to gain punching power. Open-hand techniques to the eyes, ears, throat, and
solar plexus are used. Elbow techniques are used extensively.
These techniques require little strength but have devastating results;
an elbow strike to the face or floating ribs can easily disable an opponent.
Throwing techniques are not the type usually seen in jûdô or sambo;they
have more in common with freestyle wrestling takedowns. Krav maga has
been called the “first unarmed combat system of the twentieth century.”
This is meant to convey the fact that it developed in the twentieth century
with the understanding and awareness of modern combat. Firearms were
the weapons of choice for twentieth-century warriors, as they are for those
of the twenty-first century, and terrorism and sudden violence often define
the battlefield in the modern world.
The martial arts systems of the Middle East are a unique chapter in
the fighting skills of the world. This area is the cradle of civilization, so it
is no great surprise that many of the first fighting arts were practiced here
as well. Since many trade routes existed through these regions, it is also not
surprising that the techniques and styles from various civilizations can be
seen. In this respect, perhaps the fighting arts of the Middle East are among
the most eclectic in the world.
Gene Tausk
See alsoAfrica and African America; Krav Maga; Pankration; Stickfighting,
Non-Asian; Wrestling and Grappling: China; Wrestling and Grappling:
Europe
References
Gardiner, E. Norman. 1930. Athletics of the Ancient World.Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
Gluck, Jay. 1962. Zen Combat.New York: Ballantine.
Hitti, Philip Khoury. 1970. History of the Arabs: From the Earliest Times to
the Present.New York: St. Martin’s.
Lichtenfeld, Imi, and Eyal Yanilov. 1998. Krav Maga: Self Defense and
Fighting Tactics.Tel Aviv: Dekel.
Nicolle, David, and Angus McBride. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th–11th
Centuries.London: Osprey Publishing.
———. 1983. Armies of the Ottoman Turks, 1300–1774.London: Osprey
Publishing.
Poliakoff, Michael B. 1987. Combat Sports in the Ancient World:
Competition, Violence and Culture. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Svinth, Joseph R. 2000. “Kronos: A Chronological History of the Martial
Arts and Combative Sports.” http://www.ejmas.com/kronos.Mongolia
“The three manly games” of Mongolia are horse racing, archery, and
wrestling. It is important to understand that all three of the heavenly
games, as they are also called, are tied closely to the pastoral nomadic tra-
ditions of the Central Asian steppe. Today, these disciplines are still held in344 Mongolia