Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat that are practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental, physical and spiritual development. The term martial art has become heavily associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia, but was originally used in regard to the combat systems of Europe as early as the 1550s. An English fencing manual of 1639 used the term in reference specifically to the "Science and Art" of swordplay. The term is ultimately derived from Latin, martial arts being the "Arts of Mars," the Roman god of war. Some martial arts are considered 'traditional' and tied to an ethnic, cultural or religious background, while others are modern systems developed either by a founder or an association.

Martial arts may be categorized along a variety of criteria, including:

Unarmed martial arts can be broadly grouped into focusing on strikes, those focusing on grappling and those that cover both fields, often described as hybrid martial arts.

Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial) (March 1, 40 AD – between 102 and 104 AD), was a Latin poet from Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In these short, witty poems he cheerfully satirises city life and the scandalous activities of his acquaintances, and romanticises his provincial upbringing. He wrote a total of 1,561, of which 1,235 are in elegiac couplets. He is considered to be the creator of the modern epigram.

Knowledge of his origins and early life are derived almost entirely from his works, which can be more or less dated according to the well-known events to which they refer. In Book X of his Epigrams, composed between 95 and 98, he mentions celebrating his fifty-seventh birthday; hence he was born on March 1 (x. 24) 38, 39, 40 or 41 AD, under Caligula or Claudius. His place of birth was Augusta Bilbilis (now Calatayud) in Hispania Tarraconensis. His parents, Fronto and Flaccilla, appear to have died in his youth.

Kenichi Ebina (蛯名 健一, Ebina Ken'ichi^?) is a dance performer. His solo act features his unique self-taught style which combines a number of different styles, including freestyle hip-hop, mime, jazz, and ethnic dance. In 2006-2007 he won the Apollo Amateur Night seven times and became grand champion for the season. In 2001 his dance troupe BiTriP won 1st place at the Apollo Amateur Night. He remains the only two-time grand champion. He is also featured in Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps where he talks about his dance performance involving a story about a mannequin brought to life.

Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles. Snipes formed a production company, Amen-Ra Films, in 1991 and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to develop projects for film and television. Snipes has been training in martial arts since age 12, earning a high ranking 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate and 2nd dan black belt in Hapkido. He has also trained as a student of Capoeira under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including various styles of kung fu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As of 2012^[update] Snipes is serving a prison sentence for misdemeanor failure to file U.S. federal income tax returns.

Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marian, a teacher's assistant, and Wesley R. Snipes, an aircraft engineer. He grew up in The Bronx, New York City. He attended P.S. 132, an elementary school in the Bronx. Snipes graduated from I.S. 131, a middle school in the Bronx, and also attended the famed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing, but moved back to Florida before he could graduate. After graduating from Jones High School in Orlando, Snipes returned to New York and attended the State University of New York at Purchase, before being asked to leave his junior year. Snipes also attended Southwest College in Los Angeles.

Michael Jai White (November 10, 1967 - June 1, 2012) is an American actor and martial artist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, having starred as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Spawn. White appeared as Marcus Williams in the Tyler Perry films Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married Too?, and currently stars as the character on the TBS comedy-drama television series Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse.

White was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved as a teen to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he graduated from Central High School in 1988.

He is an accomplished martial artist, holding seven black belts in Shotokan, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Kobudo, Goju Ryu with renowned Master Eddie Morales, Tang Soo Do, Wushu and Kyokushin, with a specific focus in Kyokushin (although his style incorporates aspects of many different martial arts forms). White started martial arts training at the age of eight.