Combat Sports - Types, Advantages & Disadvantages

Source - Combat Kinetics

A combat sport – it is a competitive sport, which includes a one on one battle, also known as a fighting sport. The one who score more points is announced as the winner of the competition. 

The sport originated in Ancient Greece and it was further explored by the west in the 1950s. 

Classification of combat sports based on location 

Western Combat Sports - Wrestling, Fencing, and Boxing. 

Eastern Combat Sports - Judo, Karate, Sumo Wrestling, and Kendo. 

Description of some Combat Sports

1. Judo

An international sport originated from Jujutsu in 1882, this popular sport is played by 50,000,000 players all around the world. The players use one another’s strength and weight against each other to win the game, more than 40 recognized throws are used to pin the opponent to the ground

Scoring – A perfect throw or thirty-second hold on earns ippon, worth ten points, and wins the contest outright. Near perfect throws or shorter hold down earn waza-ari, worth seven points, and two of these win a contest. If the contest goes its full length, other scores and penalties count.

Belts – The colour of the belt a player wears around the jacket indicates his or her grade. Judo grades range from kyu, meaning student, to the advanced Dan grades when the player wears a black belt or red for ninth or tenth Dan.

2. Fencing

A sport used for self defense originated in Spain, which is practiced in military in 18^th century. Offensive and defensive are the two categories of fencing techniques. They are asked to start from starting mark after scoring a point.

Foil, Epée, and Sabre are the weapons used in fencing. A foil and sabre must not weigh more than 500 g, an epee not more than 770 g. the foil and epee have a 90 cm blade and must strike the target with the point. The edges of a sabre’s 88 cm blade may be used for a hit.

Fencing Kit – Fencers wear protective clothing on the body, a mask of steel or plastic mesh, and a padded gauntlet on the sword hand. In competition, target areas may be electrically weird to register hits, signaled by lights. 

3. Boxing

Evolved largely in Britain from 16^th and 18^th century, a one on one challenge, in which the competitor’s scores by punching the opponent in the boxing ring. 

In order to prevent them from injury they wear hand wrap, boxing gloves, and mouth guard. It has several rounds which has two to three minutes intervals. Boxing is inspected by a person known as referee. The player who scores high is declared as the winner and if the any of the player gets injured the opponent is announced as the winner.

Advantages of Combat Sports against other sports 

1. It increases self confidence which helps in achieving the goals

2. Trains the players in self-defense techniques, that could prove to be useful in a dangerous situation. 

3. Keeps the body fit and healthy. 

4. Boosts mental health and helps to focus on important goals. 

Disadvantages of Combat Sports 

1. Turns some children into bullies.

2. Causes injuries, which could be fatal.

3. A relatively expensive sport as it includes the cost of training gear, participation charges and competitions. 

4. Time-consuming

Some other Combat Sports 

Like judo, most of the other eastern combat sports come from Japan, including karate, sumo wrestling, and kendo

Karate – means “empty hands”, uses kicks ad strikes by the hands, elbows, and head.

Sumo Wrestling – is steeped in the ritual of the Shinto religion. Each contestant tries to throw his opponent or push him out of the ring. 

Kendo – pays tribute to the samurai fighters of feudal times. “Swords” are bamboo sticks. 

Written By - V Mary Adhasha

Edited By - Tushna Choksey

 

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