Analysis of the process of emergence and development trends of Ukrainian and Eastern national types of martial arts
Authors: Lytvynenko Andrii , Mulyk Viacheslav 
Published: December 2023

Background and Study Aim. National types of martial arts have been created and are functioning in Ukraine, which are gaining more and more popularity in the world. Modern sports science investigates the history of the creation of national types of martial arts. The purpose of the article is to investigate the historical origins of the emergence and development of Ukrainian and Eastern national martial arts.

Material and Methods. 217 sources of information on the history of traditional Ukrainian martial culture were analyzed. Bibliometric methods of processing the received information were used. After the initial analysis, 34 sources were selected, which fully correspond to the purpose of the study.

Results. The stages of the formation of the Ukrainian nation are quite fully covered in scientific historical sources. The mutual connection between the development of society and its martial culture is shown. It is reliably known about the presence of military training in the era of the Trypil culture (approx. 5400 - 2750 BC). It is shown that the complication of social relations and the development of material production created conditions for the separation of the caste of professional warriors. Professional soldiers conducted specialized training for weapons and physical fitness. In combat units, young men were trained for combat operations. The military training of professional soldiers reached its maximum development during the period of existence of Kyivan Rus (IX-XIII centuries of the new era). Literary sources provide information that the national physical culture developed at the same time as the complex of military-applied youth training. The training included fencing with various types of weapons, archery and types of unarmed combat. On the banks of the Dnieper, on the island of Khortytsia, the Cossacks formed the military society of Zaporizhzhya Sich (16th - 18th centuries of the new era) and on a systematic basis conducted preparations for conducting military operations. Varieties of fencing, wrestling and fist fighting were developed at a high level. Data given in scientific sources indicate that the Cossack martial arts became the basis of modern Ukrainian national types of martial arts. In Japan, in the process of the foundation of the country (1603-1868 years of the new era), a national martial culture was formed based on the training of samurai warriors.

Conclusions. The bibliometric analysis of publications on the history of Ukraine determined the correlation between the stages of the formation of the Ukrainian nation and the development of the military culture of Ukraine. The significant influence of religion on the consciousness of Ukrainians makes it possible to divide martial arts into pre-Christian (Trypylian and Indo-European cultures) and Christian (Kyiv Rus, Zaporizhzhya Sich). A comparison of the emergence and development of traditional national martial arts of Ukraine and Japan makes it possible to highlight the general patterns of formation of modern national types of martial arts.