Origins of Asian martial arts

Examples include Indo-Malay silat,[10] Burmese banshay, naban and bando,[11] Filipino escrima and kali,[12] Thai krabi krabong[13] and Cambodian bokator.

Warfare between rival states was conducted according to Confucian chivalry (deference to rank, attacking in turn, food sent to hungry enemies).

During the Warring States period, warfare grew bloodier and common men were expected to have skill in personal attack (chi-chi).

[15] The martial arts Shuāi Jiāo and Sun Bin Quan predate the establishment of the Shaolin Monastery by centuries[16] as does shǒubó (手搏).

Indian martial arts may have spread to China via the transmission of Buddhism in the early 5th or 6th centuries of the common era and thus influenced Shaolin Kungfu.

[20][21] The predominant telling of the diffusion of the martial arts from India to China involves a 5th-century prince turned into a monk named Bodhidharma who is said to have traveled to Shaolin, sharing his own style and thus creating Shaolinquan.

[27] 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 non-warrior classes.

It appears that during the Goguryeo dynasty, (37 BC – 668 AD) subak (empty-handed fighting), swordsmanship, bow and arrow, spear-fighting and horse riding were practiced.

During one of the battles, the Koreans learned about a martial art manual titled Ji Xiao Xin Shu (紀效新書), written by the Chinese military strategist Qi Jiguang.

[29] In 1790, these two books formed the basis, together with other Korean, Chinese, and Japanese martial art manuals, of the richly illustrated Muyedobotongji (Hangul: 무예도보통지, Hanja: 武藝圖譜通志).

Its origins are Asian and come from a period wherein the various prehispanic Philippine states; Rajahnates, Kingdoms, Sultanates and Lakanates warred with each other, therefore producing a rich martial tradition with hundreds of schools as numerous as there are Filipino ethnic groups.

During the Spanish period, Chinese and Japanese converts[31] to Christianity who fled to the Philippines away from their homeland's persecution, also enriched Filipino martial arts with their own styles.