Steve James wrote:Yeah, but what did the Norsemen call their "martial art"? Better yet, how about the Anglo-Saxons? Linguistically, 'martial' comes from the Latin languages, and simply means related to war (actually their god of war). But, all tournaments and competitions were dedicated to Mars, and that's the relation to sport --aopt to training.
Average people were often not allowed to "study" war and have weapons. But, they had to fight, so means of self-defense had to exist, and usage would inevitably lead to some form of systemization. Irish stick fighting or Haitian machete fighting are examples. However, imo, the reason we call them martial arts nowadays is because they're being acknowledged in comparison to Asian martial arts post 1960s.
It's also true that there are "martial arts" practiced today where there is no war, competition, or sport. I.e., some would say they are just dancing; others would say that they're done for health.
The word "Martial Arts" is also found in 18th century literature.
"An Universal History, from the Earliest Account of Time: Asiatic history to the time of Alexander the Great" 1747. Maybe the passage can give some clue to what you were asking for?"
Trick wrote: Ah yes, it’s actually “the noble art of self Defence” so in that light, when referred to self Defence rather than sport it may be called an Art
Nope, the original expression is in fact "The noble art of boxing", this at least as old as the first half of the 18th century. "The noble art of self Defence" however is a late 19th century expression, invented at the turn of the century.
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Self defence" however is found in literature from at least as old as from the second half of the 15th century.