Because of the lack of historical records, the secretive nature of the teacher-student relationships, and political circumstances, the history of martial arts is challenging to document precisely. It is likely that many techniques were learned, forgotten, and re-learned during human history.
Bronze Age (3000 to 1000 BCE) 180th century BCE – Wrestling, the oldest combat sport, first appeared in carvings and drawings in southern Europe. While its foundational origins lie in global prehistory, different styles of wrestling were created independently and practiced throughout the world at various times in human history. 20th century BCE – Murals were inscribed in tomb 15 at Beni Hasan, depicting wrestling techniques, in present-day Egypt (in Africa). 19th century BCE – Celtic wrestling (which evolved into Cornish wrestling, Gouren, Collar-and-elbow wrestling, etc) was described as being part of the Tailteann Games which continued until the time of the Normans. 18th century BCE – The newly created Babylonian Gilgamesh epic included the major hand-held weapons (sword, axe, bow and spear) used prior to the gunpowder era.
Iron Age and Antiquity (1000 BCE to CE 500) 8th century BCE – Roughly the start of Greek Olympic Competition. Through the popularity of the Olympics, martial arts like pankration flourished. 8th century BCE – Homer's newly created Iliad described many scenes of hand-to-hand combat in detail. 6th century BCE – Ten styles of Śastravidyā were said to have been created in India at this time. c.4th century BCE – Newly created Indian epic poetry and the Vedas gave the earliest written mention of South Asian martial arts.Zarrilli, Phillip B. A South Indian Martial Art and the Yoga and Ayurvedic Paradigms. University of Wisconsin–Madison. 50 BCE – The earliest records of an ancient Korean martial arts, Subak and Gakjeo, were created at this time and found in paintings in the Muyong-chong and Gakjeo-chong from the Goguryeo period. CE 72 – The Colosseum opened in Rome, providing the public with the world's largest martial arts venue for over the next three hundred years. CE 1st century – Buddhist texts of this time such as the Lotus Sutra mentioned a number of South Asian fighting arts,Bruce A. Haines (1995). Karate's History and Traditions (p. 23-25). Tuttle Publishing. . while the Khandhaka discouraged their practice. CE 2nd century – P.Oxy. III 466, a Greek papyrus manuscript on wrestling, was written. It is the earliest known European martial arts manual. CE 477 – The first abbot of Shaolin Monastery was Buddhabadra, an Indian Dhyana master who came to China in AD 464 to translate Buddhist texts to Chinese. The Shaolin Temple was built at the western base of the Chinese Songshan mountain range, at the orders of Emperor Xiaowen. Successive Chinese emperors authorized fighting monks to train in the temple.
Middle Ages (500 to 1500) 550 – Indian monk Bodhidarma taught what will be called Chan Buddhism. While there is no evidence he was involved in the martial arts, folklore later linked him to the creation of qigong and Shaolin fist, as well as crediting him with introducing forms into silat. Chán and its Japanese offshoot Zen Buddhism were influential among martial artists. c.700 – Kuvalaymala described non-keshatriya students learning martial arts from Hindu priests at gurukula or traditional educational institutions. 728 – This was the date of the "combat stele" at the Shaolin Monastery. 782 – At this time the Japanese Heian period began, and curved swords called tachi (large sword) appeared. Although samurai did not technically appear until the 12th century, in appearance these are the early curved swords commonly recognized as "samurai swords."Shimbabukuro, Masayuki and Pellman, Leonard. Flashing Steel – Mastering Eishin-Ryu Swordsmanship. Berkeley, CA: Frog Ltd, 1995 c.800–900 – The newly created Agni Purana, the earliest known manual of dhanurveda, listed over 130 weapons, described dozens of fighting stances, named techniques for various weapons, and provided a detailed discussion on archery.Parmeshwaranand Swami, Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Purāṇas, Sarup & Sons, 2001, , s.v. "dhanurveda"; Gaṅgā Rām Garg, Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World, Concept Publishing Company, 1992 , s.v. "archery". 966–979 – A stone inscription dated 966 AD from Prasat Ta Siu temple in Cambodia, known as the inscription of Kok Samron, recounted a boxing match ordered by royal decree. Another inscription dated 979 AD from Prasat Char temple mentions the names of four boxers: Dan, In, Ayak, and Vit. 1124–1138 – Manasollasa, written by King Someswara, gave the names of Indian wrestling techniques, training exercises and diet. 1156–1185 – The Japanese samurai class emerged during the warring period between the Taira and Minamoto families. The warrior code of bushido also emerged during this time. c.1200 – Kalaripayattu is a martial art developed in Kerala; although its origin is unknown, according to historians, it was practiced since "at least" the 12th century. 1200–1300 – Bas-reliefs in Angkor depicted armed and unarmed combat. c.1200 – Malla Purana, the oldest known text describing the techniques of malla-yuddha, was created. c.1300 – MS I.33, the oldest extant martial arts manual detailing armed combat, was created. 1338 – This was the beginning of the Japanese Ashikaga era, during which the samurai class expanded its influence further. Many schools of swordsmanship flourished. The period ended around 1500. 1346 – The first annual Kırkpınar tournament was held in Edirne in Turkish Thrace 1400 – China sent delegations to Okinawa, which then began trading extensively with China and Japan. The indigenous Okinawan unarmed combat art called ti or te (hand) was likely influenced by Chinese and Japanese arts over the next three centuries, forming the basis for modern karate. 1477 – The Okinawan king Sho Shin, influenced by the Japanese, banned the carrying of arms. Similar bans occurred in Japan in 1586.Reid, Howard and Croucher, Michael. The Way of the Warrior – The Paradox of the Martial Arts. New York, NY: Overlook Press, 1983. Page 155. Both apparently led to the underground development of striking arts and may have encouraged unarmed combat techniques designed for use against armored soldiers, such as jujutsu. 1400s – Stanton became the Cornish wrestling champion of Cornwall at a tournament in Penzance, in the fifteenth century.Stanton, Western Daily Press - Friday 19 February 1875, p1.
Early Modern period (1500 to 1800) c. 1500 – Firearms become increasingly prevalent in Europe, diminishing the importance of traditional armed fighting systems. 1520 – At the Field of the Cloth of Gold (the summit meeting between the English King Henry VIII and the French King Francis I) there were extensive Cornish wrestling matches, including between the monarchs themselves.Morris, Charles: Historical Tales, the Romance of Reality, JB Lippincott Company (Philadelphia) 1895, p212.Sewell, Elizabeth Missing: Popular History of France, Longmans Green and Co (London) 1876, p302.Jennings, LA: Mixed Martial Arts: A History from Ancient Fighting Sports, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group 2021, p52-53.Longhurst, Percy: Cornish Wrestling, The Boy's Own Annual, Volume 52, 1930, p167-169. 1521 – Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Philippines, recording that the native population fought them off with broadswords and bamboo spears. 1527 – Mughals invaded India, bringing Middle Eastern weaponry to South Asia and, indirectly, to the Malay Archipelago. Indigenous malla-yuddha was supplanted by the Persian-derived pehlwani. 16th–19th centuries – Most of South and Southeast Asia gradually came under European colonial rule. Martial practices were discouraged, in some places banned outright and preserved in secret. 1549 – Hayashizaki Minamoto was born, later founding the art of iajutsu or iaido, the art of drawing and cutting with the sword in a single motion. Successive masters of his school can be traced to the present day. 1600 – A newer style samurai sword, called a katana or daito, was widely used. Afro-Brazilian slaves began to develop the art of capoeira. 1621 – Wubei Zhi was compiled by Mao Yuanyi; it included individual martial arts training with different weapons such as the spear and Dao. 1641 – Chinese rebels under Li Zicheng sacked the Shaolin Monastery for its support of the Ming government. While the monastery would be later rebuilt and patronized by the Qing government, it lost its fighting force and its place as a center of martial arts development.Shahar, Meir, The Shaolin Monastery, pp. 183–188, 190Murry, Dian and Qin Baoqi, The Origins of the Tiandihui: The Chinese Triads in Legend and History, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995, (), pp. 151–156, 168–170Lorge, Peter A., Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012, (), pp. 202–205 1643 – Legendary Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi is believed to have written The Book of Five Rings at this time; it is a seminal work regarding the art and philosophy of the samurai and swordsmanship.Musashi, Miyamoto. The Book of Five Rings. Translated by Thomas Cleary. New York, NY: Shambhala, 2000. 1669 – Charles II provided £1000 in prize money for a Cornish wrestling competition in St James's Park.Bray, William Evelyn, John: Memoirs Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, 1818. 1674 – The Maratha Empire was founded by the warrior Shivaji, bringing his native art of mardani khel to prominence. 1699 – Faced with growing intolerance from the Mughal rulers, Guru Gobind Singh militarized the Sikh community in order to defend their faith and independence. Sikhs and Panjabis in general subsequently became renowned as a warrior community. 1700s – Chinese temple frescoes depicted Shaolin monks practicing unarmed combat. Okinawan te and Chinese Shaolin boxing styles mixed as part of trade between the countries. Wing Chun was also founded in Yunnan. 1713 – Sir Thomas Parkyns, known as the ‘Wrestling Baronet’, published his detailed book on Cornish wrestling, The Inn-Play: or, the Cornish Hugg-Wrestler, which was reprinted many times.Hole, Christina (1949) English Sports and Pastimes. London: Batsford; p. 31The great wrestling match, Globe, 26 October 1826, p3.Sir Thomas Parkyns: The Inn-play or Cornish Hugg Wrestler, J Bailey (London) 1713 1743 – Jack Broughton, an English bare-knuckle fighter, wrote the first rules of boxing, later to become the London Prize Ring rules in 1838. 1750 – Techniques of taijiquan were written down. 1752 – The ‘Cornwall and Devon Wrestling Society’ was formed; it ran Cornish wrestling tournaments and matches in London with the Prince of Wales (Duke of Cornwall) as patron.The Cornwall and Devon wrestling society's grand carnival, Sporting Life, 1 April 1863, p3.Chalk Farm Tavern and Tea Gardens, Morning Advertiser. 1 April 1844, p1.Devon and Cornwall wrestling match, Cornubian and Redruth Times, 12 June 1868, p3. 1767 – Burmese forces captured Siam’s capital of Ayutthaya and burned the kingdom's archives, including manuals on boxing and swordsmanship. 1790 – Muyedobotongji was commissioned by King Jeongjo of Korea and written by Yi Deokmu, Pak Jega, and Baek Dongsu. It is one of the most comprehensive pre-modern military manuals of East Asia.Yi Deok-mu, Pak Je-ga, and Baek Dong-su, et al. Muyedobotongji, 1790 (Preface by King Jeongjo).
19th century 1800–1900 – Brazilian police periodically arrested anyone caught practicing capoeira. In 1862 alone, 404 people were arrested for capoeira.ASSUNÇÃO, Matthias Röhrig – Capoeira: A History of an Afro-Brazilian Martial Art (2005), Routledge, 1825–1900 – Savate shifted from its street-fighting roots to a modern sport.