Samurai 侍 were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi or buke. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning "to wait upon" or "accompany persons" in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility", the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai.

By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. The samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, were trained as officers in military tactics and grand strategy. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.

Brief history and development of Aikido

Morihei Uyeshiba was a short and skinny boy who often suffered from sickness due to his weak constitution. He especially liked his father who one day was attacked by political opponents that beat him severely causing injuries so severe that he nearly died. Uyeshiba decided that he will be a strong man, one who is capable of defending himself against multiple attackers.

At first he became the student of the famous Yagyu Shinkage ryu then continued his studies at several different Jiu-Jitsu schools, later also becoming more skilled in the use of traditional weapons, especially when being a student of the Honzain systems where he learned the spear. The most influential however was the Daito Aiki-Jutsu as he mainly used the techniques of this style in the style he founded later, the Aikido.

The Diato Aiki-Jutsu originated from the 9th century, developed from the Minamoto family by Shure Saburo Yoshimitsu. It was a secret art that was firts taught to the public by Sokaku Takeda in 1905. Uyeshiba became Takeda's student in 1911 and studied under him until 1916. Uyeshiba was very eager to learn and even paid extra to Takeda to teach him some fo the more advanced and secret techniques.

After Uyeshiba felt he learned everything he could from Takeda he left the school. Later he met a different kind of teacher, Daguchi, a monk from the Shinto religion. Uyeshiba was so impressed with his personality that he decided to join and follow Daguchi on his mission to Mongolia where they wanted to create a 'world peace'. The mission ended with sufferring, prison and nearly an execution.

Uyeshiba returned to Japan where he started to teach martial arts mainly to naval officers. During an argument with one a fight broke out between them using wooden swords. Uyeshiba efforlessly blocked and diverted all his opponents wild attacks and according to a biography this was the time he realized the true ways of martial arts. By now he was 41 years old.

Uyeshiba continued to teach and his name became more and more known and even the founder of Judo, Jigoro Kano visited him and found his new style and skills impressive. In the 1950s the Aikido also started to spread to the West and the first schools were open in Europe and in Hawaii. At first the traditional Japanese views, philosophy and Uyeshiba's explanations for these as well as the techniques seemed confusing for the westerners. Later attempts were to change and translate these for better understanding.

Uyeshiba was also against using Aikido as sport or competitions.

Herbs and teas have been used for century by traditional healers all around the world. Herbs are proven highly effective even today and also provide a safe and natural way of keeping a person healthy. Teas are also consumed world wide to help the body to function better.

Acupuncture, cupping and moxibustion are some of the ancient Chinese healing methods that stood the test of time and even today are very popular healing methods. Their treatments are effective and due to being natural, have no or very little side effects making them the preferred treatment method for many people for many illnesses. Another advantage of these healing methods are their low costs.

Chi Kung (also commonly spelled 'Qi Gong') is an ancient health preserving exercise developed in China. There are many different styles of Chi Kung practiced and today and it is also becoming increasing popular around the world, practiced by young and the elderly alike.

According to ancient Chinese theories the body's energies flow and circulate in channels much like blood does. The flow and free circulation can be blocked by different external or internal effects (such as cold or a bruise) and these weaken the functionality of a part of the body or an internal organ. There are main channels, these are called 'Meridians' where most of the energies flow and also there are various smaller channels such as collateral, connecting of linking channels p - the latter function more as assistant to the main channels. These channels are the exact same that are used in traditional Chinese medicine such as acupuncture or moxibustion. To help preventing the occurrence of diseases different Chi Kung - or energy regulation - techniques were developed. These exercises help ensuring the flee flow of 'Chi' or energy in the body, thus very effectively helping preserving one's health. 

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact combat sport that allows both striking and grappling, both standing and on the ground, using techniques from other combat sports and martial arts. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993. The term gained popularity when a website (called NewFullContact .com), then one of the largest websites covering the sport, hosted and republished the article. The question of who actually coined the term is subject to debate today.

During the early 20th century, various mixed-style contests took place throughout Japan and the Pacific Rim. In 1980 CV Productions, Inc., created the first regulated MMA league in the United States, named Tough Guy Contest, later renamed Battle of the Superfighters. The company sanctioned ten tournaments in Pennsylvania. However, in 1983 the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill prohibiting the sport.

In 1993, the Gracie family brought vale tudo, developed in Brazil from the 1920s, to the United States by founding the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) MMA promotion company.

Originally promoted as a competition to find the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat, competitors from different fighting styles were pitted against one another in contests with relatively few rules. Later, individual fighters employed multiple martial arts into their style. MMA promoters were pressured to adopt additional rules to increase competitors' safety, to comply with sport regulations and to broaden mainstream acceptance of the sport. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with a pay-per-view business that rivals boxing and professional wrestling.

Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian White Crane. Karate is now predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open-hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear-hands, and palm-heel strikes. Historically, and in some modern styles, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints, and vital-point strikes are also taught. A karate practitioner is called a karateka (空手家).

The Ryukyu Kingdom was annexed by Japan in 1879. Karate was brought to Japan in the early 20th century during a time of migration as Ryukyuans, especially from Okinawa, looked for work in Japan. It was systematically taught in Japan after the Taishō era. In 1922 the Japanese Ministry of Education invited Gichin Funakoshi to Tokyo to give a karate demonstration. In 1924 Keio University established the first university karate club in mainland Japan and by 1932, major Japanese universities had karate clubs. In this era of escalating Japanese militarism, the name was changed from 唐手 ("Chinese hand" or "Tang hand") to 空手 ("empty hand") by Funakoshi â€" both of which are pronounced karate in Japanese â€" to indicate that the Japanese wished to develop the combat form in Japanese style. After World War II, Okinawa became an important United States military site and karate became popular among servicemen stationed there.

The martial arts movies of the 1960s and 1970s served to greatly increase the popularity of martial arts around the world, and in English the word karate began to be used in a generic way to refer to all striking-based Oriental martial arts. Karate schools began appearing across the world, catering to those with casual interest as well as those seeking a deeper study of the art.

Shigeru Egami, Chief Instructor of Shotokan Dojo, opined that "the majority of followers of karate in overseas countries pursue karate only for its fighting techniques ... Movies and television ... depict karate as a mysterious way of fighting capable of causing death or injury with a single blow ... the mass media present a pseudo art far from the real thing." Shōshin Nagamine said, "Karate may be considered as the conflict within oneself or as a life-long marathon which can be won only through self-discipline, hard training and one's own creative efforts."

On September 28, 2015, karate was featured on a shortlist along with baseball, softball, skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing to be considered for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics. On June 1, 2016, the International Olympic Committee's executive board announced they were supporting the inclusion of all five sports (counting baseball and softball as only one sport) for inclusion in the 2020 Games.

Web Japan (sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) claims there are 50 million karate practitioners worldwide, while the World Karate Federation claims there are 100 million practitioners around the world.

The history of Muay Thai can also be traced to the middle of the 16th century. During the battles between the Burmese of the Konbaung Dynasty and Siam, the famous fighter Nai Khanomtom was captured in the year 1767. The Burmese knew of his expertise in hand-to-hand combat and gave him an opportunity to fight for his freedom. Soon after winning the match, he was freed by his captors and allowed to return to Siam. He was acknowledged as a hero, and his fighting style became known as Siamese-Style boxing, later to be known as Muay Thai. This fighting style was soon to be recognized as a national sport.

Muay boran, and therefore Muay Thai, was originally called by more generic names such as Toi muay or simply muay. As well as being a practical fighting technique for use in actual warfare, muay became a sport in which the opponents fought in front of spectators who went to watch for entertainment. These muay contests gradually became an integral part of local festivals and celebrations, especially those held at temples. Eventually, the previously bare-fisted fighters started wearing lengths of hemp rope around their hands and forearms. This type of match was called muay khat chueak (มวยคาดเชือก). Kickboxing was also a component of military training and gained prominence during the reign of King Naresuan in 1560 CE.

Muay Thai is referred to as the "Art of Eight Limbs" or the "Science of Eight Limbs", because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight "points of contact", as opposed to "two points" (fists) in boxing and "four points" (hands and feet) used in other more regulated combat sports, such as kickboxing and savate. A practitioner of muay Thai is known as a nak muay. Western practitioners are sometimes called Nak Muay Farang, meaning "foreign boxer."

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Please note: this board (or forum) is NOT intended to diagnose, treat or cure any illnesses, it is an informational discussion board, please refrain from asking or suggesting treatments or cure for any illnesses as these need the proper diagnostic and advice of a health care professional. If you need help or have questions please contact admin.

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