Combat sport


A Combat sport, also known as a Fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement (usually significantly different from the rules in simulated combats meant for practice or challenge in martial arts), typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat. Boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling,mixed martial arts, Muay Thai and fencing are examples of combat sports.
The techniques used can be categorized into three domains: striking, grappling, and weapon usage, with some hybrid rule-sets combining striking and grappling.

History

Sports related to combat skills have been a part of human culture for thousands of years. Some form of wrestling exists in almost every culture. The Ancient Olympic Games were largely composed of sports that tested skills related to combat, such as armored foot races, boxing, wrestling, pankration and chariot racing, amongst others. This tradition of combat sports was taken even further by the Romans with gladiators who would fight with weapons, sometimes to the death.
Combat sports are first recorded during the Olympic games of 648 B.C. with pankration. Pankration allowed competitors to use all striking and grappling techniques. The only rules for this sport in its origin were no biting and no eye gouging. A winner was decided by submission, unconsciousness, or even death of an opponent. It is a common occurrence for matches to last for hours. Pankration grew in popularity during the Hellenic Period. Matches were in small square arenas to promote engagement.
Through the Middle ages and Renaissance the tournament became popular, with jousting as a main event. While the tournament was popular amongst aristocrats, combative sports where practiced by all levels of society. Folk wrestling exists in many forms and in most cultures.
The creation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is attributed to the Gracie family of Brazil in 1925 after Asian martial arts were introduced to Brazil. Vale-tudo, wrestling, muay thai kickboxing and luta livre gained popularity.


Modern sports

Today athletes usually fight one-on-one, but may still use various skill sets such as strikes in boxing that only allows punching, taekwondo where kicks are the focus or muay thai and burmese boxing that also allow the use of elbows and knees. There are also grappling based sports that may concentrate on obtaining a superior position as in freestyle or Collegiate wrestling using throws such as in judo and Greco-Roman wrestling the use of submissions as in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Modern mixed martial arts competitions are similar to the historic Greek Olympic sport of pankration and allow a wide range of both striking and grappling techniques.
Combat sports may also be armed and the athletes compete using weapons, such as types of sword in western fencing (the foil, épée and saber) and kendo (shinai). Modern combat sports may also wear complex armour, like SCA Heavy Combat and kendo. In Modern Arnis sticks are used, sometimes representing knives, this concept has been expanded by the Dog Brothers.


List of combat sports


Striking

  • Pugilism (boxing)
    • historical Ancient Greek boxing
    • historical Russian fist fighting
    • historical English bare-knuckle boxing
    • modern amateur (Olympic) boxing
    • modern professional boxing
  • Kickboxing
    • Indochinese kickboxing
      • Muay Thai (Thai boxing)
      • Muay Lao (Lao Boxing)
    • Full contact karate
    • Taekwondo (under WTF and ITF rules)
    • Choi Kwang Do (Korean Boxing)


Grappling

  • Beach wrestling
  • Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
  • Catch wrestling (Western Submission Wrestling)
  • Freestyle wrestling
  • Folk wrestling (numerous regional styles)
  • Greco-Roman wrestling
  • Sambo
  • Judo
  • Luta Livre Esportiva (Brazilian Submission Wrestling)


Hybrid

  • Pankration (Ancient Greek Freestyle Fighting)
    • modern Amateur Pankration
  • Dambe: traditional form of boxing, including kicking and wrestling elements, practiced by the Hausa people.
  • Sambo (combat): Russian sport introduced in the 1920s.
  • Vale Tudo (No Rules Freestyle Fighting), derived from Brazilian circus shows of the 1920s.
  • Sanshou: Chinese combat sport, institutionalized as part of modern Wushu since the 1950s.
  • Shoot boxing: Japanese combat sport introduced in 1985.
  • modern Mixed Martial Arts (Freestyle Fighting), since the 1990s.


Weapons

  • Fechtschulen (fencing competitions) in 16th to 17th century Germany
  • traditional academic fencing (mainly in Germany)
  • modern fencing
  • Kendo (Japanese fencing)
  • Modern Arnis (Filipino Stick Fighting)
  • Wushu (various disciplines)

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