Martial Arts is a collective term used for any systemised form of combat and practices from many different nationalities exist even today. Almost every ancient civilisation has produced their own unique fighting style, a result of perfected combat skills honed from thousands of battles and wars; Ancient Greece, for example, is famous for it's Greek wrestling, Pankration, used in Olympic Games as sport and used even by the Spartans for war. However, because Martial Arts is so widespread and so unique to each culture, it is almost impossible to determine exactly where the first Martial Arts originated, and how it spread so far.
To narrow down the origins of these ancient traditions, history must be traced back from the arts we know today; Chinese kung fu, Japanese karate, Greek wrestling and Indian combat arts. Who started to create them? What for? How were they used? How much did they change? By studying these cultures, through written records, artworks, and even traditional practitioners today, maybe it is possible to date the first Martial Art.
