Hybrid martial arts

For the combat sport, see Mixed martial arts.

Hybrid martial arts (also known as hybrid fighting systems) refer to martial arts or fighting systems that incorporate techniques and theories from several particular martial arts. While numerous martial arts borrow or adapt from other arts and to some extent could be considered hybrids, a hybrid martial art emphasizes its stylistic origins. An example of these hybrids is Kajukenbo, which includes specific elements of karate, judo, jujutsu, kenpo, and Chinese boxing.^[1] An interesting historical example of cross-cultural hybridization in the martial arts is Bartitsu, created in 1899 as a combination of several forms of traditional jujutsu, Kodokan judo, English boxing, French savate and stick fighting. Other terms such as mixed martial arts and combatives may be seen as synonyms or near-synonyms of hybrid martial arts, but such terms have other meanings as well: mixed martial arts or MMA has come to refer to a type of combat sport, while combatives is associated with the United States Army.

Jeet Kune Do as a hybrid martial art

The combat system Jeet Kune Do may be considered both a fighting philosophy and a hybrid martial art, since it can incorporate techniques from any martial art. Some consider Jeet Kune Do to be the precursor of mixed martial arts. This is particularly the case with respect to the JKD "Combat Ranges". A JKD student is expected to learn various combat systems within each combat range to thus be effective in all of them; similarly to mixed martial arts. ^[2]

See also

• Cross training
• Mixed martial arts
• Sli beatha

References