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Where do martial arts come from?
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Grappling is prevalent in almost every society
An article on Art of War asks the question "Chinese Qin Na or Brazilian Jujitsu"? The article features old photographs of a Chinese martial arts instructor teaching holds and positions very reminiscent of those taught in modern Brazilian Jujitsu schools. It's a very neat thing that leads the author to ask the complete wrong question.
The author asks "This raises the age old question of where did the grappling martial arts originate?"
This question isn't ages old--it's just silly.
Grappling is one of the most primal ways that human beings fight. No, people aren't born knowing how to do flying arm bars or fireman's carries, but they do instinctively grab each other and try to wrestle. They have been doing it since time immemorial. And they have been doing it all over the world. Images have been found in Egyptian Tombs, Grecian statues, Renaissance manuscripts, and of course, many Asian martial arts systems.
Not surprisingly, many of these images look very similar. All around the world, humans are united by a common anatomy and physiology; whether you are in China, Brazil, Japan, or England, there are only so many functional, effective ways to hurt another human being. Our joints all work more or less the same way.
Rather than engaging in a pointless search to prove "who was first", why not instead look at the commonalities and differences between the grappling arts. Appreciate how and why they evolved the way they did. If you can, take something valuable from the experience. And by all means, investigate the history of the grappling arts. It's fascinating, if it's kept within the realm of historical reality, not attempts at historical oneupmanship. That's just silly.
