 These people were pioneers of their martial art – here at Martial Edge, we salute you! Ng Mui (or Wu Mei) – Kung Fu - Thought to have lived around about the mid seventeenth century, Ng Mui was a female Kungfu master and Shaolin nun who developed several styles including Wing Chung, Dragon and Crane. A true pioneer of the martial arts, she proves that the female lineage goes back a long way.
Miyamoto Musashi – Swordsman – Born in 1584 into a Japanese Samurai family, he became one the most famous swordsmen who ever lived. His most famous duel was with Sasaki Kojiro on the island of Funajima, where he killed his opponent with a wooden bokken he carved from an oar. Author of “The Book of Five Rings” ( Go Rin No Sho), it is still studied today.
Nai Khanomtom – Muay Thai – A famous Muay Thai practitioner of the mid 18th Century, he was taken prisoner in Burma where he fought several matches and impressed the king so much, he gave him two wives. His famous feat is still celebrated in Thailand on March 17th, known as ‘Boxer’s Day.’
Gichin Funakoshi – Karate – Thought to be the father of Shotokan Karate, although he didn’t actually invent the martial art, the Okinawan Karate master did bring it to Japan in 1921 and opened the first Shotokan dojo in Tokyo in 1936. By doing this, he helped to formalise Karate and bring it to the rest of the world after the end of the Second World War.
General Choi Hong Hi – Taekwondo – Born in Korea in 1918 and eventually gaining the rank of Major General in the South Korean Army, he fused the ancient Korean martial art of Taek Kyon and Shotokan Karate to create the new and now globally popular martial of Taekwondo. This martial art even has its own date of birth on 11th April 1955.
Morihei Ueshiba – Aikido – Inventor of the Japanese martial art Aikido in the early twentieth century, he was famous for his amazing feats of technical skill as well as his intensely spiritual approach to his martial arts.
The Gracie Family – Brazilian Jujitsu – This incredible family, founded by Gastao Gracie in the early twentieth century, he befriended Japanese Jujitsu expert and prizefighter, Mitsuyo Maeda. He taught all of the men Jujitsu and in so doing, created one of the most famous Brazilian family legends. This grappling style is synonymous with its use in Mixed Martial Arts, with the most familiar names being Royce and Roger Gracie.
Bruce Lee – Jeet Kune Do – A martial arts list wouldn’t be complete without this man’s name, which is testament to his iconic status in the martial arts world. Initially trained in Tai Chi and Wing Chung, he developed his own martial fighting system of Jeet Kune Do. However, he is probably most famous for his role in bringing martial arts films to the Western world (his most famous being ‘Enter the Dragon’) and his premature death at the age of 32 in 1973.
Imi Lichtenfeld – Krav Maga – Although Krav Maga is actually classed as a fighting system rather than a martial art; it is nonetheless the martial system used by the Israeli military and is now practised on a global scale. Its founder, imi Lichtenfeld, developed this effective fighting system in the 1930s in Hungary and Czechoslovakia where he taught it in Bratislavia to the Jewish community whilst protecting themselves from the Nazis.
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