Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. Today, martial arts are studied for various reasons including combat skills, fitness, self-defense, sport, self-cultivation (meditation), mental discipline, character development and building self-confidence. A practitioner of martial arts is referred to as a martial artist.
Worldwide there is a great diversity of martial arts. Broadly speaking, martial arts share a common goal: to defeat a person physically or to defend oneself from physical threat. Within some martial arts there is a deep sense of spirituality. Each style has different facets that make them unique from other martial arts.
A common characteristic of martial arts is the systemization of fighting techniques. One common method of training, particularly in the Asian martial arts, is the form or kata (also called poomse, quan dao, kuen, tao lu, hyung, juru or tuls). This is a set routine of techniques performed alone, or sometimes with a partner.
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