Japanese Martial Arts

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Japanese Martial Arts

In Japan, especially during the earlier periods of Japanese history such as the Tokugawa, physical adeptness was much revered and valued. This was mainly because of the fact that these strengths were the basis on which much of the population depended upon for survival during these fairly turbulent periods. Throughout time, Japan has been a very organized and scrupulous society, and even its style of physical combat has been sorted into specific categories according to what particular method is being used or referred to. These ways of fighting, primitive in the fact that they do not use automated weapons, are generally called “Martial Arts” and include the following categories: Kenjutsu, which uses swords, Kyudo, which is archery, and unarmed forms of combat such as Jujutsu, Sumai, and Karate, which are the major techniques. The Martial Arts of Japan, especially during the Tokugawa period, was very relevant to the society and played, and still plays, an important role in Japanese culture. The history and evolution, use in everyday life, and specific characteristics of these Japanese Martial Arts will be thoroughly explored during the course of this paper.

Martial Arts, as defined by The Oxford English Dictionary, are “Any of various sports or skills, mainly of Japanese origin, which originated as forms of self-defense or attack, such as Judo, Karate, and Kendo.” As stated by this excerpt, Martial arts did originate in East Asia, and the forms most commonly practiced during the Tokugawa period were Kenjutsu, Kyudo, Jujutsu, Sumai, and Karate. Kenjutsu is also referred to as “Japanese Fencing” and is Japanese for “art of the sword”. It originated in Japan and is very ancient, although it ...

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In conclusion, Martial Arts were very important to the lives of the inhabitants of Japan during the Tokugawa period because they allowed them and outlet for physical exercise in addition to teaching them forms of self-discipline, mediation and a way of self-defense, these all being skills relevant to the culture and atmosphere of the time. The Martial Arts have evolved into an important as well as characteristic part of Japanese culture, one that is now a traditional aspect of the society that has now spread beyond the borders of Japan into many other countries, forming an international endeavor into the ways of Martial Arts. The Martial Arts of Japan, mainly Kenjutsu, Kyudo, Jujutsu, Sumai, and Karate, were a fundamental part of that interesting culture because they played such a vital role in the everyday lives of the citizens.

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