INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF MARTIAL ARTS

Martial Arts are more than just a set of techniques applied to throwing kicks and punches: their greatest
potential does not lie in such a scheme, but in their contribution to the understanding of our health and
physical fitness.
The word “martial” derives from “Mars”, which was the God of War of the Romans (which is the same
“Ares” of the Greeks). In other words, everything related to war or combat has a “martial” connotation.
When most people hear the words “martial arts,” what comes to mind is a person in a kimono kicking and
punching in the air, a samurai in armor throwing swords with his katana, or a monk with oriental features
walking. barefoot and carrying a long stick with which he defends himself against all types of bandits.
While this is not a mistake, it is an incomplete concept.
When talking about the origin of Martial Arts , we can consider it as common to all types of fighting
developed in the world: Self-defense for survival .
Fixing its beginnings in time is difficult, due to the importance that oral tradition has within oriental culture
and the long history of its civilizations, full of wars and vicissitudes, so its historical accuracy confuses
most of the sometimes the real with the anecdotal.
The desire for survival, together with the highest degree of intelligence, makes man copy the way of
fighting of the rest of the animals, adapting them to his physique and perfecting them technically supported
by a more complete intellectual development. We have proof of this in the oldest signs that symbolize the
basic techniques of martial arts and that have an animal as an image: The paw of a leopard, the claw of the
tiger or the subtle movements and positions of the praying mantis.
The various genres of fighting arise in all corners of the world, they are perfected differently according to
the physical conditions and idiosyncrasies of each people, then transmitted from one to another, who
welcome and adapt them and then transmit them.
For its study, we must divide ancient martial arts into Eastern and Western ones.
Contrary to what most believe, Western martial arts are older than Eastern ones. (Regarding those practiced
organizedly and more or less institutionalized).
More than 1,500 years ago before our era, the Greek Olympic Games were already organized with their
boxing (the current boxing), wrestling and pankration, a mixture of the previous two. Moving on to the
East, martial arts were born in India not far from the beginning of our era.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLDEST COMBAT ARTS

Date
Mesopotamia 3500 BC Fight - Boxing
Egypt 2500 BC Stick Fight - Boxing
Crete 2000 Ac Archery - Fighting
India 1500 Ac Fight - Boxing

Traditionally, it is attributed to a Buddhist monk named Bohdhidharma (Tamo or Daruma Taishi) who was
born in southern India, and who lived in what we now know as Kerala and the Tamil country.
In Kerala, Vyayam or Kalari Prayat, also simply called Kalari, was developed.
Kalari is an Indian martial art and martial sport descended from ancient Vajramusti. Just as the Indian
Vajramusti, the Chinese Shaolin and the Japanese Shonriji Kempo are of clear Buddhist origin and are
related to each other. Kalari is the adaptation of the Buddhist combat techniques of Vajramusti and
Mallavidya to a Hindu system dedicated to the Kaula sect or followers of the goddess Kali, related to the
god Shiva.
Currently in India there are more than 700 gyms that teach Karali Prayat as a sport, abandoning all
religious traits, as in the case of Judo. Over time, Kalari transformed from a martial art into a martial sport,
regulating the competitions as slowly happened with Olympic, artistic or sporting Yoga. The practices of
Vajramusti and Kalari were always linked to the practices of Yoga with its exercises and psychophysical
techniques, among which flexibility training, balance, breathing, concentration, relaxation and meditation
stood out. The warrior dances resulting in ancient times from the practice of martial arts itself became
methods and techniques independent of these that slowly developed as dance schools with the Art itself as
its objective.
Precisely in Kerala, Kathakali was born, a dance that uses postures practiced in Rakshana. However,
Buddhist monks preserved dance and martial arts practices that they integrated with yoga, as part of
southern folklore. The long hours of meditation meant that several of them, including Bodhidharma
himself, were called followers of the School of Meditation (or School of Jhana in Pali and Dhyana in
Sanskrit). This school of Meditation that according to tradition was originated by Mahakasyapa, one of
Buddha's disciples. It was later influenced by the Buddhist school of yoga or yogaccaras known as the
Asanga School of Mind or Aryasanga. The yogic techniques that the Buddha himself had practiced were
mixed with Martial practices.
A Buddhist monk named Prajñatara was Bodhidharma's teacher and initiated him into martial arts
movements (Mallavidya or Rakshana) and the science of Yoga, mainly in the Art of Meditation.
Bodhiharma was sent to China as a preacher of Buddhism but mainly of the School of Meditation. Upon
his arrival in China he settled in a monastery called Shaolin in Loyan (Honan Province). There he received
the name Ta-Mo from the locals and dedicated himself deeply to the practice of Medication.

The doctrine of Buddhism was very difficult to learn and master, causing its disciples, who were not very
adept at them, to experience intense physical and mental weakening. Bodhidarma, to correct this situation,
taught them a series of breathing exercises called “Eki Kynkio” that introduced them to the doctrine of the
inseparability of body and soul. These exercises were composed of 18 movements, which over time
transformed into a defensive practice, since the monks were pilgrims and thugs abounded in the region.
This transformation gave rise to the Shaolin boxing arts, which was composed of five combat styles:

1. DRAGON
2. TIGER
3. SNAKE
4. CRANE
5. PRAYING MANTIS

As time passed, the Chinese method of self-defense morphed into a Shaolin pseudonym. The art of Shaolin
(Shaolin means “Pine Forest”) flourished in China for hundreds of years as the supreme art of combat.
With the subsequent destruction of the temples, the art of Shaolin spread and perpetuated through the
surviving monks, who developed, merged or transformed the learned arts into new styles or schools.
The next stage occurs in Okinawa, an island located south of Japan, a meeting place for Chinese and
Japanese influences. This intermediate position between two civilizations explains why in Okinawa there is
an original crossover where the contributions of both cultures merged.
The first to arrive were the Chinese, during the 15th century; At the same time as their civilizations, they
contributed “The Arts of the Fist”, which were considered with great interest by the inhabitants of the
island where the carrying of weapons was prohibited by the authority.
Ancient local combat techniques that had been practiced in their own style, following the rules of the Far
East, with a philosophical basis where respect for real combat was maintained. were at the same time
developed with a new vision. A new technique is progressively synthesized between the existing local ones
and the Chinese techniques, appearing Okinawa-te.
The second were the Japanese, in the 17th century, who appropriated the island due to its importance in
trade with China. Once again, the islanders had to put their technique to the test, since the invaders,
imitating the Chinese, prohibited the use of weapons. The Okinawa-te systematically developed terrible
deadly techniques.
Okinawa-te was later renamed “KARATE” which meant “Chinese Hands” in honor of the contributions of
the Chinese, and was secretly practiced in Okinawa for hundreds of years, until 1901, when it came to light
as part of the curriculum of Okinawa's first high school.
Gichin Funakoshi introduced Karate to Japan in 1916. The Japanese only knew Jiu-Jitsu, the unarmed
combat method from which Judo comes. Later, other Okinawan masters arrived in Japan, greatly
disseminating and diversifying the different karate techniques, calling them with different names. It is in
Japan where the term Karate comes to mean “Empty Hands” in the sense of empty of weapons and bad
intentions.
His lack of mastery of the Chinese language and his Indian origin meant, on the one hand, a limitation in
transmitting the teaching of the Buddhist sutras and the philosophy that he had learned during his youth,
but on the other hand, he enjoyed the respect of having arrived from the country of origin of the buddhism.
The interest in knowing his teachings was growing among the Chinese disciples and after several years of a
hermit life, Bodhidharma-Tamo agreed to teach the practice of Meditation (or Ch'anna in Chinese). Thus
he recommended everyone to do what the Buddha did, not read so many sutras and practice more
Meditation or Ch'anna. Several monks began to practice Ch'an or Meditation, but soon began to have
problems with their legs which led Bodhidharma-Tamo to teach the principles of what he called the 24 or
thousand hands of the Buddha, which were simple exercises extracted from the Mallavidya and Yoga
which generated Mallavidya Yoga, which soon became Rakshana Yoga or Yoga of defense which was
more of a dance in itself than a martial art.
Rakshana Yoga eventually became Tai Chi Chuan when it was mixed with Taoist practices. While
Bodhidharma's teachings on Vajramusthi from the Buddhist monks of Nepal and India became the system
known as Shaolin Chuan, which for several centuries was the origin of Wu Shu or Chinese Martial sport.
While the monks who followed his meditation practices soon established the School of Meditation or Ch'an
which later in Japan was known as Zen, (from the Japanese Zenna meaning meditation). Bodhidharma or
Tamo was then considered the Chinese patriarch of the Ch'an-Zen School, the Shaolin School of Martial
Arts and Tai Chi Chuan as the heir of Rakshana Yoga or Mallavidya-Yoga.
The evolution of these techniques has been truly uneven and discontinuous depending on the region of Asia
and the country where they have been developed, constantly adding and removing techniques and forms in
direct relation to opinion and experience but to the capacity of each Teacher and School. Legends and
almost mystical stories about the development of martial arts and yoga have survived to this day, but little
is known about the true techniques that were used in the teaching of the more than a thousand styles of
Vajramusthi, Shaolin, Mallavidya, Yoga, Chi Kung or Pre-Tai Chi. Only in recent centuries has it been
properly investigated and it is from the 20th century onwards that these techniques are really studied and
scientifically improved, separating the Martial Art from the Martial Sport.
As for the oldest martial arts of each country, it is worth mentioning Wu-shu in China as the predecessor of
the countless later Kung Fu styles and Ju Jutsu as the oldest in Japan in terms of unarmed combat (although
some styles they admitted the use of knives) and archery, the oldest of the weapons arts.
Ju Jutsu , the literal translation is “soft or flexible art” , seems to have its proven origin around the 12th
century AD (some sources explain that a thousand years before that date there are isolated antecedents of
single combats where some specific techniques were used . During the feudal era, it was one of the arts that
the samurai studied.
It should be noted that there were numerous Ju Jutsu schools with different sets of techniques.
When the feudal era comes to an end, Ju Jutsu undergoes a period of study by the masters. That is, it was
no longer used for the daily combat of warriors, but rather it was used to acquire mastery. Of the numerous
schools of Ju Jutsu, Jigoro Kano created Judo at the end of the last century.
Similarly, Gichin Funakoshi selects the choicest strikes and defines his Karate at the beginning of this
century.
At the same time, between the fifties and sixties, Moriei Ueshiba , also based on Ju Jutsu techniques,
created his Aikido .
Returning to Ju Jutsu, after the creation of Judo, it practically disappeared from Japan, replaced by the
latter, to reappear in Europe. (It is important to highlight that those who introduced Judo in Europe did so
with a clear tendency to show it as a combat art, almost like Ju Jutsu, and not as an educational system).
That is, Ju Jutsu is replaced in Japan by Judo and reappears in Europe and, somewhat later, mainly in
Brazil.
In Europe it is modernized based on practice with chains of techniques, and in Brazil as a combat art to
defeat any opponent using almost fundamentally ground fighting (the fights of the Grace family are
legendary).
It should be noted that modern Ju Jutsu has little to do in its philosophy and practice with the current
European or Brazilian Ju Jutsu.
While these can be considered sports or the practice of chained exercises and both aimed at self-defense,
that was a matter of life or death and very rarely did a definition on the ground or a chain occur. It was all a
matter of performing an effective technique and knocking out the enemy or falling victim to a counter-
technique and, perhaps, dying.
In our country, Ju Jutsu comes from Europe brought by Judo teachers.
After a period of study and formation of different groups, we arrive at the current moment that, despite the
serious crisis that affects us all, should not become an excuse to stop doing things.

History and Introduction to Sports Yoga

Sports Yoga or Yoga Sport: as we had previously pointed out, its purpose is Sports Competition.
SPORT is any regulated game in which there is competition, through an antagonism that is exercised by
two or more people individually or in teams. Sports consequently are Football, Bridge, Chess, Motor
Racing, Athletics, Artistic Yoga or Artistic Gymnastics. Sports Yoga has two different applications and
definitions depending on its goals: 1) Sports Yoga or Yoga Sport is called the regulated games that
establish international competitions of Competitive Artistic Yoga and Olympic Sports Yoga or other minor
forms of competition in Yoga specialties. Modern. 2) Sports Yoga applied to Training is called the set of
modern Scientific Yoga techniques that are used to train athletes or competitors of different sports in order
to improve or maximize their sports performance, in different competitions, whether they are Football,
Handball, Chess, or Motorsports.
Artistic Yoga: its purpose is art. Which, as we mentioned previously, is interpreted by its practitioners who
perform a true body poem. Artistic Yoga can consequently be exhibition (without competition) or sports
(with competition). In this course we will refer to the study of competitive or sporting Artistic Yoga.
Which is an internationally regulated game which is an integral and main part of the Yoga Sport
competitions.
The ancient Chinese, influenced by Taoism, perceived human beings as a microcosm of the universe
around them, infused by the same primitive forces that motivated the macrocosm. They imagined
themselves as part of an undivided whole, called Tao. This thought precedes the dissection of the mind
from the body and man that Western culture carried out in the 17th century. Western philosophy was more
similar to Eastern philosophy until the Renaissance of the 17th century.
It was then that scientific philosophy began to consider people as independent of the living systems around
them and assumed that we could dominate and explore nature without being affected by it...
Today many of us seek to recover the sense of connection that existed universally in ancient cultures, when
human destiny was intertwined with nature. The global vision in these cultures maintained that all things
were inseparably linked. The world was seen as a symbiotic unit. It is curious that "Western science" itself
is increasingly aware of this fact... The growing popularity of expressions of Chinese culture such as Tai
Chi or medicine teach us to perceive the way the world works and reproduce harmony within the context of
the whole.
Chinese medicine is based on the fact that the forces that govern the cycles of changes that occur in the
external world are reproduced within human bodies and minds. The five phases identify stages of
transformation, patterns of expansion and contraction, flourishing and decay. Being in harmony with the
universe is very important from the Taoist point of view. The fundamental processes of the universe are a
very important tool when it comes to understanding the world. The theory of the five phases is a way of
classifying existence with respect to these processes.
Thanks to observation and experimentation, numerous correspondences were discovered. Things as
seemingly different as the four directions, flavors, organs, emotions, animals or growth phases have things
in common associated with the theory of the five phases. The Taoists took the names of each phase from
natural elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal.
Let's see the different relationships in a simplified way in two tables. The first belongs to the macrocosm,
natural cycles, and the second to the human microcosm.

MACROCOSMS

WOOD FIRE EARTH METAL WATER

Power Expansion Realization Transition Contraction Consolidation
Climate Wind Heat Humidity Dryness Cold
Season Spring Summer End of Summer Autumn Winter
Direction East South Center West North
Time of Day Sunrise Noon Afternoon Dusk Midnight
Stage Birth Growth Maturity Decline Death Germination
Color Green Red Yellow White Black Violet
Rancid Pungent Smell Fragrant Rotten Fish
Flavor Sour Bitter Sweet Spicy Salty
Sound Burst Roar Hum Crackle Suction

HUMAN MICROCOSM

WOOD FIRE EARTH METAL WATER

Faculty Active Consciousness Transcendent Consciousness Passive Consciousness Subliminal
Consciousness Primal Consciousness
Mobile Serve oneself Dissolve oneself Position oneself Define oneself Preserve oneself
Quality Emotive Sensitive Reflective Deductive Instinctive
Activity Carry Out Intuit Absorb Analyze Examine
Expression Anger Joy Worry Sadness Fear
State Stimulus Excitement Confidence Inhibition Withdrawal
Voice Scream Nervous Laughter Tremulous Voice Sob Moan
Organ Liver System Heart System Spleen System Lung System Kidney System
Tissue Eyes, nails, ligaments, nerves Outer ear, tongue, arteries Mouth, lips, gums, muscles, collagen, fat
Skin, pores, hair, lymphatic vessels, veins inner ear, hair, pubic hair, bones, teeth, bone marrow, brain,
spinal cord, anus, urethra, cervix, ovaries, testicles,
Substance Nourished blood Oxygenated blood Chyme and chyle Lymph cerebrospinal fluid
Essence Tears Sweat Saliva Mucus Sexual secretions.

The Relationship Pattern of the Five Phases

The Five Phases interact according to patterns of generation and control. Balance is maintained thanks to
these opposing patterns of increase (sheng cycle) and limitation (ke cycle). In the sheng cycle one Phase
begets the next, and in the ke cycle each Phase establishes limits, guaranteeing that no Phase exceeds its
borders.
Tai Chi Chuan is an ancient Chinese martial art of Taoist origin also practiced to maintain and improve
health and for spiritual growth. There are many different styles of Tai Chi Chuan but they all have common
characteristics. The slow and calm movements of The Shape teach the practitioner to relax the body and
mind, a very important element for both health and the martial aspect.
Tai Chi is directly related to the principle of Yin and Yang according to which two opposing forces coexist,
achieving harmony in the universe. Yin and Yang regulate the cycle of changes between the five elements:
wood, earth, fire, metal and water. According to the dictates and principles that govern traditional Chinese
medicine, diseases are caused by a disturbance or lack of chi (qi). The continued practice of Tai Chi
improves elasticity, peace of mind and heart, coordination and balance, blood circulation, strengthens the
internal organs, tones the muscles, calms the nervous system...
There are many legends that explain the birth of Tai Chi Chuan. The most famous tells how Tai Chi was
born at the end of the 14th century, beginning of the 15th century thanks to Zhang San-Feng, a wandering
Taoist monk who had studied martial arts for many years.
He observed the fight between a crane and a snake in which the snake won. The snake's movements were
relaxed, fluid and its evasive movements were very effective quick counterattacks. Inspired, Zhang San-
Feng created the art we know today as Tai Chi Chuan.
When observing the Tai Chi form, many think how an exercise like this can be a martial art. Tai Chi Chuan
is in nature a martial art but more and more of us are discovering great health benefits in its practice. The
principles of Tai Chi Chuan, which can be translated as Supreme Great Fist, are flexibility and knowing
how to redirect energy, for example, an attack.
The movements in Tai Chi Chuan are circular and flexible. The practitioner's mind must be serene, not
worrying about winning or losing, flowing with the Tao, with the universe.
In Tai Chi it is said "Use one gram of energy to move a thousand kilos." By giving in and being flexible we
can get closer to the opponent and by redirecting their energy we can make them lose their center and
balance. It is like a wheel that rotates on its axis expelling the objects that are in its circular energy. A great
Tai Chi Chuan master can display great power while seemingly still.
Sun Tzu in "The Art of War" said: "Fighting and conquering in all battles is not supreme excellence,
supreme excellence consists in breaking the resistance of the enemy without fighting."

There is a legend that tells how a Buddhist monk named Bodhidarma (Tamo or Daruma Taishi) traveled to
China from southern India around the year 500 AD, to reestablish Buddhism, settling in the Shaolin temple
in Loyang (Honan Province). .
The authors of this very useful book return to the original sources to explore the history, philosophy and
spirituality of the Martial Arts. Thus, starting from the oldest traditions, they distill practical information
and simple breathing exercises, body alignment, strength and flexibility, presenting them in an accessible
way for any reader. The authors' knowledge enables them so that this text can be incorporated into physical
education programs.

History of Competitive Yoga

Yoga competitions based on postures and other techniques according to existing stories and documents
began to be held in India more than 2,000 years ago in the Kumba Mela where each school carries its
banners and represented its place and teacher. The competitions were not only physical but, as in Greece,
they were political-philosophical. The different positions that we know today as Yoga postures, as well as
the demonstrations and skills of their execution, are not exclusive to India but on the contrary originated in
Europe and the Mediterranean who, according to the different authors, as well as the Historical accounts of
India introduced them to that subcontinent when they invaded it, under the name of Aryan tribes. The
European origin of Yoga is today unquestionable and the oldest documents of these postures are found in
Sicily, Italy in the Adaura grotto. In Greece they were called floor acrobatics and later those who practiced
them were called gymnasts. Just as modernly in the West or Mongolia they are called contortionists. These
practices were carried out both in Egypt and in Persia, Mongolia or China. In each culture, the physical
practices of yoga or acrobatic floor gymnastics were associated with local religions, Hinduism, Buddhism,
Hellenism, Taoism, Madeism, etc. until as disciplines, both Yoga, Gymnastics, Acrobatics and Martial Arts
were separated from religion to be autonomous. Slowly these also became sports. Just like Yoga, Yoga
Therapy and Recreational Yoga were born. or Gymnastics, Therapeutic and Recreational Gymnastics
evolved, in the same way socially the internationalization of these disciplines led the world community to
regulate Sports Gymnastics and Sports Yoga, something that also happened with the Martial Arts that gave
rise to arts therapeutic martial arts such as Tai Chi or were transformed into Martial Sports (Karate,
Taekwondo, Judo, etc.) which also happened with Acrobatics that gave rise to Acro Sport. In India, the
Yoga Federation of India officially began national competitions 35 years ago in the 1960s, but it was only
in 1989 when the world Yoga championships began, when the International Yoga Sport Federation was
created. The 1st World Sports Yoga Championship was played in January 1989 in Pondicherry-India and
was won by the national team of that country. The 2nd World Sports Yoga Championship was organized
the same year but in Montevideo-Uruguay since the American teams had not been able to travel to India.
Argentina won the World Cup of Artistic Sports Yoga and India the World Cup of Olympic Sports Yoga,
while Uruguay won the World Cup in artistic yoga in pairs and second place by selection, followed by
Spain, which came third. The 3rd World Championship was won by India in 1992, with France (Reunion
Island) being second and Argentina third. While in the 4th World Sports Yoga Championship played at
CENARD-Buenos Aires-Argentina, the regulations were changed by the International Federation, there
being a world championship of Artistic Yoga and another of Olympic Sports Yoga. Argentina won the
world championship in artistic yoga for men and women, followed by the United States of America and
Uruguay, with Brazil third. In Olympic Sports Yoga, Argentina won the World Cup in the women's
category, followed by Uruguay. While the United States won the World Cup in the men's category,
followed by Argentina in second place and Brazil in third. In 1996 the city of Porto Alegre in Brazil hosted
the 5th World Cup of Sports Yoga. Argentina won the 3rd World Cup of Artistic Yoga and the 5th
Olympic Yoga, consolidating itself as a world power along with India. He also won the Children's Artistic
Yoga World Cup. Brazil, USA and Italy followed. The 6th Sports Yoga World Cup was played in Genova,
Italy, organized by the Federazione Italiana de Yoga Sport. The Argentine team winning again. Argentina
won the 4th Artistic Yoga World Cup and the 6th Olympic Sports Yoga World Cup. Being followed by
Brazil and India respectively. Basil won the individual cup for Artistic Sports Yoga and the Indian
Olympic Sports Yoga specialty in which he traditionally triumphs.
International development of Sports Yoga modalities today, although logically this situation changes from
year to year:
In Olympic Sports Yoga: India, Nepal, La Réunion (France), Italy, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and the
United States have good teams.
In Artistic Sports Yoga: Argentina is the world power followed by Brazil, the United States, Uruguay,
Brazil, Italy and India
When were the world Sports Yoga competitions held internationally?
Only in 1989, the International Yoga Sport Federation was founded, after 30 years of national or local
competitions with different regulations, a single regulation could become a reality. For this, the World
Yoga Parliament of India proposed to the main figures and leaders of Sports Yoga that they meet in
Montevideo, Uruguay and then in Pondicherry, India. The vice president of that institution, Master
Vishwanath, traveled for the Yoga Federation of India and representing Asia, and the president of the
Italian Federation of Yoga Schools, Master Pietro Bonvini, traveled to Europe. HD The Italian Pietro
Ernesto Bonvini is considered the true father of international Sports Yoga, and he was the one who,
together with Viswanath, regulated Olympic Sports Yoga. Later the continental representatives met in
India, and then in Argentina to reorganize or adjust the internal rules and regulations. From 1989 to 1994,
the presidency of the International Yoga Sport Federation was held by India in the figure of Viswanath,
with the representative of Europe, Pietro Bonvini, being vice president. In 1997 the secretariat was
assumed by Brazil. You can see in the Indians Gosh, Manzundar and Gitananda the pioneers and main
disseminators of this sporting discipline in India and in the world.

FREE DISTRIBUTION MAGAZINE OF ARGENTINA 4206-6221 / 154173-2419

STRETCHING A LITTLE MORE OF LIFE

Most new Martial Arts students who sign up for a class aim to develop certain skills that will protect them
against potential attackers. However, most students who have continued their learning for a longer period
of time are motivated by the improved physical fitness they have gained in addition to the self-defense
techniques they learn.
In today's world no one is immune to attack. It is wise to be prepared. People don't plan to get into a car
accident, but they still prepare for the possibility by fastening their seat belts. In the same way, martial arts
teach potential victims to protect themselves, but this does not imply that they seek out a dangerous
situation. Protection is just one of the benefits received from martial arts training along with discipline,
exercise and spiritual discipline, which is why I am not surprised at the success and popularity that martial
arts are having both in the United States and in other nations. of the world.
Nowadays these interests are beginning to extend to older generations. Self-defense methods are
particularly useful for older citizens who, due to their age, have to look for easy targets because they are
incapable of fighting in the same way that a young person would. Now, perhaps more than any other period
in history, is a good time for older people to learn how to protect themselves while improving their health
in the process.
As one ages, the physical qualities of our body deteriorate unless they have been conditioned through daily
exercise. The techniques of striking, blocking, kicking, etc., lubricate our joints, muscles, tendons and
ligaments while simultaneously developing a certain skill for protection. Daily exercises are equally
beneficial to develop a better state of the cardiovascular system and the respiratory system. During my
period of instruction I have taught thousands of students, many of them over 60 years old, who have
obtained significant benefits from Taekwondo, which is a style of Korean martial art. Some of these
students include some of the US senators such as Howard Cannon and Quinton Burdick, Congressman Bill
Chappel and national columnist Jack Anderson.
Personally, I believe that there are three basic laws to maintain good health: correct daily exercise, correct
diet and correct rest. It seems like everyone has time to eat and rest, but not to exercise. All people need is
10 to 15 minutes of concentrated exercise per day. Some people sleep up to 14 hours and wake up
completely exhausted. Others only sleep 5 hours and wake up fresh. It is not the quantity but the quality of
rest that is important. As the famous precept comments, what counts is not how many hours you invest, but
how much you invest in an hour.
With this in mind I have designed a stretching exercise routine for about 12 minutes called the "daily
dozen." Although it was originally designed as a warm-up method for martial arts training, it can also serve
as a perfect stretching program for those who are not directly involved in martial arts or similar activities.
Flexibility is crucial in martial arts training. When our bodies are too rigid we are much more susceptible to
injuries to muscles, tendons and ligaments.
My grandfather used to practice stretching exercises religiously, and lived a very healthy life until he
passed away at the age of 92. In his time nutrition and medical services were very poor compared to what
we have today.
In India there are many documented cases of people who have lived more than 100 years. I personally
believe that the extension of their lives is directly related to the stretching exercises they receive from yoga
training, which is one of the most popular exercises in India. My stretching routine called "the daily dozen"
will aim to obtain the same benefits as yoga when done correctly and daily.
While stretching keeps us loose and relaxed, it does very little for the cardiovascular system, which is just
as important. Therefore I suggest that elderly people create their exercise program short that follows the
stretching exercises. I have realized that exercising in a park is excellent therapy for both the mind and the
body. In China and other Far Eastern countries, it is common to see a lot of people of many ages practicing
"Tai Chi" in public parks; a form of martial arts exercise. In every country in the world there are many
parks waiting to be used for health improvement purposes regardless of the specific person's program;
maybe it's tennis, jogging, basketball or just a form of static exercise. Learning a martial art can give older
people a program to work in the park, that is, improve their health. Of course, this program doesn't have to
be done in a park, but the fresh air and outdoor environment will create an excellent atmosphere for
exercise. I believe that martial arts training provides us with certain qualities necessary to live much
healthier and happier lives. One of the greatest Chinese philosophers, Lao Tzu once said: "Man is born
gentle and weak and in death he is hard and rigid. Green plants are soft and full of sap: at death, they are
dry. Therefore what is hard and inflexible is a disciple of death, while what is flexible and gentle is a
disciple of life."
Trying to find out the region where the first martial art emerged is as absurd as trying to find out which
region is credited with the discovery of fire. Although man is violent by nature, he prefers peace to war,
which is why since ancient times he has devised empty-handed fighting systems to defend himself when
the "authority" that assumes the obligation to care for him is absent. or it does not exist at the precise
moment of an attack.
The oldest evidence of unarmed combat systems comes from Egyptian inscriptions and hieroglyphics,
which date back to 4000 BC. Later we find innumerable inscriptions and testimonies, the best known of
which in the West is that of Pankration or Pankration practiced in ancient Greece, of which its pugilists are
even alluded to by Saint Paul in the New Testament, although briefly.
The so-called "oriental martial arts" have a common trunk that undoubtedly emerged in China, although the
hypothesis of India is not ruled out, in which a prince, based on the observation of the movements of
animals, devised 5000 years ago BC a system that was later called Vajramushti, a word that means "one
whose closed fist is hard." These types of Hindu systems are those that Bodhidharma may have taught to
the Shao-lin monks, combining with the primitive chuan-fa, subsequently producing his export to Japanese
and Korean towns.
The innate spirit of improvement and improvement that human beings possess led them to devise and
implement unarmed combat systems, which evolved and merged until achieving the wide range of martial
arts that we can see today. Arts that, apart from attempting to mentally and/or spiritually harmonize the
practitioner, continue to fulfill their ancestral purpose of being a means of repelling, with the natural
weapons that the human body possesses, any aggression that is presented to the man and woman of our
times, since although human beings live in most of the world in democracy and have police forces that
"ensure" and reimplant order, the feeling of abandonment, insecurity, physical and verbal aggression, are
far from being extirpated from our societies, especially in big cities.
Under this panorama, added to the growing interest of the Western public in everything that has Eastern
origin, martial arts awaken such a fascination in the public that it leads to its assiduous practice. In this
section you will find a brief definition, characteristics and history of the main Japanese, Chinese and
Korean martial arts.