What is it with people only associating martial arts to Asia?

Europe also has a long and proud martial arts tradition, one that is well documented at that. However, whenever most people think of getting into martial arts, they seek to learn asian styles and blind themselves to a whole different chapter of the fighting arts.





Can anyone tell me why only a small fraction of martial artists worldwide follow the traditions set by the European masters such as Talhoffer, Ringeck, Vadi and Lichtenhauer (to name but a few)? And why so many would turn their backs on a martial tradition that is just as great?|||I think when you look at the definition of the term %26quot;martial arts%26quot; it tends to fit the styles of fighting and self-defense that came from Asia as opposed to Europe, Africa, and the Americas. I%26#039;m not saying that boxing and wrestling couldn%26#039;t be considered martial arts, but when you look at how they%26#039;ve been changed to fit the role of a sport or to be used for strictly military purposes you start to veer away from the whole concept of those styles being an %26quot;art.%26quot;





Most Asian styles have been able to maintain not just their physical aspects, but the mental and philosophical aspects as well. When you pull those two concepts away, is a style still really an art, or a sport (or in some cases, strictly a means of self defense or offense)?





Other than the overall stereotype that the media portrays as all martials arts coming from East Asia, I think the answer to the question...%26quot;What constitutes a martial art?%26quot;...may be what you should consider. If boxing and kickboxing are considered martial arts (although both tend to have more sport-like qualities in terms of the training) then would you also consider something like the javelin throw (track %26amp; field) or even the pommel horse (gymnastics) to be martial arts as well since they%26#039;re rooted from military training?





Perhaps someone should open up that question...%26quot;What constitutes a martial art?%26quot; It would be interesting to see the answers...|||seems ur pretty ignorant, martial arts were formed and mastered in asia.





asians are the best martial artists and can whoop peopls but.





dont try to fool ur self into think any one else could win in a fight.





asiams have been practicing for a long time.|||Unfortunately, it%26#039;s another stigma that still hangs around, and most people, especially those who are %26quot;uneducated%26quot; in the way %26quot;fighting arts%26quot; are described, most just assume that all fighting arts came from Asia.





But we have such great fighting disciplines such as Capoiera from Brazil, Savate from France, Sambo from Russia, Krav Maga from Israel, Arnis from the Phillipines, and so forth and so on.





Although at the same time, most of these fighting disciplines came from an Asian Martial Arts background and was developed into the discipline it is today (Sambo and Krav Maga are prime examples)





it%26#039;s just as people associate ALL Martial Arts as Karate which is Japanese, and doesn%26#039;t include the Korean, Chinese, Brazilian Martial Arts etc.





again it%26#039;s only a stigma, but unfortunately it%26#039;s prob%26#039;ly since the students who%26#039;ve learned from their instructors and became %26quot;Masters%26quot; themselves have split off and become instructors themselves, when these other disciplines haven%26#039;t moved as quickly to become as equally popular.





but I share your idea that more of these disciplines should be more available to people here in the states that would be interested in them.|||Most western systems (some eastern systems as well) are just about fighting, not training ther whole person. Asians have a different concept about the mind-body than westerners.


Are you talking about fighting arts or martial arts? Are you talking about weapons systems or empty hand systems?


It depends on what your goals are. Just fighting? Training the whole person? Learning to fight %26amp; at the same time learning about cultures %26amp; traditions? The answer to your question depends on your answers.|||because people don%26#039;t like realistic brutal style. They simply find many European martial arts too ugly. They choose to turn blind side to everything that isn%26#039;t beautiful, so they focus on Asia martial arts where they can live out their fantsany of being some chinese wearing a dress drinking tea and write Haiku all day.





I like european martial arts alot, I consider wrestling and boxing as a European martial arts. Many people still refuse to consider them as a martial arts for some reason. Many have even go as far as saying Muay Thai isn%26#039;t a martial art eventhough it%26#039;s Asia art.





I have read books by Talhoffer and I really like his idea. His style seem to be really effective and realistic, however it%26#039;s hard to learn from book :-( If there%26#039;s a gym that teach it I won%26#039;t mind checking it out though.|||Because people learn way too much from movies and not nearly enough from reading and experiencing.


Americans like to be forced fed information wrapped in an entertaining skin in 12 second bursts.|||ignorance mainly bro. people associate it with asia because thats how its portrayed in the media. and the media is the most influential element in society today|||European fencing hasn%26#039;t had the same popularity that the eastern martial arts have shared. It%26#039;s kind of a popularity contest and all the Hong Kong kung fu movies and their offspring have only added to the popularity of these martial arts. Weapons styles can often be difficult to master as well as being at least as physically demanding as an open hand style.





Also, the hand-to-hand styles don%26#039;t require the investment in swords, helmets, gloves, jacket %26amp; pants, and next thing you know you%26#039;re out $300+ and you haven%26#039;t paid for your lessons yet. I%26#039;m sure many schools will have some items you can borrow, but eventually you need your own.





I wonder if the enrollment in fencing spikes after movies like The Three Musketeers, when James Bond fences, or after the Olympics, like they do after one of Jet Li%26#039;s or Jackie Chan%26#039;s movies comes out.