One would be tempted to assume that because the human body can only move in a limited number of ways, fighting styles would also be necessarily limited as well. The opposite is quite true: From bare-handed (or footed) combat to complex weapons styles of fighting, martial arts-trained fighters string together the body's jointed moves in a seemingly endless variety of applications.
Boxing
While sometimes considered a sport, Western-style boxing remains a martial art in essence, focused on using fists and footwork to both deal out and avoid injury. Boxing matches are often governed by rules very similar to those of competitive martial arts bouts, with timed rounds and governed rules of acceptable contact.
Muay Thai
Muay Thai, also known as Thai kickboxing, focuses on elbow and knee strikes combined with low, hard kicks. Widely acknowledged as physically punishing to train and devastatingly effective in a fight, Muay Thai began as a system of close combat on the battlefield and was slowly brought into the ring as a combat sport. Muay Thai was even a part of Thai school curriculum into the 1900s.
Krav Maga
Krav Maga is another example of a simple, practical, highly effective fighting style. Developed by the Israeli Army as a method of combat involving bare hands and simple weapons such as knives or sticks. Krav Maga is perceived as "no holds barred" for a good reason: Punching, kicking, chokes and takedowns are part of the art, as are blows to the groin, eyes, throat and face. Because its techniques cause serious injury or debilitation, Krav Maga is not a competitive art as such, but remains an extremely effective style.
Mixed Martial Arts
The mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting style is exactly what it sounds like--a variable mix of various fighting disciplines including wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, muay thai, kickboxing and Western boxing. Various MMA schools may combine specific aspects of various sports in their training or simply offer training in the various styles.
One might make the case that Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do was the first real mixed martial arts fighting style, although in its purest form, JKD is more of a philosophy than a fighting style.
Weapons Styles
Some weapons styles, such as Kendo, Kumdo and Western fencing (all sword arts), focus on a specific weapon or a small range of weapons. Others, such as Kobudo (the study of traditional Okinawan weapons such as the bo staff, sai, nunchaku, kama and tonfa); Hapkido (which employs a variety of practical weapons from short sticks to wooden canes); and Ninjutsu, whose practitioners train to turn any object to their advantage as a weapon, focus on a broader range of weapons.
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