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