MARTIAL ART

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does martial art mean? 

• MARTIAL ART (noun)
  The noun MARTIAL ART has 1 sense:

1. any of several Oriental arts of weaponless self-defense; usually practiced as a sport

  Familiarity information: MARTIAL ART used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MARTIAL ART (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of several Oriental arts of weaponless self-defense; usually practiced as a sport

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he had a black belt in the martial arts

Hypernyms ("martial art" is a kind of...):

self-defence; self-defense; self-protection (the act of defending yourself)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "martial art"):

aikido (a Japanese martial art employing principles similar to judo)

judo (a sport adapted from jujitsu (using principles of not resisting) and similar to wrestling; developed in Japan)

jiujitsu; jujitsu; jujutsu (a method of self-defense without weapons that was developed in China and Japan; holds and blows are supplemented by clever use of the attacker's own weight and strength)

ninjitsu; ninjutsu (the traditional Japanese method of espionage; involves stealthy movements and the use of camouflage)

karate (a traditional Japanese system of unarmed combat (in Japanese, karate means 'empty hand'); sharp blows and kicks are given to pressure-sensitive points on the body of the opponent)

kung fu (a Chinese martial art)

tae kwon do; taekwondo (a Korean martial art similar to karate)

t'ai chi; t'ai chi chuan; tai chi; tai chi chuan; taichi; taichichuan (a Chinese system of slow meditative physical exercise designed for relaxation and balance and health)