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Martial arts have been a part of our society for as long as we’ve had societies. Evidence of wrestling and boxing can be traced back to a time before the first civilization were erected. In Ancient Greece, pankration was derived from wrestling, and in many ways can be considered a precursor to modern Mixed Martial Arts competitions.
Many martial arts have endured and are still practiced today around the world. The most renowned martial arts today are boxing, wrestling, karate, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitus, and MMA. Not only are these martial arts practiced around the world, by thousands of people, but they are also hugely popular in the betting world. Punters from all over the world have taken to using online betting sites such as betstation.com. Check it out, if you think wagering on MMA or boxing is something that would appeal to you.
But what are some lesser known sports from around the world which have not attained the level of popularity of boxing? In this article, we are going to look at a few martial arts that have not attained the popularity of the more profitable combat sports.
Bando
Bando is a lesser-known, defense-based martial art, developed in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Much like most Asian martial arts, Bando is thought to practitioners through a series of forms (referred to as aka). Before the forms are taught, however, newbies are taught the basic footwork and stances.
Largely based around defense, Bando practitioners place heavy emphasis on counter-attacks, allowing their opponent to make the first move. Once combat has begun, Bando martial artists will take some time to assess the threat, after which they take the proper steps to disable the threat. To do so, Bando incorporates both striking and grappling techniques. Often times, Bando users will start with strikes, in an attempt to weaken the target, and will follow up with a grapple or tackle in order to fully disable them.
Okichitaw
The newest martial art on this list, Okichitaw was established in 1997, by Canadian martial artist George Lepine. Okichitaw incorporates the use of a number of Native American weapons, such as the tomahawk, the Cree war club, and different kinds of knives, which are introduced early into the students’ training, as they play a significant role in their training.
The martial arts is largely offensive, however, does incorporate some defensive techniques, namely grappling (as Lepine had studied wrestling while working on Okichitaw), as well as some dodging techniques like flips and rolls.
Gouging
America has had a short but turbulent history, and one of the most turbulent periods for the United States was the 18thcentury, when the country was first established. In this turbulent era, the residents of the newly-funded United States came up with the martial art which they named “rough and tumble”.
The martial art, also known as Gouging, is one of the most violent and brutal martial arts in history, largely focusing on gouging out the eyes of the opponent, using either your own hands or knives.
With such a violent fighting style, it is easy to see why the technique has not survived the test of time.