儘管武術存在的最早證據可以追溯到幾千年前，但其真正的根源卻很難被回溯重建。激發模擬性格鬥的實踐（特別是摔跤類運動）和針對嚴肅近距離格鬥的最佳化總結之人類固有的攻擊方式，作為一種文化共性，無疑是從人類出現之前的早期階段便傳承下來的，並且從其出現的早期階段便發展成為了一種 藝術。 事實上，武術在各個時期和地區存在的許多共同特徵受到人類生理學的身體機能所限，而非依賴於某個特定的傳統或時代。 一些傳承至今的特定武術傳統在古典時代期間已經初步形成，其中包括中國式摔跤、希臘式摔跤以及印度的史詩或中國的春秋等文獻中所記載的武術型別。 早期歷史 在對與武器相關的考古學證據的分析結果之外，武術被練習的最早記錄可追溯到在具象藝術與早期文學中均存在的對打鬥場景的描繪。 The earliest evidence for specifics of martial arts as practiced in the past comes from depictions of fights both in figurative art and in early literature besides analysis of archaeological evidence especially of weaponry The oldest work of art depicting scenes of battle dating back 3400 BCWorld grappling styles Retrieved 20130622 was the Ancient Egyptian paintings showing some form of struggleIwona Czerwinska Pawluk and Walery Zukow 2011 Humanities dimension of physiotherapy rehabilitation nursing and public health p 21 Dating back to 3000 BC in Mesopotamia Babylon reliefs and the poems depicting struggle were found In Vietnam drawings and sketches from 2879 BCE describe certain ways of combat using sword stick bow and spears The spear has been in use since the Lower Paleolithic and retained its central importance well into the 2nd millennium AD The bow appears in the Upper Paleolithic and is likewise only gradually replaced by the crossbow and eventually firearms in the Present Day True bladed weapons appear in the Neolithic with the stone axe and diversify in shape in the course of the Bronze Age khopeshkopis sword dagger Some early examples are the depiction of wrestling techniques in a tomb of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt at Beni Hasan c 2000 BC and pictorial representations of fist fighting in the Minoan civilization dating to the 2nd millennium BCE In ancient China Yellow Emperor 2698 BC is described as a famous general who before becoming Chinas leader wrote lengthy treatises on medicine astrology and the martial arts Literary descriptions of combat began in the 2nd millennium BC with mention of weaponry and combat in texts like the Gilgamesh epic or the RigVeda Detailed description of Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age handtohand combat with spear sword and shield are found in the Iliad c 8th century BC and also the Mahabharatha Africa An Egyptian fresco dated to 3400 BC and depicting military training at Beni Hassan is the worlds oldest known artistic representation of an organised fighting system In gymnasiums similar to those of Greece recruits would practice wrestling callisthenics and duelling with singlestick The attacking weapon apparently had a basketguard protecting the hand while the left forearm had a splint strapped on to serve as a shield Soldiers fought with spears large shields with an eyehole clubs axes poleaxes flails bows slings and swords of various forms Later martial styles as varied as Gidigbo a form of wrestling practiced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria Donga a form of stickfighting practiced by the Suri people of Ethiopia Musangwe a form of bareknuckle boxing practiced by the Venda people of South Africa Tahtib a form of stickfighting practiced by the Copts of Egypt and Engolo a form of kicking dodging and leg sweeping practiced by the tribes of the Cunene river region of Angola to name just a few were developed by cultures all over Africa China Antiquity Zhou to Jin A handtohand combat theory including the integration of notions of hard and soft techniques is expounded in the story of the Maiden of Yue in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue 5th century BCEtrans and ed Zhang Jue 1994 pp 367370 cited after Hennin 1999 p 321 and note 8 The Han History Bibliographies record that by the Former Han 206 BC 9 AD there was a distinction between noholdsbarred weaponless fighting which it calls shǒubó 手搏 for which howto manuals had already been written and sportive wrestling then known as juélì or jiǎolì 角力 Wrestling is also documented in the Shǐ Jì Records of the Grand Historian written by Sima Qian c 100 BCEHenning Stanley E Fall 1999 Academia Encounters the Chinese Martial arts China Review International 6 2 319332 ISSN 10695834 Jiǎolì is also mentioned in the Classic of Rites 1st century BCEClassic of Rites Chapter 6 Yuèlìng Line 108 In the 1st century Six Chapters of Hand Fighting were included in the Han Shu history of the Former Han Dynasty written by Ban Gu The Five Animals concept in Chinese martial arts is attributed to Hua Tuo a 3rdcentury physicianDingbo Wu Patrick D Murphy 1994 Handbook of Chinese Popular Culture Greenwood Press Middle Ages In the Tang dynasty descriptions of sword dances were immortalized in poems by Li Bai and Du Fu In the Song and Yuan dynasties xiangpu the earliest form of sumo contests were sponsored by the imperial courtsThe customary Bowing of martial arts is thus due to the transmission of the task or work to be carried out in ancient times precisely for the reigning Empire In regard to the Shaolin fighting system the oldest evidence of Shaolin participation in combat is a stele from 728 CE that attests to two occasions a defense of the Shaolin Monastery from bandits around 610 CE and their subsequent role in the defeat of Wang Shichong at the Battle of Hulao in 621 CE From the 8th to the 15th centuries there are no extant documents that provide evidence of Shaolin participation in combat Late Ming The modern concepts of wushu emerge by the late Ming to early Qing dynasties 16th to 17th centuriesChina Sportlight Series 1986 Sports and Games in Ancient China New World Press Between the 16th and 17th centuries there are at least forty extant sources which provided evidence that not only did monks of Shaolin practice martial arts but martial practice had become such an integral element of Shaolin monastic life that the monks felt the need to justify it by creating new Buddhist loreShahar Meir 2000 Epigraphy Buddhist Historiography and Fighting Monks The Case of The Shaolin Monastery Asia Major Third Series 13 2 1536 References of martial practice in Shaolin appear in various literary genres of the late Ming the epitaphs of Shaolin warrior monks martialarts manuals military encyclopedias historical writings travelogues fiction and even poetry However these sources do not point out to any specific style originated in ShaolinShahar Meir December 2001 MingPeriod Evidence of Shaolin Martial Practice Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 61 2 359413 These sources in contrast to those from the Tang period refer to Shaolin methods of armed combat This include the forte of Shaolin monks and for which they had become famous the staff gun General Qi Jiguang included these techniques in his book Treatise of Effective DisciplineHenning Stanley 1999 Martial arts Myths of Shaolin Monastery Part I The Giant with the Flaming Staff Journal of the Chenstyle Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii 5 1 Shahar Meir 2007 The Shaolin Monastery History Religion and the Chinese Martial arts Honolulu The University of Hawaii Press India Antiquity Classical Sanskrit epics contain the earliest written accounts of combat in IndiaShamya Dasgupta JuneSeptember 2004 An Inheritance from the British The Indian Boxing Story Routledge 21 3 p 433451 The term dwandwayuddha referred to a duel such that it was a battle between only two warriors and not armies The Mahabharata describes a prolonged battle between Arjuna and Karna using bows swords trees and fistsZarrilli Phillip B A South Indian Martial Art and the Yoga and Ayurvedic Paradigms University of WisconsinMadison Stories describing Krishna report that he sometimes engaged in wrestling matches where he used knee strikes to the chest punches to the head hair pulling and strangleholds Another unarmed battle in the Mahabharata describes two fighters boxing with clenched fists and fighting with kicks finger strikes knee strikes and headbuttsSection XIII Samayapalana Parva Book 4 Virata Parva Mahabharata Krishna Maharaja who singlehandedly overcame an elephant according to the Mahabharata is credited with developing the sixteen principles of armed combat Kalaripayattu the most ancient and important form of India was practiced in Kerala Its origins date back to the 12th century Unniyarcha Aromal Chekavar and others were Thiyya warriors of Chekavar lineage It was during their period that kalaripayattu spread widely in southern Kerala Many of the popular sports mentioned in the Vedas and the epics have their origins in military training such as boxing mustiyuddha wrestling malladwandwa chariotracing rathachalan horseriding aswarohana and archery dhanurvidya Competitions were held not just as a contest of the players prowess but also as a means of finding a bridegroom Ten fighting styles of northern India were said to have been created in different areas based on animals and gods and designed for the particular geography of their origin Tradition ascribes their convergence to the 6thcentury in the Buddhist university of Takshashila located in todays Punjab region Middle Ages Like other branches of Sanskrit literature treatises on martial arts become more systematic in the course of the 1st millennium CE The grappling art of vajramushti is mentioned in sources of the early centuries CE Military accounts of the Gupta Empire c 240480 and the later Agni Purana identify over 130 different weapons divided into thrown and unthrown classes and further into subclassesParmeshwaranand Swami Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Purāṇas Sarup Sons 2001 sv dhanurveda Gaṅgā Rām Garg Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World Concept Publishing Company 1992 sv archery The Kama Sutra written by Vātsyāyana suggested that women should regularly practice with sword singlestick quarterstaff and bow and arrow The Sushruta Samhita c 4th century identifies 107 vital points on the human bodyG D Singhal L V Guru 1973 Anatomical and Obstetrical Considerations in Ancient Indian Surgery Based on SariraSthana of Susruta Samhita of which 64 were classified as being lethal if properly struck with a fist or stick Sushrutas work formed the basis of the medical discipline ayurveda which was taught alongside various martial arts With numerous other scattered references to vital points in Vedic and epic sources it is certain that Indian subcontinents early fighters knew and practised attacking or defending vital points Fighting arts were not exclusive to the kshatriya caste though the warrior class used the systems more extensively The 8thcentury text Kuvalaymala by Udyotanasuri recorded such systems being taught at gurukula educational institutions where Brahmin students from throughout the subcontinent were learning and practicing archery fighting with sword and shield with daggers sticks lances and with fists and in duels niuddham The earliest extant manual of Indian martial arts is contained as chapters 248 to 251 in the Agni Purana c 8th 11th centuries giving an account of dhanurveda in a total of 104 shlokaP C Chakravarti 1972 The art of warfare in ancient India DelhiGRETIL etext based on Rajendralal Mitra Calcutta Asiatic Society of Bengal 18701879 3 vols Bibliotheca Indica 6513 AP 248138 249119 250113 251134 These verses describe how to improve a warriors individual prowess and kill enemies using various different methods in warfare whether a warrior went to war in chariots elephants horses or on foot Foot methods were subdivided into armed combat and unarmed combatJ R Svinth 2002 A Chronological History of the Martial Arts and Combative Sports Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences The former included the bow and arrow the sword spear noose armour iron dart club battle axe discus and the trident The latter included wrestling knee strikes and punching and kicking methods Japan The historical origin of Japanese martial arts can be found in the warrior traditions of the samurai and the caste system that restricted the use of weapons by members of the nonwarrior classes Originally samurai were expected to be proficient in many weapons as well as unarmed combat and attain the highest possible mastery of combat skills for the purpose of glorifying either themselves or their liege A large number of schools evolved to teach these skills with those existing before the Meiji Restoration classed as or old stream Over time there was a trend away from the traditional purpose to a philosophy of coupling spiritual goals with the striving to perfect their martial skills The Japanese Book of Five Rings dates to 1664 Korea Taekkyon is the traditional martial art of Korea Taekkyon came into existence sometime before the Silla dynasty united the peninsula It is believed Taekkyon was known as Subak at that time Taekkyon focuses on upright fighting footwork kicks strikes blocks throws and rhythm Ssireum is the traditional wrestling art of Korea Gakjeochong 각저총 角抵塚 murals show that wrestling in Korea dates back as early as the preThree Kingdom era The Book of Later Han a Chinese document that was written either before or early in the history of the Three Kingdoms also has records of Korean wrestling Ssireum first gained widespread popularity during the Joseon dynasty 13921910 Two Korean martial arts manuals Muyejebo and Muyedobotongji date from 1598 and 1790 respectively Sri Lanka Angampora is an ancient Sri Lankan martial art that combines combat techniques selfdefense sport exercise and meditation According to apocryphal Sinhalese folklore Angamporas history stretches to as far back as 3000 years with the Yaksha tribe one of the four hela the ancient tribes that inhabited the island being identified as originators With the advent of colonialism over the entirety of the island in 1815 Angampora fell into disuse and was very nearly lost as a part of the countrys heritage The British administration prohibited its practice due to the dangers posed by a civilian populace versed in a martial art burning down any angan madu practice huts devoted to the martial art found flouting of the law was punished by a gunshot to the knee effectively crippling practitioners Angampora nevertheless survived within a few families allowing it to emerge into mainstream Sri Lankan culture postindependence Persia Iran The traditional Persian style of grappling was known as koshti with the physical exercise and schooled sport known as varzeshe bastani It is saidNekoogar Farzad 1996 Traditional Iranian Martial Arts Varzeshe Pahlavani pahlvanicom Menlo Park Accessed 20070208 to be traceable back to Arsacid Parthian times 132 BCE 226 CE and is still widely practiced today in the region Following the development of Sufi Islam in the 8th century CE varzeshe pahlavani absorbed philosophical and spiritual components from that religion Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is also an ancient martial art and the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzeshe pahlavāni heroic sport or varzeshe bāstāni varzeše bāstānī ancient sport a traditional system of athletics originally used to train warriors in Iran Persia and first appearing under this name and form in the Safavid era with similarities to systems in adjacent lands under other names Turkic Other historical grappling styles from the region include Turkic forms such as kurash köräş and yağlı güreş Arab The north Arabian tradition of horsemanship quickly became an integral part of warfare throughout the Arab world and much of the West Asia The Middle Ages saw the flourishing of the furusiyya culture combining the ancient Bedouin concept of honour muruah with the Islamic ideals of chivalry A meaning knight or horseman would first hone his skills in wrestling and armed combat on the ground before learning to fight while mounted Furusiyya literature from the 9th to 15th century deal with equestrianism archery military strategy duelling and charging with the lance Armed fighting included the use of the sword sayf spear lance javelin dagger jambiya staff axe tabar warhammer and curved bow There is also Tahtib التحطيب which was practiced in ancient Egypt and is still performed in celebrations Europe Antiquity European martial arts become tangible in Greek antiquity with pankration and other martially oriented disciplines of the ancient Olympic Games Boxing became Olympic in Greece as early as 688 BCE Detailed depictions of wrestling techniques are preserved in vase paintings of the Classical period Homers Iliad has a number of detailed descriptions of single combat with spear sword and shield Gladiatorial combat appears to have Etruscan roots and is documented in Rome from the 260s BCE The papyrus fragment known as POxy III 466 dating from the 2nd century gives the earliest surviving description in writing of wrestling techniques In Sardinia a Mediterranean island a fighting style which has been called istrumpa was practised in the Bronze Age as demonstrated by the finding of a little bronze statue known as Bronzetto dei lottatori or bronze of the fighting men which shows two fighters struggling with each other on the ground Middle Ages Pictorial sources of medieval combat include the Bayeux tapestry 11th century the Morgan Bible 13th century The Icelandic sagas contain many realistic descriptions of Viking Age combat The earliest extant dedicated martial arts manual is the MS I33 c 1300 detailing sword and buckler combat compiled in a Franconian monastery The manuscript consists of 64 images with Latin commentary interspersed with technical vocabulary in German While there are earlier manuals of wrestling techniques I33 is the earliest known manual dedicated to teaching armed single combat Wrestling throughout the Middle Ages was practiced by all social strata Jousting and the tournament were popular martial arts practiced by nobility throughout the High and Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages see the appearance of elaborate fencing systems such as the German or Italian schools Fencing schools Fechtschulen for the new bourgeois class become popular increasing the demand for professional instructors fencing masters Fechtmeister The martial arts techniques taught in this period is preserved in a number of 15thcentury Fechtbücher Renaissance to Early Modern period The late medieval German school survives into the German Renaissance and there are a number of printed 16thcentury manuals notably the one by Joachim Meyer 1570 But by the 17th century the German school declines in favour of the Italian Dardi school reflecting the transition to rapier fencing in the upper classes Wrestling comes to be seen as an ignoble pursuit proper for the lower classes and until its 19thcentury revival as a modern sport becomes restricted to folk wrestling In the Baroque period fashion shifts from Italian to Spanish masters and their elaborate systems of Destreza In the mid18th century in keeping with the general Rococo fashion French masters rise to international prominence introducing the foil and much of the terminology still current in modern sports fencing There are also a number of Early Modern fencing masters of note in England such as George Silver and Joseph Swetnam Academic fencing takes its origin in the Middle Ages and is subject to the changes of fencing fashion throughout the Early Modern period It establishes itself as the separate style of Mensur fencing in the 18th Modern history 1800 to present The Western interest in East Asian martial arts dates back to the late 19th century due to the increase in trade between the West with China and Japan European martial arts before that time was focused on the duelling sword among the upper classes on one hand and various styles of folk wrestling among the lower classes on the other Savate appears in the early 19th century in France as a mix between English boxing and French folk kicking techniques At that time in France it existed in gyms called salles darmes where savate English boxing fencing canne de combat and sometimes even wrestling was practiced Edward William BartonWright a British railway engineer who had studied jujutsu while working in Japan between 1894 and 1897 was the first man known to have taught Asian martial arts in Europe He also founded an eclectic martial arts style named Bartitsu which combined jujutsu judo wrestling boxing savate and stick fighting Also during the late 19th and early 20th centuries catch wrestling contests became immensely popular in Europe The development of Brazilian JiuJitsu from the early 20th century is a good example of the worldwide crosspollination and syncretism of martial arts traditions The later 1970s and 1980s witnessed an increased media interest in the martial arts thanks in part to Asian and Hollywood martial arts movies and very popular television shows like Kung Fu Martial Law and The Green Hornet that incorporated martial arts moments or themes Following Bruce Lee both Jackie Chan and Jet Li are prominent movie figures who have been responsible for promoting Chinese martial arts in recent years Combined Olympic medal table Martial arts have been a part of the modern Olympic games since 1896 The following table is correct up to and including the 2021 Summer Games Country Fencing Wrestling Wrestling Boxing Judo Taekwondo Karate Total Country Fencing GrecoRoman Freestyle Boxing Judo Taekwondo Karate Total Afghanistan 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 Algeria 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 8 Argentina 1 0 0 24 2 1 0 28 Armenia 0 8 1 2 0 0 0 11 Australia 0 0 3 5 2 2 0 12 Australasia 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Austria 7 1 1 0 7 0 1 17 Azerbaijan 0 7 18 9 5 3 2 44 Belarus 0 7 7 2 2 0 0 18 Belgium 10 0 3 4 13 0 0 30 Bermuda 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Bohemia 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Brazil 0 0 0 8 24 2 0 34 Bulgaria 0 32 39 19 3 0 1 94 Cameroon 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 Canada 0 0 17 17 7 2 0 43 Chile 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 China 15 6 9 14 22 11 2 79 Chinese Taipei 0 0 0 1 1 9 1 12 Colombia 0 0 2 5 2 1 0 10 Croatia 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 6 Cuba 10 16 11 78 37 6 0 158 Czech Republic 1 1 0 1 2 0 0 5 Czechoslovakia 0 11 4 6 1 0 0 22 Denmark 6 9 0 12 0 0 0 27 Dominican Republic 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 4 East Germany 1 4 3 13 9 0 0 30 Egypt 1 8 0 4 2 4 2 21 Estonia 2 8 3 1 3 0 0 17 Finland 0 58 25 16 0 0 0 99 France 123 9 9 25 57 8 1 232 Gabon 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Georgia 0 8 11 1 12 0 0 32 Germany 21 22 7 23 21 2 0 96 Ghana 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 Great Britain 9 0 17 62 20 9 0 117 Greece 5 9 2 0 2 4 0 22 Guyana 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Hong Kong 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 Hungary 90 41 15 20 10 0 1 177 Iceland 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 India 0 0 7 3 0 0 0 10 Iran 0 9 38 0 0 6 1 54 Ireland 0 0 0 18 0 0 0 18 Israel 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 7 Italy 130 19 3 48 17 4 2 223 Ivory Coast 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 Japan 3 15 61 8 96 1 3 187 Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 Kazakhstan 0 5 12 24 4 1 2 48 Kenya 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 Kosovo 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Kyrgyzstan 0 3 3 0 1 0 0 7 Latvia 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 Lebanon 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 Lithuania 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 Mauritius 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Mexico 1 1 0 13 0 7 0 22 Moldova 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 Mongolia 0 0 10 7 11 0 0 28 Morocco 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 Mixed team 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Netherlands 5 0 0 8 24 0 0 37 New Zealand 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 Niger 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 Nigeria 0 0 1 6 0 1 0 8 North Korea 0 1 9 8 8 0 0 26 North Macedonia 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 Norway 1 5 3 5 0 2 0 16 Pakistan 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 Philippines 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 Poland 22 21 6 43 8 0 0 100 Portugal 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 4 Puerto Rico 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 7 ROC 8 3 5 6 3 4 0 29 Romania 17 27 7 25 6 0 0 82 Russia 26 22 34 30 16 4 0 132 Russian Empire 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 San Marino 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Saudi Arabia 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Serbia 0 2 0 0 0 4 1 7 Slovakia 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Slovenia 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 6 South Africa 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 19 South Korea 16 16 20 20 46 22 0 140 Soviet Union 49 60 56 51 23 0 0 239 Spain 1 0 1 4 6 7 2 21 Sweden 7 58 28 11 0 0 0 104 Switzerland 8 1 14 0 4 0 0 27 Syria 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 Tajikistan 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 Thailand 0 0 0 15 0 6 0 21 Tonga 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Tunisia 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 6 Turkey 0 25 41 7 2 9 4 88 Uganda 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 Ukraine 7 7 11 15 4 0 2 46 Unified Team 5 9 7 2 4 0 0 27 UAE 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 United States 33 15 123 117 14 10 1 313 United Team of Germany 4 7 2 6 2 0 0 21 Uruguay 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Uzbekistan 0 2 6 15 7 1 0 31 Venezuela 1 0 0 6 0 2 0 9 Vietnam 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 West Germany 16 5 4 6 8 0 0 39 Yugoslavia 0 12 4 11 2 0 0 29 Zambia 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Totals 668 625 731 996 607 176 32 3835 Reconstruction The reconstruction of a martial art as practiced in a specific period is distinct from the practice of a traditional fighting system handed down by way of masterstudent transmission The largest movement of martial arts reconstruction is the Historical European Martial Arts revival HEMA gaining momentum since the late 1990s To a limited extent there are also attempts to reconstruct other styles such as Korean swordsmanship and Persian armed combat called razmafzar The Japanese term Koryū refers to old schools of martial arts which predate 1868 it does not imply that historical styles are actively reconstructed just that the schools tradition goes back 150 years or more A reconstructed martial art necessarily rests on historical records either combat manuals or pictorial representations Martial arts reconstruction specifically does not claim an unbroken tradition of some historical martial arts On the contrary the premise is that in an unbroken tradition styles significantly evolve over time It is not necessary for the tradition to have been interrupted in order to reconstruct an earlier style a case in point is classical fencing which reconstructs the sport fencing of the 19th century before it evolved into current Olympic fencing or historical German ringen which over time developed into contemporary styles of folk wrestling Claims of ancient martial arts which survive unchanged by unbroken tradition eg as suggested by Yehoshua Sofer do not fall under reconstruction and are by their nature unverifiable even to the person making the claim Certain modern schools of Ninjutsu may fall under the category of martial arts reconstruction the Bujinkan organization claims to base their teaching on a manuscript documenting a historical school known as Togakureryū dated to the 12th century But as this manuscript is supposedly in the private possession of Masaaki Hatsumi its authenticity or indeed existence cannot be verified by independent parties See also Martial arts timeline History of sport History of archery History of warfare History of wrestling History of physical training and fitness 參考文獻 書目 Michael B Poliakoff Combat Sports in the Ancient World Competition Violence and Culture Sports and History Series Yale University Press 1987 Thomas A Green Joseph R Svinth eds Martial Arts of the World An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation 2010 two volumes vol 1 Regions and Individual Arts vol 2 Themes Category 武術 Category 武術歷史 Category 各體育運動歷史