the art vary, it is generally accepted that Hélio Gracie, the founder of Gra-
cie Jiu-jitsu, studied briefly with a Japanese jûjutsu instructor and then be-
gan to formulate his own system. He was very successful; the Ultimate
Fighting Championship, which has achieved worldwide fame, is a variation
of the Vale Tudo(Portuguese; total combat) of Brazil where Gracie practi-
tioners reign supreme. Karateka(Japanese; practitioners of karate) and
other Asian martial artists have been far less successful.
A similar redefinition is found in the contemporary Israeli martial art
of krav maga(Hebrew; contact combat), developed by Imi Lichtenfeld. It
is the official fighting art of the Jewish State. Rather than relying on an
Asian model, however, Lichtenfeld synthesized Western boxing and several
styles of grappling to create a fighting art that is easy to learn and ex-
tremely effective.
These unarmed fighting arts demonstrate that Westerners are far
from unlearned in hand-to-hand combat. Such traditions are part of West-
ern history.
While it has been said that there are many universal principles com-
mon to all forms of fighting, it is misleading and simplistic to suggest that
Eastern and Western systems are all fundamentally the same. There are sig-
nificant technical and conceptual differences between Asian and European
systems. If there were not, the military histories, the swords, and the arms
and armor of each would not have been so different. Forcing too many sim-
ilarities does a disservice to the qualities that make each unique.
As both military science and society in the West changed, most indige-
nous martial arts were relegated to the role of sports and obscure pastimes.
Sport boxing, wrestling, and sport fencing are the very blunt and shallow tip
of a deep history that, when explored and developed properly, provides a
link to traditions that are as rich and complex as any to emerge from Asia.
Currently, however, efforts are under way to perpetuate and revive
traditional martial arts of the Western world. For example, armed combat
using the weapons of medieval and Renaissance Europe is being rediscov-
ered by organizations whose members have drawn on the historical fight-
ing texts of Masters of Defence for guidance. Today, as more and more stu-
dents of historical European martial arts move away from mere sport,
role-playing, and theatrics, a more realistic appreciation and representation
of Western fighting skills and arms is emerging.
Gene Tausk
John ClementsSee alsoBoxing, European; Dueling; Knights; Krav Maga; Masters of
Defence; Pankration; Sambo; Savate; Stickfighting, Non-Asian; Swords-
manship, European Medieval; Swordsmanship, European Renaissance;
Wrestling and Grappling: Europe118 Europe