History
Gladiators: The Real History of Rome’s Fighting Men
From three pairs at a funeral in 264 BC to the last bouts of the fifth century: who gladiators were, how fights worked and what modern combat sports kept.
11 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Where the martial arts come from
History, origins and philosophy – sorted by region, without national myths and always with sources.
History
The Samurai and Their Martial Arts: From Bujutsu to Budō
How Japan’s warrior class rose with the bow, ruled with the sword, lost both to rifles and a law, and left behind judo, kendo and aikido.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Muhammad Ali: The Life and Fights of the Greatest
From a stolen bicycle in Louisville to Rome, Liston, exile, Kinshasa and Manila: the documented life of Muhammad Ali, three-time heavyweight champion.
11 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Hélio Gracie: The Frail Brother Who Rebuilt Jiu-Jitsu
The life of Hélio Gracie (1913–2009): the sickly boy from Belém who reworked judo around leverage, fought Kimura and Santana, and lived to see UFC 1.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Ip Man: The Foshan Policeman Who Taught Bruce Lee
The documented life of Ip Man (1893–1972): rich boy in Foshan, Nationalist policeman, refugee in Hong Kong, and the teacher who made Wing Chun public.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Jigorō Kanō: The Educator Who Invented Judo
The life of Jigorō Kanō (1860–1938): the bullied boy from Mikage who built the Kōdōkan, ran Japan’s teacher training and became Asia’s first IOC member.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Mas Oyama: The Man Who Fought Bulls and Founded Kyokushin
The life of Mas Oyama (1923–1994): Korean-born, trained under Funakoshi, hardened on a mountain, famous for fighting bulls, founder of full-contact Kyokushin.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Mike Tyson: The Rise, the Fall and the Long Second Act
From Brownsville and Cus D’Amato’s gym in Catskill to the youngest heavyweight title in history, Tokyo, Holyfield and a second act that outlasted the first.
11 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
The Shaolin Temple: The Real History Behind the Legend
Founded in 495 for an Indian monk, burned by a warlord in 1928, revived by a Jet Li film: the documented history of the Shaolin Temple, legends kept apart.
9 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Khabib Nurmagomedov: The Eagle of Dagestan
The documented career of Khabib Nurmagomedov: Sildi, his father Abdulmanap, combat sambo titles, the UFC lightweight belt, McGregor, Gaethje and 29–0.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Rickson Gracie: The Family's Best Fighter
The life of Rickson Gracie: Hélio's son, the vale tudo fights with Rei Zulu, the Japan tournaments and PRIDE, the 400–0 legend and the record behind it.
9 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do: The History of the Intercepting Fist
How Bruce Lee went from Ip Man’s Wing Chun classes in Hong Kong to naming Jeet Kune Do in 1967, and what became of his method after his death in 1973.
10 min read · 21 Sept 2026
History
The History of Kalaripayattu: Kerala's Ancient Fighting Art
How the warrior training of medieval Kerala survived British suppression and was revived as the art the world calls the mother of martial arts.
6 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Kali, Eskrima and Arnis: The Filipino Martial Arts
How the stick and blade arts of the Philippines survived Magellan, Spain and America, took three names, and became a national sport and a worldwide system.
6 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Silat: The Fighting Arts of the Malay World
How the fighting arts of Sumatra, Java and the Malay Peninsula grew into pencak silat, a national art in four countries and a UNESCO heritage.
6 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Sambo: The Soviet Union's Martial Art
How a Kōdōkan judoka, a Dynamo self-defence instructor and a Moscow systematiser built sambo for the Red Army and the police, and how it became a world sport.
7 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Capoeira: From the Senzala to World Heritage
How enslaved Africans in Brazil created capoeira, how it survived a century of persecution, and how two masters in Salvador made it a UNESCO heritage.
8 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Wrestling: The Oldest Sport on Earth
From Egyptian tomb paintings and the Greek Olympics to Greco-Roman, freestyle and catch: how the world’s oldest sport reached the modern mat.
8 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Kendo: The Way of the Sword After the Sword
How the samurai fencing schools invented armour and the bamboo sword, survived the end of their class, and became kendo, practised by millions.
7 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Krav Maga: From the Streets of Bratislava to the IDF
How Imi Lichtenfeld turned street fighting against fascist gangs into the Israeli army’s combat system and the world’s best-known self-defence method.
7 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Savate: French Boxing from the Streets of Paris to the World Games
How Paris street kicking and Marseille chausson were tamed by Casseux, mixed with English boxing by Lecour, codified by the Charlemonts and revived.
7 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Wing Chun: From Foshan to Ip Man and Bruce Lee
How a compact southern Chinese style passed from the Red Boat opera troupes through Foshan to Ip Man’s Hong Kong school and Bruce Lee.
7 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Karate: From Okinawan Te to the Olympic Games
How Okinawan te absorbed Chinese boxing, became karate-dō in Japan, split into styles, spread through the world and reached the Tokyo Olympics.
10 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Kung Fu: Shaolin, Family Styles and Modern Wushu
How Chinese martial arts grew from army drill and Shaolin legend into hundreds of styles, survived rebellion and revolution, and became wushu and cinema.
10 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of MMA: From Pankration and Vale Tudo to the UFC
How mixed martial arts grew from ancient pankration and Brazilian vale tudo through Japanese shoot wrestling to the UFC, the Unified Rules and a global sport.
8 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Taekwondo: From the Kwans to the Olympic Mat
How Korea built taekwondo after 1945 from karate, native traditions and national ambition, split it between two federations and made it Olympic in 2000.
7 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Aikido: Ueshiba Morihei and the Art of Peace
How a farmer's son from Tanabe learned Daitō-ryū from Takeda Sōkaku, found religion with Ōmoto-kyō, and built aikido, the Japanese art that refuses to compete.
8 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Fencing: From the Duel to the Electric Piste
How the sword schools of Renaissance Italy and France turned the duel into a science, invented foil, mask and sabre, and became a founding Olympic sport.
7 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
The History of Hapkido: Korea's Art of Locks, Throws and Kicks
How Choi Yong-sool brought a Japanese joint-lock art to Daegu in 1946, how Ji Han-jae added Korean kicks and a name, and how hapkido spread worldwide.
6 min read · 20 Sept 2026
History
Boxing: From Bare Knuckles to the Queensberry Rules
From Greek fist fighting and the bare-knuckle prize ring to gloves, timed rounds and the ten-count: why the 1867 Queensberry Rules still govern boxing.
10 min read · 17 Sept 2026
History
The History of Muay Thai
How Muay Thai grew from Siamese military training into a gloved ring sport with stadiums and Olympic recognition – with the legends kept apart from the record.
11 min read · 17 Sept 2026
History
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: From Maeda to the Gracies
How Maeda Mitsuyo brought judo to Brazil, how the Gracies rebuilt it around leverage, and how UFC 1 in 1993 made it the grappling base of MMA.
9 min read · 17 Sept 2026
History
Judo: Kanō Jigorō and the Gentle Way
How Kanō Jigorō turned samurai jujutsu into judo in 1882, why the Kōdōkan beat the old schools, and how the gentle way became an Olympic sport.
10 min read · 17 Sept 2026