FORGED IN FIRE!

Every traditional martial art exists in the present because at one time in the past, it was used successfully in battle. It would have been illogical for warriors to pass down strategies and techniques that failed to function in fights. End of story.

In part because of geography, most cultures and classes were pitted against the same enemies, often for long periods of time. Therefore, it can be assumed that most fighting systems developed to neutralize a specific enemy. Case in point: In Japan, jujitsu was created to combat the samurai, with their iconic weaponry and their unique way of fighting.

Now, the fact that most members of a given adversarial group probably fought in similar ways, one can argue that this could limit the efficacy of the art that’s being used against said group if it was pitted against a different group. It follows, then, that any art that was battle-tested against two enemy cultures would be