Martial Arts People
Founders, masters, officials and famous fighters
Achille Marozzo
Master
Italian Renaissance fencing master and key figure of the Bolognese school.
ItalyAdriano Emperado
Sijo
Primary co-founder of the hybrid martial art Kajukenbo from Hawaii.
United StatesAfro-Brazilian Slaves (Capoeira)
Freedom Fighters
African slaves brought to Brazil who secretly formulated Capoeira disguised as ritual dance.
BrazilAfro-Brazilians
Ethnic Group
Descendants of African slaves in Brazil who created Capoeira combining combat, dance, and music.
Afro-Caribbean Slaves
Afro-Caribbean Population
Afro-Caribbean slaves in Martinique and Guadeloupe who created the martial dance-wrestling Ladja (Danmyé).
Afro-Cuban Slaves
Afro-Cuban Population
Afro-Cuban slaves on sugar plantations who created the stick and hand fighting game Juego de Maní.
CubaAgastya Muni
Maha Rishi
Vedic sage and traditional founder of Southern Kalaripayattu and Varma Kalai.
IndiaAlbrecht Dürer
Master
Famous German painter who created one of the most detailed illustrated manuals of fencing and wrestling.
GermanyAleksey Kadochnikov
Grandfather Kadochnikov
Russian engineer and founder of Kadochnikov Systema based on physics and biomechanics.
RussiaAlexander Retuinskih
Grandmaster
Founder of Systema ROSS (Russian Native System of Self-Defense) and close-combat expert.
Ancient Egyptian Warriors (Tahtib)
Nile Valley Warriors
Ancient Egyptian warriors who created the world's earliest recorded stick fighting art Tahtib and Beni Hasan wrestling.
EgyptAncient Greeks
Ancient Nation
Ancient Greek athletes and warriors who codified Palé wrestling, Pygmachia boxing, and Pankration for the Ancient Olympic Games.
GreeceAncient Indians (Malla-yuddha)
Vedic Wrestlers & Warriors
Ancient Indian Kshatriya warriors who created the ancient full-contact combat art Malla-yuddha.
Ancient Vedic Sages
Vedic Rishis / Masters
Ancient Indian Vedic Rishis who composed Dhanurveda, India's earliest martial and archery scripture.
Andre Paurnfeindt
Freifechter
Renaissance fencing master and author of the first printed German fencing manual (1516).
Andreas Liegnitzer
Master
Medieval Silesian fencing master associated with the 15th-century Society of Liechtenauer.
Angel Cabales
Grandmaster
Filipino master who opened the first commercial Escrima school in the US (Stockton, California).
Anglo-Saxons and Vikings
Historical Peoples
Early medieval peoples whose wrestling traditions birthed Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling.
Angolan Tribal Peoples
Angolan Tribes
Indigenous tribal peoples of southwestern Angola who preserved the Engolo combat dance.
AngolaAnko Itosu (Itosu Ankou)
Grandmaster / Grandfather of Modern Karate
Okinawan Shuri-te grandmaster, teacher of Gichin Funakoshi, and creator of the 5 Pinan (Heian) kata.
Japan