In Europe, however, the martial arts were made famous from Ancient Greece. Boxing, wrestling and Pankration were glorified in the Ancient Olympics in Greece. The Romans also then produced the gladiatorial fighting for public amusement. Many combat manuals and books have been found to belong to the Medieval times. This included the sword and shield, two-handed sword fighting and other sorts of melee weapon games besides hand-to-hand fighting.
The Asian fighting methods also became famous and were documented and in the medieval period. The samurai nobility started in Japan in the 12th century. Moreover, Korea had introduced the Taekkyeon meanwhile Ji Xiao and Xin Shu in China and Agni Purana and Malla Purana were getting public attention.
Martial arts officially became sports in the mid to end 19th century. Boxing, fencing, the modern formations of karate, jujitsu, judo, kendo and various other forms became known around the world. Edward William Barton taught Europeans the martial arts in 1890s. He had also introduced a new form of fighting that is a blend of judo, jujitsu, savate, boxing and stick fighting.
In 1920, the International boxing association was formed. The World Fencing Championships are also being held since 1921. Jujitsu, Karate and Judo were popularized worldwide during the 1950s to 1960s era. The term kick boxing was created by a Japanese boxing