Combat Sports
Sports where two competitors face each other under a formal ruleset: boxing, wrestling, judo, karate, taekwondo, MMA, sumo, fencing, kendo and many more.
60 sports in combat sports.
Aikido
Modern Japanese martial art founded by Morihei Ueshiba (~1920s-30s) focused on defensive redirection of attackers' energy through joint locks, throws, and pins — 'the art of peace' with no competition in most styles.
Arm Wrestling
Combat sport where two opponents grip hands across a table and attempt to force each other's hand down to a touchpad — decided in seconds through explosive strength, technique (top-roll, hook, press), leverage, and grip endurance.
Bare-Knuckle Boxing
Fist-fighting without gloves — the original English prize ring, revived commercially by BKFC in 2018.
Bodybuilding
Aesthetic sport where athletes build extreme muscle size, definition, and symmetry through years of training + diet, then pose on stage to be judged on muscularity, conditioning, symmetry, and presentation.
Bokator
Ancient Khmer battlefield art — hundreds of animal-style strikes, throws and grappling techniques.
Boxing
Two fighters in a roped square trade punches — win by knockout, technical stoppage or points over 3-12 timed rounds.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Ground-based grappling martial art focused on submissions and positional control, developed by the Gracie family in Brazil from Japanese Judo and Ju-jutsu in the 1920s-30s.
Camel Wrestling
Aegean Turkish traditional sport — two trained bull dromedaries push and lock necks; first to fall or flee loses.
Capoeira
An Afro-Brazilian art that blends martial technique, acrobatics, dance and music — practised in a circle (roda) to the beat of the berimbau.
Catch Wrestling
Lancashire's brutal 19th-century grappling art — the direct ancestor of freestyle wrestling, MMA and pro wrestling.
Chess Boxing
Hybrid sport of alternating rounds of speed chess and boxing — win by checkmate or knockout.
Chidaoba
Georgian jacketed folk wrestling contested to live traditional music — knock opponent flat on their back to win.
Cornish Wrestling
Ancient jacketed wrestling from Cornwall — pin any three points of a four-point score to win.
Escrima
Filipino national martial art of stick and blade — rattan stick fighting, empty-hand and knife defence.
Fencing
Olympic combat sport with three weapon disciplines (foil, épée, sabre) — two fencers on a 14m × 1.5m piste score touches with electronically-scored bladed weapons under strict right-of-way (foil/sabre) or open (épée) rules.
Freestyle Wrestling
Olympic wrestling style that allows attacks on both the upper and lower body — takedowns, throws, exposure and pins score points across two 3-minute periods.
Glíma
The national wrestling of Iceland — trip and lift your opponent using leather belt grips.
Gouren
Traditional Breton jacketed wrestling — throw an opponent flat on both shoulders to score a lamm.
Greco-Roman Wrestling
Olympic wrestling style banning holds below the waist — decided by throws, pins and lifts from the upper body only.
Hapkido
Korean martial art of joint-locks, throws and pressure-point striking derived from daitō-ryū aikijujutsu.
Historical European Martial Arts
Modern reconstruction of medieval and Renaissance European sword arts — longsword, sabre, rapier, sword-and-buckler.
Iaido
Japanese art of drawing, cutting and re-sheathing the katana in a single fluid movement.
Insuknawr
Traditional Mizo strength contest — two men push each other with an 8 ft bamboo rod inside a small circle.
Jodo
Japanese art of the short jo staff (4 ft) — paired kata used historically by samurai to defeat the sword.
Judo
Japanese grappling art of throws, pins, chokes and arm-locks — win by ippon (perfect throw) or accumulate waza-ari.
Kalaripayattu
Kerala's ancient martial art — kicks, weapons and pressure-point strikes trained in a mud-floored kalari.
Karate
Okinawan striking art of empty-handed punches, kicks, elbows and knees — contested as forms (kata) and sparring (kumite).
Kendo
Modern Japanese martial art descended from samurai swordsmanship — two combatants in armor (bogu) score points by striking prescribed target areas (head, wrist, torso, throat) with bamboo swords (shinai) while shouting the target name (kiai).
Kickboxing
Stand-up combat sport combining boxing punches with karate/muay-thai-inspired kicks, contested in a ring with various rulesets (K-1, Full-Contact, American, Dutch).
Krav Maga
Israeli self-defence system built for real-world violence — no rules, no sport format, just efficient response.
Kudo
Japanese full-contact hybrid martial art — Kyokushin karate strikes plus judo throws plus BJJ ground work.
Kurash
Central Asian jacketed upright wrestling — no ground work, all throws from a standing belt-and-jacket grip.
Kyudo
Japanese martial art of the longbow — an asymmetric yumi shot from a formal seated or standing stance.
Lethwei
Myanmar's bare-knuckle full-contact combat sport — punches, kicks, elbows, knees and headbutts are all legal.
Lucha Canaria
The Canary Islands' traditional team wrestling — 12-a-side rosters take turns for one-on-one bouts in a circular sand ring.
Luta Livre
Brazilian no-gi grappling art — the historical no-jacket cousin of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Mixed Martial Arts
Full-contact combat sport combining striking (boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai) with grappling (wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo) — most bouts fought in an octagonal cage over 3-5 rounds of 5 minutes.
Mongolian Wrestling
Mongolia's national wrestling — no weight classes, no time limit, any body-touch beyond feet loses.
Muay Boran
The ancient battlefield ancestor of Muay Thai — bare-fisted, unrestricted strikes including headbutts and joint locks.
Muay Thai
Thai national combat sport known as the 'art of eight limbs' — fighters strike with fists, elbows, knees and shins over five rounds of three minutes.
Nguni Stick Fighting
Traditional Zulu warrior sport — two fighters attack with a long striking stick and defend with a small stick and shield.
Oil Wrestling
National sport of Türkiye — wrestlers douse themselves in olive oil before a bare-chested grappling bout.
Pankration
The ancient Greek Olympic MMA — striking and grappling with almost no rules; only biting and eye-gouging banned.
Pehlwani
Traditional Indian and Pakistani wrestling on a clay pit — pin any part of an opponent's back to win.
Pencak Silat
Umbrella term for hundreds of traditional Southeast Asian fighting arts — strikes, joint locks and blade work.
Sambo
Soviet-origin martial art blending judo, wrestling and regional grappling systems.
Sanda
The full-contact sport form of Chinese martial arts — kicks, punches and throws on a raised platform.
Savate
French kickboxing — kicks land only with the shoe (never the shin), giving savate its distinctive fencing-like footwork.
Schwingen
Swiss folk wrestling in shorts over trousers — pin both shoulders to sawdust to win.
Senegalese Wrestling
Senegal's national sport — a bare-fisted wrestling contest that combines throws, sweeps and open-hand strikes to force the opponent off their feet.
Shorinji Kempo
Post-war Japanese martial art blending Zen philosophy with hard strikes, joint locks and pressure-point attacks.
Shuai Jiao
Traditional Chinese wrestling — throws, sweeps and joint locks contested in a thick canvas jacket.
Silambam
Ancient Tamil weapons art centred on a flexible 1.5 m bamboo staff.
Ssireum
Traditional Korean wrestling. 2 wrestlers grip each other's SATBA (fabric belt) around waist + thigh, attempting to throw opponent to ground. Ancient — documented in Goguryeo tomb murals 4th century. UNESCO Immaterial Cultural Heritage 2018 (jointly with North Korea — first such joint designation). Modern professional league Korea Ssireum Association.
Sumo
The national sport of Japan — two enormous rikishi try to force each other out of a straw-ring dohyō, or make any body part other than the soles of their feet touch the ground.
Taekwondo
Korean striking art defined by fast, high, spinning kicks — Olympic sport since 2000 with electronic-scored sparring.
Tai Chi
Chinese internal martial art of slow flowing forms — competition disciplines include taolu forms and tuishou push-hands.
Vovinam
Vietnamese martial art combining strikes, kicks, joint-locks and its signature flying scissor kicks.
Wing Chun
Southern Chinese close-range martial art built on the centreline principle — the style of Ip Man and Bruce Lee.
Wushu
Modern Chinese martial art with two competition disciplines — Taolu (choreographed forms judged on technique + artistry) and Sanda (full-contact combat with punches, kicks, throws, and takedowns) — descended from thousands of years of traditional Kung Fu.