THE FAR EASTERN TRANSLATION
The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘martial art’ as:
Various sports, which originated mainly in Japan, Korea, and China as forms of self-defense or attack, such as judo, karate, and kendo.
Dictionary.com defines it as:
any of the traditional forms of Eastern self-defense or combat that use physical skill and unarmed coordination, such as karate, aikido, judo, or kung fu, often practiced as a sport.
So it’s no surprise that people strongly associate martial arts with eastern and oriental traditions, and dismiss combat sports like boxing and Greco-Roman wrestling. Also, the colloquial term of ‘martial’ plus ‘art’ as the only term was first coined as Japanese word translation ‘bujutsu’ in 1909 according to the Dictionary of Etymology Online, and in 1933 according to Wiktionary.
FROM ANCIENT GREEK TO ANCIENT ROME
Also mentioned in Wiktionary, the term was already used as early as 1715 in Alexander Pope’s English translation of Homer’s Iliad, as well as William Sotheby’s less famous translation from 1831. The Dictionary of Etymology Online also states that the term ‘martial’ dates back to the 14th century. The use ‘martial law’ to refer to military rule over civilians was first recorded in the 1530s. ‘Martial’ was derived from the ancient Roman god of war, Mars, after whom our neighboring planet is named. Hence ‘martial’ means to be like Mars, or to be bellicose.
Understanding the Iliad as a literary work on the ancient Greek mythology of the Trojan War, in fact the most notable, and understanding the use of the term ‘martial’ in the 16th century, we can establish that the use of ‘martial art’ before 1900 referred to classical western military training, action or skill rather than a Far Eastern art form or athletic discipline.
MODERN DEFINITION
As civilizations settled in peace, the practice of enclosed space military systems for actual use became obsolete. The ones that are still in practice became an art form, a discipline, and ultimately a way of life. The history of Japan and the samurai serves as a perfect example of this and seems to have laid the foundation for many modern martial arts, perhaps for another discussion.
In our current generation, with the popularity of MMA and martial arts documentaries, it seems very evident that this term it is becoming a catch-all term encompassing not only traditional Eastern disciplines, but also Western combat sports and even close combat military systems such as Krav Maga and the Marine Corps..
Wiktionary sums it all up nicely by giving the different uses of the term:
- Commonly any of several fighting styles that contain systematized methods of training for combat, both armed and unarmed; it is often practiced as a sport, for example boxing, karate, judo, silat, wrestling or muay thai.
- military skills, proficiency in military strategy, prowess in war
1832…of all the ways by which the advantage of his country can be secured, martial arts and valor are those by which a Swiss most hopes to promote it. (Richard Chenevix, Essay on National Character: 4. On Patriotism, p. 481).
- (jargon) by restriction, martial arts originating in East and Southeast Asia; often practiced as a means of meditation, eg aikido, judo, kyudo