Martial Arts training has been around for literally thousands of years. At the core of it is hand-to-hand combat and was taught to protect the monks and different families who had passed down their particular styles, up until the use of guns and other motorized weapons. Martial Arts though was much more than just the fighting arts. It was a way of life, how we treated our body's, mind, and sprit. It was also combined with religion, believing that the body could only do so much on it's own, but teaching the sprit a martial artist had no limitations.

For the most part Martial Arts has now become a great way to learn self-defense, get in shape and learn a new art form, depending on which style you learn. But in order to know the best style for yourself, we first have to look at the fundamentals of martial arts and go back in time a few years to see how it all evolved…

Martial Arts Background:
The teaching of martial arts in Asia has historically followed the cultural traditions of teacher-disciple apprenticeship. Students are trained in a strictly hierarchical system by a master instructor.

The traditional form of martial arts has been evolving in Asia for centuries. It has always been a very hierarchal form of training, where the student trains under a master for many years until he himself becomes one and then starts the process all over again. In Aisa and other eastern countries, martial arts was and in many cases still is a large part of life for people.

The influence and development of the "traditional martial arts" in the U.S. didn't start until after World War II. As Western influence grew in the East a greater number of military personnel spent time in China, Japan, Korea and elsewhere. Exposure to martial arts during the Korean war was also significant. Gradually some soldiers began to see the value of Eastern martial arts and began training in them.

With large numbers of American servicemen stationed in Japan after World War II, the adoption of techniques and the gradual transmission of entire systems of martial arts to the West started. Family systems also came to the U.S. though Hawaii before World War II like Kenpo.