Hybrid martial arts, also known as hybrid fighting systems or sometimes freestyle fighting, refer to martial arts or fighting systems that incorporate techniques and theories from several particular martial arts. While numerous martial arts borrow or adapt from other arts and to some extent could be considered hybrids, a hybrid martial art emphasizes its disparate origins.
The idea of hybridization or "mixing" of martial arts traditions originates in the 19th to early 20th century, when Asian traditions first came to the attention of European practitioners. Savate, a form of kickboxing developed by French sailors, may qualify as an early example. Another early example of cross-cultural hybridization in the martial arts is Bartitsu, created in 1899 as a combination of several forms of traditional jujutsu, Kodokan judo, English boxing, French savate and stick fighting.
The concept rose to wide popularity during the 1960s and 1970s, with the development of kickboxing styles; Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do (1967) that uses aspects derived from various arts including Wing Chun, Boxing, and Fencing; Zen Do Kai (1970), which incorporates Muay Thai, kickboxing and elements of judo, Taekwondo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and many other martial arts.
Since 1993, hybridization of martial arts has culminated in the development of mixed martial arts, a sport which combined the already hybridized styles of Brazilian Vale tudo fighting and kickboxing, among others.
The term mixed martial arts, while in its literal meaning a synonym, has come to refer to a specific combat sport.
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