The History of Fighting

Artist:  Unknown
Date:  Second – third century CE
Info: In this mosaic from the villa at Nennig, Germany, a retiarius gladiator, who fought with a net and a three pronged trident, stabs at his opponent who is a secutor gladiator, whose weapon of choice was usually a short sword or a gladius.

Here, the great master is preparing to throw his opponent using body leverage.



Pastinha aims a kick at his opponent (he was around 74 years old when these pictures were taken).



This move is a counter attack from a defensive position

Nuba fighting is a form of African combat mainly practiced in central Sudan. It is a mixture of stick fighting and wrestling and began, according to local tradition, hundreds of years ago with the moves being developed through the imitation of monkeys and local insects. It serves as a passage of rites for young men and has religious & cultural significance, mainly taking place at special tournaments and events.

In-Kungfu.com

Jackie Chan demonstrating his skills in the classic Kung Fu movie Drunken Master.

Title: Jack Broughton

Artist: Francis Hayman (1708 – 1776)

Infomation: This is an illustration of John ‘Jack’ Broughton, commonly thought of as the
‘Father of English Boxing’. He was champion from 1729 – 1750 and was the first
to add a set of widely accepted rules to the sport, which included stopping when
an opponent was knocked to the floor and using gloves, though only for training
purposes.

Title:  Bodhidharma

Artist:  Hakuin Ekaku (1685 to 1768)

Infomation:  This calligraphy scroll is Japanase in origin and reads;
“Zen points directly to the human heart, see into your nature and become Buddha”.

Giacomo di Grassi was an Italian master from the 16th century who had a great influence on the development of fencing right up to the modern day. He is often credited with inventing the modern parry and through his best known work, ‘His True Arte of Defence’, taught fighters from his day to think more about defence than had previously been the norm.

More Fencing Legends

Nijushiho being performed by Tetsuhiko Asai (1935 – 2006)

Nijushiho (Twenty-four steps) is of unknown origins though some scholars believe that like Sochin, it originally comes from the Chinese Dragon style of fighting. Others believe the kata was created by the 19th century Okinawan master Seisho Arakaki, who may have also invented Sochin and Unsu.

The Okinawan name, Niseishi, was changed by Gichin Funakoshi however both mean the same thing. Whenever it was created, its development follows the lineage of Kenzo Mabuni, who was taught it by his father Kenwa Mabuni, founder of the Shito-Ryu style. He learned it from Higaonna Kanryo, a famous teacher from the Naha-te school and it was passed on to him through Seisho Arakaki.

Kenzo Mabuni is said to have spent some time instructing Yoshitaka, Gichin Funakoshi’s son and as a result of these instructions, the Shotokan syllabus is believed to have gained Nijushiho, Sochin and Unsu.

More Kata History