How come Europeans did not have a martial art?

JimZ

They did but a man with a sword would beat anybody without.

ob1knob

- Greco-Roman wrestling - regular (English) boxing - Savate (French hands and feet boxing) - Pankration (Ancient Greek no holds barred wrestling/boxing - still practiced) - Modern hand boxing techniques derived from Ancient Greek Pygmachia (exact rules lost) just gloves were leather straps and spikes instead of our modern foam!. Trivia: Young mathematician Pythagoras had been an all categories Olympic champion of pygmachia (boys and men). He spent his bonus traveling and studying mathematics.

Gray Bold

In ancient Greece wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and literature; wrestling competition, brutal in many aspects, served as the focal sport of the ancient Olympic Games. The ancient Romans borrowed heavily from Greek wrestling, but eliminated much of its brutality. During the Middle Ages (fifth century to fifteenth century) wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the patronage of many royal families, including those of France and England. In Ancient Greece boxing was a well developed sport and enjoyed consistent popularity. In Olympic terms, it was first introduced in the 23rd Olympiad, 688 BC. The boxers would wind leather thongs around their hands in order to protect them. There were no rounds and boxers fought until one of them acknowledged defeat or could not continue. Boxing was a popular spectator sport in Ancient Rome. In order for the fighters to protect themselves against their opponents they wrapped leather thongs around their fists.

Anonymous

in asia common people were not allowed to have weapons even if they could afford them which most couldn't

They Pelted Us With Rocks And Garbage

They did. You've just been reading nonsense history written by fools. You now why "Wast Asians" have martial arts? Mostly because they were technologically backward when the people with guns showed up. So those "traditions" became preserved mostly to amuse rich foreigners. See the martial arts traditions of Europe were abandoned when sword fighting, archery, and other such things were replaced by shooting people in the face. Such things became something for a few rich students to do at university.

Richard D

Maybe they didn't elevate it to an art, but they wrassled.

Anonymous

They do Look it up

ravenhill the blacksmith 1043A.D

put it this way, a soldier with a sword would destroy a man without a weapon.