Redefining our terms:

[P Marsh]

Can we at least stop saying "Aliveness", it just an affront to grammar and feels gross to say.

Traditional Martial Arts works well because for the most part what are described as TMA are sold under the guise of a preserved tradition. Non-TMA styles are often adapted and improved at regular intervals where TMA tend to be more stagnant at least in their presentation. Bad MA are even divided and categorized between TMA and RBSD which tend to sell themselves by claiming to use cutting edge science or modern military secrets.

Historical Martial Arts

As a history major I resent this; its bad enough we have that god awful network doing its damnedest to ruin the public body of knowledge and poison the field's good name.

[02-6611-0142-1]

A "Classical" martial art makes me think of Ancient Greece. So wrestling and boxing. And pankration.

[bassai]

I prefer to think of them as either competitive or non competitive martial arts , as that seems to be more accurate.

[Nickosaurus]

Always saw what people call Traditional Martial Arts as Martial Arts as often style over substance like Arts. With more alive styles (Judo, BJJ, Sambo ect) as Combat sports as they are competitive

I have no problem with the term Classical Martial Art but I think getting the whole internet to see the term as valid would be more effort than its worth. With Tradition being very important to the practitioners it might be the best way of describing them

[Permalost]

Classical implies antiquity, but a lot of the "traditional" arts are less than a hundred years old, yet they keep a mindset that they're keeping something old more unchanged.

[Keej613]

I prefer to think of them as either competitive or non competitive martial arts , as that seems to be more accurate.

That's not an accurate or complete way to describe a martial art, though. For example, Tae Kwon Do is actually a modern martial art (in the same sense that Judo is a modern martial art) but it usually gets lumped in with traditional arts. Tae Kwon Do is also a competitive martial art but competition is usually limited to light contact point fighting.

[Keej613]

I think it boils down to this:

All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.

All combat sports are martial arts but not all martial arts are combat sports.

[Asaris]

I think the only way to be clear is with examples. Whatever terms you use, somebody's going to be confused, but when you're talking about Kung Fu/Karate in one section, and combat sports in the other, the distinction is pretty clear.

[Vieux Normand]

Only those who feel it necessary to use those terms in the first place would need to (re)define them.

[Keej613]

Only those who feel it necessary to use those terms in the first place would need to (re)define them.