THE FAR EASTERN TRANSLATION
The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘martial arts’ as:
Various sports, which originated primarily 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 Eastern forms of 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 Eastern 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 Online Etymology Dictionary, and in 1933 according to Wiktionary.
FROM ANCIENT GREEK TO ANCIENT ROME
Also mentioned in Wiktionary, the term was already in use 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 Online Etymology Dictionary 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 warlike.
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 classic Western military training, action, or skill rather than a Far Eastern art form or athletic discipline.
MODERN DEFINITION
As civilizations settled down in peace, the practice of close quarters military systems for actual use became obsolete. The ones that are still in practice became an art form, a discipline, and eventually 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 an umbrella term encompassing not only traditional eastern disciplines, but also western combat sports and even military close combat 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, war prowess
1832…of all the ways by which the advantage of his country may be secured, martial arts and valor are those by which one more Swiss hopes to promote it. (Richard Chenevix, An 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