martial art

American  

noun

1. Often martial arts any of the traditional forms of Asian self-defense or combat that utilize physical skill and coordination without weapons, as karate, aikido, judo, or kung fu, often practiced as sport.

---

martial art British  

noun

1. any of various philosophies of self-defence and techniques of single combat, such as judo or karate, originating in the Far East

---

Other Word Forms

• martial artist noun

Etymology

Origin of martial art

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

So much has changed in mixed martial arts since Dean Garnett started in the sport around 20 years ago.

From BBC

Tagawa was born in Japan and raised partly on U.S. military bases before coming to Los Angeles, where he taught his own style of martial arts called Chu Shin.

From Los Angeles Times

Blanck said that, right after the fire, a friend and fellow martial arts instructor near his native Pensacola, Fla., offered to let him teach in his dojo if he needed to move back home.

From Los Angeles Times

A new study examining cognitively impaired professional boxers and mixed martial arts fighters reports that the brain's waste-clearing system appears to weaken after repeated blows to the head.

From Science Daily

The award for non-scripted entertainment went to Danish reality TV series Shaolin Heroes, which follows contestants leaving their conventional lives behind to pursue martial arts.

From BBC

Related Words

• judo
• karate
• wrestling