Martial arts supplies, Equipment, and Gear
Welcome to iconmartialarts.com. A site dedicated to bringing the history of martial arts to life, as well as information on all the martial arts equipment, supplies and gear you will need to begin training. The term “martial arts” literally means “arts of war.” The word martial is derived from Mars, the Roman god of war. So, “martial arts” is actually a European term that is used to refer to Asian fighting styles.
Martial arts is an umbrella term for all forms of Asian fighting styles. The ethos of all Asian fighting styles is discipline. When a student begins martial arts he or she may have the ambition to take revenge and defeat a foe, but this is not the goal of martial arts. The goal of martial arts is to increase self-control and the student’s emotional and spiritual well-being. Self-control and a deep understanding of the body and the art is the desired end of martial arts. But to achieve this, technical skill must come first.
When a student begins their training, the first piece of martial arts equipment a student will need is a uniform. All student need to wear matching uniforms that are well pressed and clean as a mark of readiness and respect for the martial art. The student will wear a different color of belt depending on their ranking. The color of a beginner student is white and the most advanced student will wear a black belt. The colors worn between white and black vary depending on what style of martial arts the student is studying. A new belt is awarded through organized demonstrations of skill and competition.
In the martial art of Judo, the uniform and belt are used to manipulate the opponent and force them off-balance. The word Judo has the same root of meaning as Jujutsu. The root of the meaning is gentleness, softness or suppleness. The art of Judo is performed without any martial art equipment or gear. The only weapons used in Judo are the student’s skill and the opponent’s flaws.
All martial arts use an opponents force as a weapon. When an opponent is attacking with momentum, the accurate timing of a strike can make a punch or kick stronger and in Judo, can force the opponent to the floor. It is this unique use of power that has held the attraction of martial arts for the western world. Techniques such as the one inch punch, which can knock over an opponent at very close range have always seem to use some unknown spiritual power to create an unstoppable force. Bruce Lee brought the one-inch punch to the public’s attention. Bruce Lee along with Jackie Chan were responsible for bring martial arts into popular culture. Both these artists, especially Lee, are still studied and revered. Bruce Lee even went as far to inventing his own style of martial art that was named Jun Fan Gung Fu, which was his own take on Wing Chun. Jun Fan Gung Fu translated, literally means Bruce Lee’s Kung Fu.
Kung Fu is another popular term in the western world for martial arts. The meaning of Kung Fu or Gung Fu is very interesting and summarizes rather neatly the essence of martial arts. Kung Fu means expertise obtained through hard work and practice. This expertise does not necessary have to martial. The essence of Kung Fu is that skill cannot simply be inherited, brought or taken for granted. Skill in all aspects of life requires time, dedication and focus. In this way, martial arts is a fine moral and spiritual training ground for young adults to mature and learn morality and respect.