Are non-Asian MA doomed to obscurity?

[Toby Christensen]

I was having a conversation with my Maori neighbour regarding MA. He has done a Japanese style and screams like a little girl when I apply wrestling holds (no, not really).

He said that he has never heard of Maori MA. I responded "What did you fight the British with hand-to-hand then?"

He said "The patau, the tei'aha..."

I said "The employment of a weapon or piece of anatomy in a systematic fashion IS an MA".

The Maori around here have Mau (unarmed fighting) and Mau Rakau (armed fighting) classes around here, but why aren't they listed in the Yellow Pages? I mean, the tei'aha lets you cut off heads, smash people roundhouse style AND cleave people down the middle. That's clearly very cool.

Same goes for African MA etc.

[Jekyll]

Counter examples; BJJ, boxing, wrestling and savate.

[Toby Christensen]

Savate I'll grant you is gaining popularity and kicks arse (very literally); wrestling of any sort is not favoured in Oz and BJJ is derived from an Asian style.

[Astrosmurf]

When you use the term 'martial art' in sweden usually people only think of the asian stuff. Boxing is just boxing to most people and if you are not wearing gi's and coloured belts you are not doing MA.

[Toby Christensen]

That's because people are idiots. Direct them to the nearest skilled Glimmemen and post the vids.

[Leonidas]

Martial Arts always has that whole asian stigmata attatched to it for most. It doesnt help westers MA that one of the most well known westernized MA's is tae bo...

jokes like that aside (yes its a joke) its games like tekken that surprisingly piqued my interest in MA's out of asia, most noticably Krav Maga and Capoeria. I mean, cmon, if you ever wanna describe the latter to someone, you just say "that breakdancy-thing eddie from tekken does" :P

Brazilian Jiu Jutsu, though derived from asian style has the titular advantage, so im grouping it as westernized. (also because its most prominent representatives arent asian)

you also gotta remember that a lot of western martial arts, such as swordplay in medieval times and the martial arts learnt by ancient greek/roman troopers were just that, army oriented and therefore died out with their respective falls. If anything, you'd need a historian to learn them :P

Just something I was thinkin about.

[Ronin]

Um, er, Boxing.

[Rubberduck]

Sadly, those medieval masters who taught hand to hand, as well as weapons, did not come up with catchy names for fighting. :pity: Like Deja-Fu, Sna-Fu, Okidoki etc. Wrestling is wrestling, boxing is boxing, savate comes from old shoe (booting). Ok pankration aside, but even that means "all-powers". Nothing fancy like Plum Blossom Hayakudaki-Fu-Jitsu. Not much mystique, which people seem to expect from martial arts (read: bullshido).

[Ronin]

In europe you wil find schools of medieval and renassaince MA.

[Toby Christensen]

Well let's clarify:

Why don't the Polynesians and Africans etc have advertised schools? It's all word of mouth and somebody-who-know-somebody.

As Osiris said notably "Other cultures haven't pimped [their MA] out".