe Tanglangquan)

A branch of Shandong mantis that Wikipedia classes as soft mantis and traces to the line of Wei San, Lin Shichun and Ding Zicheng.

China

Soo Bahk Do (Moo Duk Kwan)

Hwang Kee's Korean art, taught through the Moo Duk Kwan. In 1960 it parted from the name Tang Soo Do and turned away from the path of competitive sport.

South Korea

Sosuishi-ryu Jujutsu

A jujutsu school tied to Fukuoka, passed down by the Shitama family. It consists of grappling kumiuchi and koshi no mawari, and was originally called Futagami-ryu.

Japan

Southern Kalaripayattu (Thekkan)

Southern style of kalaripayattu, since 1958 the name for the Tamil art varma ati. It begins at once with attacks and defence of vulnerable points, with no body preparation.

India

Spiridonov Self-Defence (SAM System)

Self-defence system of Viktor Spiridonov, who from 1923 led a section in the Dynamo society. It is one of the sources of sambo, and the abbreviation sambo is attributed to him.

Russia

Sport Fencing

An Olympic sport with three weapons, the foil, épée and sabre. It has been on the programme of all modern Games since 1896 and is governed by the FIE.

France

Sport Sanda (Wushu Sanshou)

A full-contact discipline of wushu, an official sport in China since 1989. Fought with strikes, kicks and throws on the raised leitai platform, throwing an opponent off it also scores.

China

Sports Chanbara (Spochan)

A Japanese sport with air-filled weapons that, according to Gifu Prefecture, arose in 1971. Its founder is Tetsundo Tanabe, a longtime kendo teacher.

Japan

Sqay (Kashmiri Sword and Shield)

Kashmiri martial art that Nazir Ahmad Mir reintroduced as a sport in 1987. Competitors use a padded tura stick and a leather bargula shield, with light contact.

India

Ssireum

Traditional Korean wrestling defined by the satba belt around the waist and thigh. Wrestlers grip the opponent's belt, so there is no search for a hold at the start.

South Korea

Stenka (Russian Wall Fight)

Stenka na stenku is a Russian folk mass fist fight in which two rows of men met on holidays and the side that pushed the other beyond the boundary won.

Russia

Subak

Korean unarmed martial art based on hand strikes, documented in the annals of Goryeo and Joseon as a contest and a military test. Its relation to taekwondo is disputed.

South Korea

Submission Grappling (No-Gi)

Competitive wrestling without a kimono that ends in a submission by a lock or a choke. Contested at ADCC (since 1998), in United World Wrestling (since 2007) and in IBJJF no-gi.

Suijutsu (Martial Swimming)

Japanese swimming as a martial art, old name for nihon eiho. Edo schools protected by han domains, swimming in armor and with a bow, now 13 schools under the Japanese swimming federation.

Japan

Suio-ryu Iai Kenpo

Old Japanese sword-drawing school from Shizuoka, founded by Mima Yoichizaemon Kagenobu. Besides iai it teaches swordsmanship, staff, naginata and Masaki-ryu kusarigama.

Japan

Sumo

A Japanese wrestling sport in a dohyo ring in which the loser steps out or touches the ground. A professional form has no weights, an amateur one has weight categories.

Japan

Sun Bin Quan (Sun Bin Boxing)

Shandong style, also called the long-sleeve fist, hands hidden in sleeves when striking. On China's national intangible heritage list since 2011, the Sun Bin name is a later attribution.

China

Sun Style Tai Chi

The youngest family branch of taijiquan, which Sun Lutang combined with xingyiquan and baguazhang in 1918. High stance and mobile step.

China

Systema

Collective name for Russian self-defense systems without fixed forms or belts, built on breath, relaxation, posture and movement. We have not been able to document the origin independently.

Russia

Systema ROSS

A Russian self-defence system by Alexander Retuinskih, registered in 1995. It builds on wrestling, sambo and jujutsu and is taught in eight directions.

Russia

Systema Ryabko

An original school of Russian Systema led by Mikhail Ryabko (1961–2023). It draws on his service in special forces units.

Russia

Taekkyon

A Korean martial art built on the fluid triangular step pumbalki, kicks and takedowns. Since 2011 it has been on the UNESCO intangible heritage list.

South Korea

Taekwondo

The Korean art of high, dynamic kicks, unified after the Second World War from nine schools. A full Olympic discipline since 2000.

South Korea

Tahtib (Egyptian Stick Fencing)

An Egyptian game with a long stick, played mainly by men in Upper Egypt to folk music. UNESCO inscribed it in 2016 as intangible heritage.

Egypt

Tai Chi

A Chinese family of internal martial art styles with slow forms and tuishou, documented from the 17th century in Henan. Zhang Sanfeng is a legend, UNESCO 2020.

China

Taido

Taido is a modern Japanese budo by Seiken Shukumine, derived from gensei-ryu karate and built on dynamic movements around the body's own axis.

Japan

Taiho-jutsu (Arresting Art)

The Japanese arresting techniques for the police, compiled in 1947. The aim is to detain a person alive and unhurt, not to win a fight.

Japan

Taira-ha Ryukyu Kobudo

A line of Okinawan kobudo created by Taira Shinken (1897–1970). According to Green, he collected and created kata and in 1955 founded the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai.

Japan

Taizuquan (Grand Ancestor Fist)

Fujian style named for the Song dynasty founder. Attribution to the emperor is tradition, the name is attested by Qi Jiguang in the 16th century, now part of wuzuquan and Fujian heritage.

China

Takagi-ryu Jujutsu

Old Japanese school of jujutsu and Kukishin-ryu staff, which Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists as a separate member beside Hontai Yoshin-ryu. Counts from Takagi Umanosuke, based in Amagasaki.

Japan

Takamura Shindo Yoshin-ryu

A Shindo Yoshin-ryu line through Ohbata Shigeta and Takamura Yukiyoshi. According to koryu.com, Toby Threadgill heads it.

Japan

Takenouchi-ryu Jujutsu

Japanese school from Mimasaka Province, the oldest documented jujutsu school, traditionally dated to 1532. Its core is short-blade fighting and binding, two family houses are in Okayama.

Japan

Tameshigiri

Testing a sword's sharpness by actually cutting an object or a body. In the Edo period it was the hereditary trade of the Yamada Asaemon family, who tested the shogun's swords.

Japan

Tang Soo Do

Korean striking and kicking art from the kwans Chung Do Kwan (1944) and Moo Duk Kwan (1945), derived from Shotokan, with forms, gups and a midnight blue belt.

South Korea

Tanglangquan (Praying Mantis)

A northern Chinese style from Shandong imitating the mantis's hunt. Its signature is the hooked hand that catches and pulls; the southern mantis is a separate lineage.

China

Tankendo (Way of the Short Sword)

Japanese budo with a 53 cm short shinai, rooted in army work with the short blade. Run by the same federation as jukendo, it is practised today only in part of the Self-Defense Forces.

Japan

Tarung Derajat

An Indonesian full-contact martial art from Bandung, assembled in 1972 from Achmad Dradjat's street experience.

Indonesia

Tatsumi-ryu Heiho

Old Japanese school from Chiba, centred on iai and swordsmanship and founded by Tatsumi Sankyo by tradition. Intangible cultural property of Chiba Prefecture.

Japan

Tegumi (Okinawan Wrestling)

Okinawan wrestling whose experience, according to Wikipedia, prepared early karate students. Today Okinawans compete in Okinawan sumo, called shima.

Japan

Tendo-ryu Naginatajutsu

Old Japanese school of naginata, swords, kusarigama and kodachi. The Heibonsha encyclopedia ranks it with Jikishinkage-ryu among the two main naginata schools still alive today.

Japan

Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu

Late Edo jujutsu school that Iso Mataemon Masatari formed from Yoshin-ryu and Shin no Shinto-ryu: true strikes to weak points, 124 techniques, and one of the schools judo grew out of.

Japan

Tennen Rishin-ryu

Sword school from the late 18th century where Kondo Isami and other Shinsengumi men studied. Training uses a thick wooden sword weighing up to two kilograms.

Japan

Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu

Old Japanese school from Katori, founded by Iizasa Choisai Ienao. It teaches swordsmanship, iai, staff, spear and naginata, and is an intangible cultural property of Chiba Prefecture.

Japan

Tenshin-ryu Hyoho

A Japanese group claiming descent from the Edo-period Tenshin-ryu and the Shinkage-ryu line. We have not found independent evidence of its age.

Japan

Tessenjutsu (Combat with the Iron Fan)

Japanese combat with the iron fan tessen, a protective weapon of the bushi in the Edo period. It is not a school but a skill, on which we found only a few reliable sources.

Japan

Tetsudo

British system that emerged in the nineteen-fifties. It has carried the name Tetsudo since 1994, and sources know its founder only by title.

United Kingdom

Teukgong Moosool

Combat system of the South Korean special forces from 1979, blending hapkido, taekwondo, judo and Chinese arts.

South Korea

Thang-Ta (Huyen Langlon)

Martial art of the Meitei of Manipur, India, with sword, spear and shield, plus unarmed sarit sarak, which not all sources include. Competition is the phunaba duel with a leather stick.

India

Thoda (Indian Martial Archery)

Folk archery game from Himachal Pradesh: one side dances and dodges, the other shoots wooden-headed arrows below the knee. Sides pasha and saatha trace their origin to the Mahabharata.

India

Tianjin Shuai Jiao

A Tianjin branch of Chinese wrestling from one of the four great wrestling cities, practised today by local wrestling clubs.

China

Tianshan Pai (Tien Shan Mountain Kung Fu)

A northern kung-fu style that Wang Chueh-Jen began teaching in Taiwan in the late nineteen forties. His students dispute the ancient origin he claimed.

China

Tinku (Andean Ritual Combat)

Ritual fight between Quechua ayllus in Bolivia's Norte Potosí. According to TIME, tinku means encounter in Quechua, and spilled blood is traditionally said to help the harvest.

Bolivia

Toda-ha Buko-ryu Naginatajutsu

Old Japanese naginata school derived from Toda-ryu. Women have led it since the 14th generation, and it now exists in two lines.

Japan

Togakure-ryu Ninjutsu

A ninjutsu school now carried by Bujinkan. Tradition traces it to Togakure Daisuke of the 12th century, and we have not found evidence of an old lineage in independent sources.

Japan

Tomari-te

Historical current of Okinawan karate from Tomari port, now part of Naha. Matsumora Kosaku is considered its reviver, claimed today by Matsubayashi-ryu, Shorin-ryu schools and Gohaku-kai.

Japan

Tomiki Aikido

The only line of aikido with competition. Kenji Tomiki was a student of both Ueshiba and Kano and brought judo's principle that technique needs a measurable test.

Japan

Tomoi (Malaysian Bare-Knuckle Boxing)

The Malay boxing of the northern states on the Thai border; fists, elbows, knees and shins, traditionally to drums and pipe.

Malaysia

Tongbeiquan (Through-the-Back Boxing)

A northern Chinese style of long, fast strikes imitating a monkey's arms. The Beijing tradition has three schools and has been on the national list since 2014.

China

Toyama-ryu Battojutsu

An army method of handling the military sword, compiled from 1925 by the Army Toyama School in Tokyo. According to the ZNTIR federation, it was named Toyama-ryu only after 1952.

Japan

Trinta (Moldavian Wrestling)

Moldovan national wrestling trânta. Opponents try to bring each other to the ground, and according to the daily Adevărul a bout lasts four minutes for juniors and six for adults.

Moldova

Uechi-ryu

Okinawan karate of Chinese origin, built on tiger, crane and dragon. Recognisable by the one-knuckle punch and by hard body conditioning.

Japan

Vale Tudo

Brazilian fights between representatives of different martial disciplines, with rules that varied by event and region. Sources regard them as a forerunner of MMA.

Brazil

Varma kalai

Tamil art of vital points, varmam. According to practitioners, it joins the fighting side, varma adi, with the healing that siddha medicine institutes now offer as varmam therapy.

India

Varzesh-e Pahlavani (Zurkhaneh)

Iranian ritual and physical training in the house of strength, the zurkhaneh, with wooden clubs, an iron bow and drum rhythm. UNESCO inscribed it in 2010.

Iran

Villabrille-Largusa Kali

Filipino kali system of Floro Villabrille, which according to the school's website was organized by his successor Ben Largusa. The school lists weapons, empty-hand fighting and kicks.

Philippines

Võ Bình Định (Martial Arts of Bình Định Province)

Traditional martial arts of Vietnam's Bình Định province, linked to the Tây Sơn uprising. National intangible heritage, villages An Thái, An Vinh and Thuận Truyền.

Vietnam

Vovinam

Vietnamese martial art taught in Hanoi from 1938 by Nguyễn Lộc. It became known for its attacking leg scissors and has been on the national intangible heritage list since 2023.

Vietnam

Wado-ryu

A Japanese karate style founded by Hironori Otsuka, holder of the highest licence of Shindo Yoshin-ryu jujutsu. It relies on moving the body out of the line of attack (taisabaki).

Japan

Weng Chun (Eternal Spring)

South Chinese art of eternal spring, separate from wing chun. The Hong Kong inventory of intangible heritage lists it as item no. 367.

China

Wing Chun

A southern Chinese close-range style built on the centreline and economy of movement. The documented lineage begins in the 19th century, made famous by Ip Man and Bruce Lee.

China

Witdae Taekkyeon

A taekkyon lineage derived from Song Deok-ki and named after the upper quarter of old Seoul. Scholarly studies distinguish it mainly by its step.

South Korea

Wrestling

A family of styles of takedowns, throws and control of the opponent on the ground without strikes. The Olympic Greco-Roman (since 1896) and freestyle (since 1904) are governed by the UWW.

WT Taekwondo

The Olympic branch of taekwondo under the federation World Taekwondo, founded in 1973. A three-round match is scored by the electronic PSS system.

South Korea

Wu (Hao) Style Tai Chi

A family branch of taijiquan of Wu Yuxiang and Hao Weizhen from Yongnian, with a small, compact frame. On China's national list since 2008.

China

Wu Style Tai Chi

Family branch of taijiquan from Wu Quanyou and Wu Jianquan, with an inclined yet inwardly upright posture. On China's national list since 2014.

China

Wudang Sword

A tradition of straight-sword jian fencing tied to Mount Wudang. It was made public by General Li Jinglin, pupil of Song Weiyi, whose manual appeared in Beijing in 1923.

China

Wudangquan

A collective name for the internal arts and the art of the Wudang mountain temples. The internal-external division dates from 1669, and Zhang Sanfeng is founder only by tradition.

China

Wushu Taolu

A competitive discipline of sport wushu in which a routine is judged under IWUF rules. Standardized routines arose in the PRC from 1958, the IWUF from 1990.

China

Wuzuquan (Five Ancestors Boxing)

Southern Chinese style from Quanzhou that combines five fists: Damo, Taizu, Luohan, the monkey fist and the white crane. On China's national heritage list since 2008.

China

Xilam (Mesoamerican Martial Art)

A modern Mexican martial art inspired by the warrior cultures of the Aztecs, Maya and Zapotecs. It was founded by Marisela Ugalde and is practiced in seven animal grades.

Mexico

Xingyiquan

A Chinese art of straight forward movement and explosive force with the five fists wuxing, twelve animals and traditional training beginning with the spear.

China

Yabusame (Mounted archery at three targets)

Japanese mounted archery: a rider at the gallop shoots at three wooden targets along a track. Today it is held mainly as a Shinto ceremony, for example at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura.

Japan

Yağlı Güreş (Turkish Oil Wrestling)

Turkish wrestling in leather trousers called kispet and in olive oil. It culminates at the Kırkpınar festival in Edirne, which UNESCO inscribed in 2010.

Türkiye

Yagyu Seigo-ryu Battojutsu

Sword-drawing school of the Seigo-ryu family, whose iai was absorbed into the Owari Yagyu family's Shinkage-ryu in the Edo period. Today led by the 14th Yagyu holder.

Japan

Yagyu Shingan-ryu Heihojutsu

Sendai branch of the old Japanese school Yagyu Shingan-ryu, which preserves armored combat. According to Nihon Kobudo Kyokai, it has been a cultural property of Miyagi since 1981.

Japan

Yagyu Shingan-ryu Taijutsu

Edo branch of the old Japanese school Yagyu Shingan-ryu, which Nihon Kobudo Kyokai lists among the taijutsu schools. It names Araki Mataemon as founder.

Japan

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu

Line of the Shinkage-ryu sword school taken over from Kamiizumi by Yagyu Munetoshi. Famed for muto-dori, its 22nd holder is based in Nagoya, says NKK.

Japan

Yamanni-ryu Bojutsu

Okinawan school of fighting with the long bo staff, also given as Yamane-ryu. According to researcher Andreas Quast, Chinen Masami named it after his grandfather.

Japan

Yang Style Tai Chi

A family style of taijiquan founded by Yang Luchan and settled by Yang Chengfu. The hand form of the large frame is flowing, without explosions of force, jumps or stamping.

China

Yau Kung Mun (Flexible Hard Power Kung Fu)

Southern Chinese kung fu style publicly introduced by Ha Hon Hung in Guangzhou in 1924. It builds on a low horse stance and has thirteen sets without weapons.

China

Yaw-Yan (Sayaw ng Kamatayan)

A Filipino striking system from 1972; downward-cutting kicks and hand strikes that copy the path of the bolo machete.

Philippines

Yin Style Baguazhang

A branch of baguazhang bearing the name of Yin Fu, one of five students of Dong Haichuan who, according to Green, founded today's baguazhang schools.

China

Ying Jow Pai (Eagle Claw)

Northern Chinese Eagle Claw style that adds grips and levers to long strikes. On China's national heritage list since 2008.

China

Yiquan (Dachengquan)

Wang Xiangzhai's style without fixed forms, built on zhanzhuang standing. It emerged from xingyiquan in the 1920s.

China

Yongmudo

A Korean hybrid art from 2001, assembled by professors of seven martial arts departments at Yong In University. The year 1953 belongs to the university.

South Korea

Yoseikan Aikido

A composite style by Minoru Mochizuki, a student of both Kano and Ueshiba, with a dojo in Shizuoka since 1931. It combines aikido, judo, karate and weapons.

Japan

Yoshinkan Aikido

A line of aikido founded in 1955 by Gozo Shioda. It practises techniques broken down in a counted rhythm and since 1957 has run the senshusei course for the Tokyo police.

Japan

Zi Ran Men (Natural Boxing)

Chinese style linked to Du Xinwu and his teacher known as Xu Aizi. Sources differ on which of them founded it.

China

Zui Quan (Drunken Boxing)

Chinese fighting methods imitating a drunkard, not one school. The Eight Drunken Immortals set is attested in a Ming to Qing text, and the film Drunken Master (1978) helped make it famous.

China