Various Combat Sports Part 2
Here is a list of all the various combat sports I can find, with a brief introduction and a Youtube video:
Drunken boxing – is a general name for all styles of Chinese martial arts that imitate the movements of a drunk person.
Etu – is a traditional form of ceremonial boxing practised on the Indonesian island of Flores. This boxing ceremony differs a lot from conventional boxing. The fighters use boxing gloves made of bamboo craftings called kepo, and they are only allowed to hit with one of their hands wrapped with a kepo while the other unwrapped hand is used to deflect enemies’ blows.
Fencing – is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre; winning points are made through the weapon’s contact with an opponent.
Full-contact karate – is any format of karate where competitors spar (also called Kumite) full-contact and allow a knockout as a winning criterion.
Freestyle wrestling – is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. In both styles, the ultimate goal is to throw and pin the opponent to the mat, which results in an immediate win.
FILA Grappling – A form of submission wrestling influenced by freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, Brazilian jiu jitsu, judo, and sambo, it applied submission holds and choking techniques in order to make the opponent abandon the fight.
Greco – Roman wrestling – This style of wrestling forbids holds below the waist; this is the major difference from freestyle wrestling.
Galhofa – The object of this game is to immobilize the opponent by keeping his back and shoulders flat on the ground. Any more violent movements, such as tugs, punches or kicks, are not allowed.
Gambian wrestling – seems to have evolved as a modified version of real combat techniques. Traditional warriors defeated their opponents by throwing them to the ground with great force, preferably on their heads. Over time this kind of warfare developed into the non-violent form of sport it is today.
Glima – is the name that covers several types of Nordic folk wrestling practised as sport and combat. In one common form of glima, players grip their opponents by the waist and attempt to throw them to the ground using technique rather than force. Other variants allow for more aggression.
Gouren – is a style of folk wrestling which has been established in Brittany for several centuries.
Galhofa – This is the wrestling of Portugal, with the aim to plant the opponent’s shoulders flat on the floor.
Gatka – It is a style of stick-fighting, with wooden sticks intended to simulate swords. The Punjabi name gatka properly refers to the wooden stick used.
Hapkido – is a Korean martial art focused on punches, kicks, throws and joint locks. Hapkido classes often have some weapons training (i.e. with staffs, canes and swords)
Hau Kuen – is a Chinese martial art which utilizes ape or monkey-like movements as part of its technique.
Iaido – is associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard (or saya), striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard.
Ibuan – The objective is to lift one’s opponent off his feet while strictly adhering to the rules. The matches are held in three rounds each of 30–60 seconds of duration, the match generally continues till a wrestler either breaks a rule or is lifted off his feet.
Irish Wrestling – is similar to WWE wrestling as we know it from the USA
Judo – is a tremendous and dynamic combat sport that demands both physical prowess and great mental discipline. From a standing position, it involves techniques that allow you to lift and throw your opponents onto their backs. On the ground, it includes techniques that allow you to pin your opponents down to the ground, control them, and apply various chokeholds or joint locks until submission.
Jujutsu –is a family of Japanese martial arts and a method of close combat for defeating an opponent in which one uses either a short weapon or bare hands
Kalaripayattu – also known simply as Kalari, is an Indian martial art and fighting style that originated in modern-day Kerala. Kalaripayattu is held in high regard by martial artists due to its long-standing history within Indian martial arts. It is believed to be the oldest surviving martial art in India.
Kali – is an ancient term used to signify the martial arts in the region of the Philippines. Filipino Kali is the art of stick fighting using hard bamboo sticks to strike and defend. Filipino Kali teaches weapons fighting before bare hand-to-hand combat.
Karate – is now predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open-hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear hands and palm-heel strikes. Historically, and in some modern styles, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints and vital-point strikes are also taught.
This sport I dedicate to my late father, Sensei Bob Zager, 5th Dan in JKA
Kazakh kuresh – is a type of traditional wrestling from Kazakhstan, and is one of the oldest Kazakh traditional sports. Wrestlers dress in special jackets with fabric belts. The goal is to throw the opponent on the ground. Wrestlers stand during the bout and can grab their opponent anywhere above the belt.
Kempo – is considered to be one of the most innovative systems of martial arts practised today. It is known as an “eclectic” style and selects the best of various methods or styles. Kempo is by nature, and from its inception, a progressive style and in itself, a traditional Mixed Martial Art.
Kendo – ‘sword way’, ‘sword path’ or ‘way of the sword’, is a traditional Japanese martial art, which descended from swordsmanship (kenjutsu) and uses bamboo swords (shinai) and protective armour (bōgu). Today, it is widely practised within Japan and many other nations across the world. Kendo is an activity that combines martial arts practices and values with strenuous sport-like physical activity.
Kickboxing – is a form of martial arts derived from karate. It borrows moves from multiple types of martial arts including full-contact karate, Muay Thai, and boxing.
Kirip – is an indigenous form of wrestling quite popular with the Nicobarese tribe. In this sport, before the bout begins, wrestlers grip each other from behind with their hands, and this grip is not to be slackened till the very end of the competition. The wrestler, using various parts of the body, including the leg, tries to thrust the opponent to the ground. If a contestant’s back touches the ground, he is declared the loser.
No YouTube video was found for this sport
Krav Maga – is a military self-defence and fighting system developed for the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli security forces derived from a combination of techniques sourced from Aikido, Boxing, Wrestling, Judo, and Karate.
Kung fu – Chinese martial arts, often named under the umbrella term kung fu are several hundred fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China.
Kūdō – is a Japanese hybrid martial art. It is a full-contact mixed combat sport with a head Guard and gloves, throwing and grappling techniques are also allowed in the competition, including restraint, locks and strangleholds. It can be called a mixed martial art with protective gear for the head.
Kyokushin – is a style of stand-up fighting and was founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese Masutatsu Oyama. It is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training. Its full contact style has international appeal (practitioners have over the last 40+ years numbered more than 12 million).
Leibringen – Is Medieval Wrestling of how to fall without mats, basic positions and methods of movement, grips & entering techniques, throws, attacks and defensive manoeuvres, techniques for kicking and punching, and practice drills on foot and on the ground.
Lethwei – or Burmese boxing, is a full-contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world as the sport is done bare-knuckle with only tape and gauze on the hands and fighters are allowed to strike with their fists, elbows, knees, feet, and, unusually, headbutts are permitted. Although disallowed in most combat sports, headbutts are an important weapon in a Lethwei fighter’s arsenal.
Mixed martial arts – (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, made up of various combat sports and martial arts from around the world.
Mizo Inchai – This Manipuri game resembles wrestling in many ways. As in the more popular Indian form of wrestling, stamina, physical strength and prowess are the attributes required for success.
Mongolian wrestling – is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions where touching the ground with anything other than a foot loses the match.
Mukna – is a form of folk wrestling from the north-east Indian state of Manipur. It is popular in Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur. It contains many techniques which require absolute physical fitness and skill to be mastered. Holding the opponent’s neck, hair, ear or legs with the hands is not permitted.
Muay Thai – or literally ‘Thai boxing’, is a combat sport in Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the “art of eight limbs” as it is characterized by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins.
Codified systems and traditions of combat
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practised for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental and spiritual development; and entertainment or the preservation of a nation’s intangible cultural heritage.
Matrak – is an Ottoman combat sport based on sword and shield fighting. It is played with wooden sticks covered with leather simulating a sword, and a wooden leather-covered shield.
Muay Lao – is a traditional unarmed martial art from Laos. It is similar to Muay Thai from Thailand, Pradal Serey from Cambodia, and Tomoi from Malaysia. It incorporates punches, kicks, elbow, and knee strikes.
Naga wrestling – is one of the oldest traditional games practised since time immemorial. The game is played to encourage fitness, health and friendship to name a few among many. It has always been known to uphold justice to whoever competed in the wonderful sport.
Naginata – is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (nihonto). Naginata were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei (warrior monks). [3] The naginata is the iconic weapon of the onna-bugeisha, a type of female warrior belonging to the Japanese nobility Orkhon-Yenisey Wrestling.
Dangers and Injuries
Some interesting reading:
file:///C:/Users/T%20Zager/Downloads/The_impact_of_practice_of_selected_combat_sports_o.pdf
Here is some quick reading information about the Dangers of Combat sports.
Practising sports is bringing the risk of injury oneself. All your organs are exposed. Competing in martial arts and combat sports is the cause of damage with mechanical energy.
At present, it is estimated that the number of sportsmen of high professionality with serious dysfunctions falls within 30-70%.
The research has been conducted on a target group of 282 practitioners of various martial arts and combat sports. As it happens in the environment of people doing sports, the majority of respondents were males – 257 compared to 25 women. Those contestants are at the top of the world, and very successful in their sports. Among them, there are Olympic, world and European champions.
Among all combat sports and martial arts the most frequent injuries have been broken bones (21%) and damage of knee ligaments (16%). On the other hand, the least frequent have been eyebrow ridge cuts, elbow injuries, knocked out teeth (all consisting 1%) and tensioned muscles, strained muscles, fractured bones, strained Achilles’ tendon, hand injuries, bruises, hurts and injuries of an eye (all consist 2%).
Dislocations and sprains prevailed, whereas, in younger as well as lower-ranked competitors, upper body fractures were more frequent. Injury locations mostly affect body extremities, especially the knee (up to 28%), shoulder (up to 22%) and hand/fingers (up to 30%).
Most injuries in combat sports are occurring during tournaments, with 56% of injury cases recorded in karate, 46% in ju-jitsu and 79% in kickboxing.
The type and rates of martial arts injuries are often dependent on the techniques, rules, and protective equipment.
Because of the nature of the sport, which involves elements of body contact that include striking, throwing, and grappling an opponent, it has been suggested these sports are extremely dangerous and harmful compared to other sports.
Being hit on the head can cause fractures to the bone of the head and face and tissue damage in the brain. A blow can damage the surface of the brain, tear nerve networks, cause lesions, bleed, or produce large clots within the brain.
Other injuries to the body include cuts, bruises, broken teeth, dental problems, broken ribs, internal bleeding, and damage to internal organs.
Although protected by hard bone on the side, eyes are very vulnerable to direct hits from below. Damage to the eyes can result from direct contact or from shock waves set up in fluid contents. Depending on the force of the blow damage may result in injury to the retina, retinal detachment, retinal haemorrhage, and other injuries.
Ex-Competitors are more vulnerable to the natural ageing of the brain and diseases of the brain. They may be more likely to suffer diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Their brains are smaller and the surface grey matter is thinner. The ventricles within the brain are enlarged because of the decrease in the brain’s white matter.
It is not all doom and gloom, there are many health benefits, such as:
- Fat burning.
- Increased muscle tone.
- Strong bones and ligaments.
- Increased cardiovascular fitness.
- Muscular endurance.
- Improved core stability.
- Increased strength and power.
- Stress relief.
- Improved coordination and body awareness.
- Greater confidence and self-esteem.
Whilst some women do partake in various Combat Sports, there are not enough, compared to their male counterparts.
Women athletes have made great strides in recent years.
However, the battle for gender equality in sports is still very much ongoing. Underrepresentation, misrepresentation, sexualisation, and a lack of suitable of equipment and attire are just a few facets of the plight of many female athletes, particularly women in combat sports.
Krav Maga fighter and former kickboxing instructor, Lynn Le, is building an equipment and apparel brand intended to align with the strength, femininity, and physical diversity of women who get in the ring and embrace sports and fitness across the board.
Women make up nearly 25% of the $50 billion combat sports market, which includes fitness, product, and entertainment in the U.S. As more women are exposed to empowerment through sports, brands promoting athleticism in women are being created and harnessed as more than just marketing tools.
Women often have to deal with male training partners taking it easy on women just because they are female.
Historically, women in combat sports have been ringing girls wearing bikinis and holding signs.
And like every male-dominated industry, society deems women who are successful in sports as masculine unless they prove otherwise.
Combat sports is a social institution just like any other that exists under a societal construct where the gender gap is blatant in: pay, media coverage, and general recognition of competence. This is part and parcel of the reason so many images of women in sports and fitness are hypersexualized.
There’s an obvious line that has been crossed that dictates that fitness is for sexual beauty. Fitness should be for movement and being able to live life in a healthy strong body. The focus of any marketing towards fitness should be about free enjoyable movement and the possibilities for men or women.
Combat sports is a male-dominated market in terms of viewership and participation. The exciting thing is that combat sports are brewing among women and there is an opportunity to brand themselves differently to appeal to a female market progressive in its thinking.
Mixed-sex training in a range of martial arts schools fuelled many discussions on the sociological richness of these activities.
Of particular relevance in this respect is the tendency for some combat sport settings to be relatively male-exclusive, and steeped in orthodox narrations of masculinity.
In 2009, the International Olympic Committee approved the inclusion of women’s boxing in the Olympic programme; the following Summer Games, in London in 2012, saw a 116-year history of women’s exclusion from the Summer Olympic sports programme finally end, with female pugilists entering the boxing ring as competitors for the first time.
The first gold medal to be awarded to a female boxer went to the UK’s Nicola Adams – a previously unheard-of athlete who would instantly become one of the most celebrated stars of the Games in her home nation, and who continues to be a recognisable figure in mainstream British media over two years later.
Also in 2012, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) – the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion – signed its first female competitor: the former Olympic judo bronze medallist and undefeated Strikeforce MMA champion, Ronda Rousey. Rousey’s victory in the first-ever women’s fight in the UFC, in February 2013 against former US marine, Liz Carmouche, along with her subsequent feud with arch-rival Meisha Tate, saw Rousey’s star rise significantly in the MMA world and beyond, drawing much attention to the fact that women were now competing at the highest level in a sport often seen as synonymous with male exclusivity and orthodox narrations of manhood.
It is widely recognised that social constructions of masculinity and femininity, and by extension the normative expectations surrounding men’s and women’s lives, are very often arranged in binary – that is, two-sided and oppositional.
This gender hierarchy becomes more explicitly embodied when men and women work upon and use their bodies in ways which are structured by codes of masculinity and femininity, respectively.
Here, men are expected and encouraged to practice activities, such as various sports or types of weight training, which lead to the development of their bodies’ strength, speed, and various motor skill competencies, whilst generally favouring a lean and muscular appearance.
Meanwhile, women are generally expected to work on their bodies in ways which limit the development of physical strength – especially its outward appearance through excessive musculature, a potent cultural signifier of both power and manhood. This phenomenon, in turn, partly explains the widespread tendency for girls to ‘drop out’ of sporting activities during their teenage years
The differential socialisation of boys and girls surrounding the culturally ‘appropriate’ use of the body then works to produce sexual disparity in physical appearances, attributes and skills. Thus, insults such as ‘you throw like a girl’ make sense as derogatory statements thanks to prevailing cultural formations which amount to the physical down-sizing and de-skilling of girls and women relative to boys and men.
Gender Subversion in Women’s Combat Sports with respect to this possibility of subverting sexual inequality, the notion that women’s participation in so-called ‘masculine’ sports and related activities can challenge traditional sexual hierarchies, at both individual and broader cultural levels, has been forwarded by many scholars.
While combat sports are primarily male-dominated sport, it does have female athletes. However, historically there has been only a select few major professional mixed martial arts organizations in the United States that invite women to compete.
There has been a growing awareness of women in combat sports due to popular female fighters and personalities.
Aside from all-female organizations, most major Japanese male-dominated promotions have held select female competitions.
In the United States, prior to the success of The Ultimate Fighter reality show that launched combat sports into the mainstream media, there was no major coverage of female competitions.
Outside Japan and the United States, female competition is almost exclusively found in minor local promotions.
Strikeforce in March 2011, the UFC began promoting women’s fights, with Ronda Rousey rapidly becoming one of the promotion’s biggest draws.
It is uncontroversial to say that sport is a male-dominated enterprise at almost every level, from participation to consumption. Socially constructed gender differences mean that it has been difficult for women to become accepted in an arena that places an overwhelming emphasis on masculinity.
This disparity has been reflected in the respective media attention male and female sports are afforded, with 96 percent of sports news being dedicated to men, and women accounting for a mere 2 percent of network news and ESPN SportsCenter coverage, according to a 2009 study sponsored by the USC Center for Feminist Research.
What are the reasons for such a prohibitive gap in media coverage? Consumer interest drives content, and the interest just hasn’t been there for women’s sports. There appears to be an issue with perception, according to Professor Dale Spencer, author of Ultimate Fighting and Embodiment: Violence, Gender, and Mixed Martial Arts.
There’s a general attitude in relation to women’s sports, and what leads to the lack of viewership is the fact that women’s sports aren’t at the calibre of men’s sports. Therefore, it’s not worthy of being watched, and there’s this bigger, stronger, faster mentality.
“The valorisation of bigger, stronger, faster ends up taking away from women’s sport because, in the main, women’s sport is characterised by more emphasis placed on things like technique. There’s not as much emphasis placed on being ultra-muscular, so there’s that twofold effect, and I think in the economy of time, that attitude takes away from people wanting to watch women’s sports.”
Perhaps the most impressive part of the growth of women’s combat sport is how it has been able to transcend attitudes toward gender. When it comes to combat sports, there are two distinct types of sexism—from opposite ends of the political spectrum—that women are invariably forced to deal with.
The more conservative brand of sexism concerns traditional attitudes toward gender roles. Traits associated with females include being dependent, emotional, passive, nurturing and submissive.
Pursuing a career in violent sports like combat sports trespasses overtly on male territory and is actively discouraged. It is an attitude that is explicitly oppressive, but it is becoming less and less common as society becomes more progressive.
The second, more liberal brand of sexism concerns the way society tends to infantilise women. Many men are instinctively protective of women and have a visceral reaction to watching them take punishment.
There is nothing sinister about this attitude, and it even seems strange to criticise men for caring too much about the well-being of women, but within the context of combat sports, it is something female fighters have been forced to overcome in order to be taken seriously.
With the recent addition of a women’s strawweight division, it seems clear that the UFC is fully committed to promoting its female athletes. Despite the popularity of WMMA, it is easy to forget that women only make up a fraction of the UFC’s roster of fighters. There remains substantial room for growth.
Also, other than the obvious dangers, injuries and safety concerns, lack of media coverage, unequal pay, sexism, minuscule branding and marketing and little to none of the TV coverage, weak economic return, few endorsement deals and physical differences. These behaviours have been influential in women not wanting to compete in combat sports.
EQUIPMENT
Title Boxing – https://www.titleboxing.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwk6P2BRAIEiwAfVJ0rEbMe4-hnig56RvPQAQolXI4ZyuhRlg7hc2lLy3xLMHB7dbslo8FbBoCvGsQAvD_BwE
Everlast – https://www.everlast.com/fight/boxing/coaching-equipment
Expert Boxing – https://expertboxing.com/boxing-equipment
Fight Equipment – https://www.fightequipmentuk.com/
Combat Sports – https://www.combatsports.com/
RDX Sports – https://rdxsports.com/
South African Suppliers
Please note: I do not take any responsibility for the accident, disability, death, public liability, third party, medical costs, destruction of property, damages to self or others, destruction of all equipment, disability, personal liability, general liability, self-harm, suicide, harm to livestock, harm to animals, harm to children and intentional bodily harm, for using any of the listed products and suppliers. Please consult with the manufacturers and instructors, when buying the equipment that is suitable for you.
If you have the itch, go for it! It’s brutal and can be dangerous! Combat sports is usually full-contact sports, so make sure you find the best instructor money can buy! He/she may just save your life!
When you are ready to take on those punches, and knockouts, please take a moment and bow for people that are disabled, that cannot take part in such sports.
To all you avid gamers out there, here are some combat games for you to enjoy!
- Creed
- Knock out Kings
- Victorious boxers
- HBO Boxing
- Fight Night
- UFC
- Round 4 Round
- Fight Night
- Knock Out Kings
- UFC
- Look out for part 3
