Martial Arts 101.

Martial arts is a popular type of self defense that emphasizes discipline and focus. Today, it's taught primarily as a tool for physical fitness, sports, confidence and mental discipline, but it originated as a method of self defense that was taught to soldiers and used in combat.

Bruce Lee.

What is Martial Arts?
The term “martial arts” includes various types of fighting techniques that are used primarily for self defense. Martial arts originated thousands of years ago within the cultures of China, Japan and India. China is home to one of the oldest types of martial arts, called Oigong, thought to have been practiced as long as 5,000 years ago. Qigong, which means "energy cultivation," is a martial arts technique that was developed to increase the flow of energy in the body. According to Chinese philosophy, a person's life energy is responsible for strength and health throughout their lifetime.

What are the Types of Martial Arts?
Some types of martial arts are practiced without self defense weapons, while others include weapons like swords, knives and daggers. Whether armed or unarmed, the desired result of all types of martial arts is to achieve physical power over an opponent. The different types of martial arts fall into categories that include striking arts, joint lock arts and throwing arts.

Lyoto Machida, Shotokan Karate black belter.

Striking Arts
The striking arts method of martial arts is one of the oldest techniques. Striking arts techniques focus on striking the opponent in vulnerable body parts in order to defeat him. Striking arts include Karate, Tae Kwon Do and boxing. While Karate and Tae Kwon Do employ various punches and kicks to the body, boxing focuses on hitting the opponent in the upper torso using boxing gloves.

Photo credit: Aikido Auckland.

Joint Lock Arts
In joint lock arts, you must learn how to push and manipulate your opponent's joints past their normal comfort zone. This self defense technique is especially helpful when a small person is pitted against a larger person. Aikido, a disciplined type of martial arts, uses joint lock techniques, but these techniques require years of study and are extremely hard to master.

Roger Gracie, grandson of Carlos Gracie - creator of Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

Throwing Arts
Throwing arts, practiced in Judo and wrestling, focus on knocking your opponent off their feet. Hapkido and Braazilian Jiu-Jitsu use a combination of striking, joint lock and throwing arts performed with fluid movements that are meant to take an opponent quickly to the ground.

One FC: Warrior's Way | Roger Gracie returns to MMA action.

When you think about fighting families in the world of  mixed martial arts, only one name comes to mind. That is the legendary Gracie family, who were the inventors of the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They will now send one of their greatest descendants to do battle in the world-renowned One FC cage. The representative is multiple-time world grappling champion, Roger Gracie.

Roger Gracie gearing up for his One FC debut.

Roger Gracie is set to make his long-awaited debut for One FC on 5 December in Manila when he takes on knockout artist James McSweeney. McSweeney has professional kickboxing experience and will look to demonstrate his striking prowess against the grappler Gracie. Since coming to One FC, McSweeney has destroyed both light heavyweight and heavyweight opponents via knockout. This is a clash of two high profile athletes in the sport today.

Roger Gracie is an icon of the grappling world. He is the grandson of Carlos Gracie, the creator of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In 2005, he won both the heavyweight and absolute division tournaments at the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship. He also won all of his bouts at the 2009 Mundials and have never been submitted in competition in more than ten years. He also has an impressive mixed martial arts record, notching up six victories thus far.

After his last bout a year ago, he was prepared to walk away from mixed martial arts. However, after speaking with a few close friends and One FC executives, he decided the itch for competition remains and decided that now was the time to come out to Asia to create a legacy.

Another Gracie in One FC!

"I am happy to sign with One FC. I had given up in fighting MMA, decided to go back to jiu-jitsu, but I got this offer and it changed my mind," Gracie said. "I’m going to do a few more MMA fights, and I still want to compete in jiu-jitsu."

He now teaches and owns an academy in London, England. Gracie has seen his cousins Igor, Gregor and Rolles Jr. all achieve mixed results in the One FC cage and is determined to do the legendary family proud by letting the world witness a Gracie become world champion once again. He has announced plans to compete at two weight classes and want to reign supreme at both classes.

Tickets for One FC: WARRIOR’S WAY on 5 December in Manila are on sale now at SM Tickets (http://www.smtickets.com). Ticket categories begin with the full Red Carpet and cageside experience for VIPs at PHP 6,360 followed by Patron PHP 3,180, Lower Box PHP 1,280, Upper Box PHP 640 and General Admission PHP 220. Prices include ticketing fee. Pre-sale packages are currently available.