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The term Martial Art describes a multitude of sporting events generally centered around hand to hand combat. Some styles of Martial Arts are more artistic, such as Kung Fu or Karate. Some styles are almost therapeutic like Tai Chi. Some styles are wildly popular for competition such as Western Boxing or Muay Thai other styles are more practical for actual self defense like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Judo, or lethality like LINE Combatives. Almost all forms of Martial Arts have competitions on a wide range of levels from local dojos or gyms to international competitions as big as the Olympics.

Martial Arts encompass a wide variety of strikes, throws, joint manipulations, and even lethal "kill moves" that usually target soft areas such as the throat and eyes. Martial Arts usually have a rank hierarchy, the most common being a colored belt system to show the level of achievement the athlete has shown. Martial Arts vary greatly in almost all aspects, united by the basic concept of using ones own body as a "weapon."

Some Martial Arts, however, do incorporate weapons.

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