Things to Do in Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston OKAy

Martial Arts

In modern history the interest of East Asian martial arts for Western Civilization dates back to the 19th century, mostly to do with trade realtions with China and Japan. Few people at that time in the United States were practicing the arts, seeing it as more of a performance art. The first known demonstrations were performed by Asians, which contributed greatly to the perception of Martial Arts to be only a performance art. As influence of the West grew in Asia, a much larger number of military personnel spent more time in China, Japan, and Korea, which lead to soldiers seeing the value of Eastern martial arts other than a performance art. By the time of the mid to late 1900's Karate and Judo were a household name. Appearing in movies and TV shows, martial arts had gained mainstream popularity and a few martial arts schools could be found in major cities. Today martial arts are still used as a performance art, although, it is also used as a combat method as well as a sport for competition.

It is often said that the purpose of martial arts is for self-defense, and not injuring one's opponent is the highest expression of the art. There are several different styles of martial arts today. Some styles are meant to use an opponent's attack against them, block the attack, or even disable the opponent completely. As training progresses, the individual is taught position (stance), balance (control of position), coordination (control of blance and position in technique), form (performing correctly), Speed (increase the rate of performance without loss of form), Power (strengthing technique), reflex (technique becomes a natural movement), and conclusion (it is important that progression is not rushed, but developed). Although, the original creation of martial arts was created for combat, the main principles that are still taught today are: self improvement, truth, willingness, respect, and self-control. As lessons are taught, many students of martial arts have learned that martials arts can be used not only for combat or sport, but also as a way of life.

Pick a City

Beckley (1) Charleston (4) Clendenin (1) Huntington (2)

Lewisburg (1) Nitro (1) Parkersburg (3) Point Pleasant (1)

Ripley (1)

Akron OH	Albany NY	Albuquerque NM	Allentown PA	Amarillo TX	Anaheim CA
Anchorage AK	Asheville NC	Atlanta GA	Augusta ME	Austin TX	Bakersfield CA
Baltimore MD	Baton Rouge LA	Billings MT	Birmingham AL	Bridgeport CT	Buffalo NY
Burlington VT	Cape Coral FL	Chattanooga TNL	Cheyenne WY	Charleston WV	Charlotte NC
Cincinnati OH	Cleveland OH	Coeur d'Alene ID	Colorado Springs CO	Columbia SC	Columbus OH
Corpus Christi TX	Dallas TX	Dayton OH	Daytona Beach FL	Denver CO	Des Moines IA
Detroit MI	El Paso TX	Fargo ND	Flint MI	Fort Wayne IN	Fort Worth TX
Fresno CA	Gainesville FL	Grand Rapids MI	Greenville SC	Greensboro NC	Hartford CT
Honolulu HI	Houston TX	Indianapolis IN	Inland Empire CA	Jackson MS	Jacksonville FL
Kansas City MO	Knoxville TN	Laredo TX	Las Vegas NV	Lexington KY	Little Rock AR
Long Beach CA	Long Island NY	Los Angeles CA	Louisville KY	Madison WI	Manchester NH
Memphis TN	Mesa AZ	Miami FL	Milwaukee WI	Minneapolis MN	Mobile AL
Modesto CA	Montgomery AL	Napa CA	Nashville TN	New Haven CT	New Orleans LA
New York City NY	Newark NJ	Niagara Falls NY	Norfolk VA	Ogden UT	Oklahoma City OK
Omaha NE	Orange County CA	Orlando FL	Palm Bay FL	Philadelphia PA	Phoenix AZ
Pittsburgh PA	Port Saint Lucie FL	Portland OR	Poughkeepsie NY	Providence RI	Provo UT
Raleigh NC	Reno NV	Richmond VA	Riverside CA	Rochester NY	Sacramento CA
Salt Lake City UT	San Antonio TX	San Bernardino CA	San Diego CA	San Fernando Valley CA	San Francisco CA
San Jose CA	Santa Barbara CA	Santa Clarita Valley CA	Savannah GA	Seattle WA	Shreveport LA
So Cal Beaches CA	South Bay LA CA	Spokane WA	Springfield MA	St. Louis MO	St. Petersburg FL
Stockton CA	Syracuse NY	Tallahassee FL	Tampa FL	Toledo OH	Topeka KS
Tucson AZ	Tulsa OK	Ventura CA	Virginia Beach VA	Washington DC	West Palm Beach FL
Wichita KS	Wilmington DE	Winston-Salem NC	Worcester MA	Yakima WA	Yonkers NY

Beckley (1)	Charleston (4)	Clendenin (1)	Huntington (2)
Lewisburg (1)	Nitro (1)	Parkersburg (3)	Point Pleasant (1)
Ripley (1)