An A-to-Z List of Martial Arts Styles: Part 5

Thanks for making this journey with me. I’ve learned a lot about martial arts I’d never even heard of and I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Without further ado, here’s the final six: U-Z

• Uechi-ryū (Japan): Okay, I’ve had to break one of my rules to find a “U” martial art — I had to include karate. Uechi-ryū is a style of karate blended with some of the circular motions from Chinese animal style kung-fu. It focuses on self-defense and inner discipline, rather than on sport competition.
  
• Varma Ati (India): Varma Ati (also called “Varma Kali”) focuses on hitting pressure points on the body, both to hurt and to heal. The idea is to stop an attacker, rather than doing him permanent damage.
  
• Wing Chun (China): Focusing on close combat, Wing Chun emphasises practicality and efficiency of movement. Practitioners aim to use the least amount of force required in any combat situation. Like Aikido, it relies on deflection and counter-attack in a single “step”, rather than separating the block from the counter-attack as “hard” styles tend to do.
  
• Xingyiquan (China): Considered a form of boxing, Xingyiguan is a direct, aggressive style with a focus on bursts of explosive power. It uses five techniques, based on the five elements (earth, metal, water, wood, fire), each it’s own “fist” or way of fighting. It also teaches twelve animal forms — the exact ones taught vary from school to school.
  
• Yaw-Yan (Philippines): Officially established in 1972 by Napoleon A. Fernandez, Yaw-Yan (“Dance of Death”)  focuses on hitting fast and hitting hard. Fighters strike with the hands, elbows, knees, and feet. Though superficially similar to Muay Thai, Yaw-Yan uses a wide variety of kicks, as well as punches and some throws.
  
• Zipota (United States): Developed by a Basque family in Texas, USA, Zipota strongly resembles Savate. There is some debate as to whether or not Zipota is a form of its own, or just another name for Savate — or even if it exists at all! It claims to be more brutal than Savate, making use of grappling and throwing techniques, as well as strikes and kicks.

Other Posts in this Series:

• An A-to-Z List of Martial Arts Styles: Part 1 (A – E)
• An A-to-Z List of Martial Arts Styles: Part 2 (F – J)
• An A-to-Z List of Martial Arts Styles: Part 3 (K – O)
• An A-to-Z List of Martial Arts Styles: Part 4 (P – T)
• An A-to-Z List of Martial Arts Styles: Part 5 (V – Z)

Tags: Styles, uechi-ryu, varma adi, varma ati, varma kali, videos, wing chun, xingyiquan, yaw-yan, zapota