The martial arts make up an exciting sport that is a great tool for self defense and discipline. Training involves intense mental concentration and physical stamina. The key of each technique is to sharpen you thinking to the point that you simply react. There are many different forms of martial arts that specialize in a wide range of self defense and offensive combat.

Aikido is a Japanese form of martial arts that is derived form Jujitsu. It is not an offensive type of fighting that involves punching and kicking. It focuses on using your opponents own moves against himself by focusing on the flow of energy. By manipulating the force someone uses towards you, they can be thrown aside or even flipped over backwards in the direction of their energy.

Karate is the original form of martial arts. It is translated to mean “empty hand”. This is because the fighting techniques do not include and weapons. Kicking and punching are the main form of defense and offense. The wide variety of moves makes Karate the most versatile and total body martial art of them all. It is the type of martial art that is used in many self defense classes. Recent scientific research has broken down the many complex moves into more effective combinations that are now taught today.

Kung Fu is a very popular martial art that is the basis for many theatrical stunts. It is based on many low stance blocking moves that are very powerful. Some blocks can be so powerful that they injure the opponent. Styles of Kung Fu include drunken boxing, serpent and crane. Many other animal styles exist and are passed down by families. Jackie Chan is a famous actor that has mastered over five major animal fighting styles of Kung Fu. Another actor, Jet Li is famous for using Wu Shu, which is a very fluid form of Kung Fu.