The martial arts have developed in nearly every culture, notes anthropologist Thomas A. Green, but in an astonishing variety of forms—throwing and grappling styles, striking styles, and both armed and unarmed fighting styles. In essays by academic experts who also practice the martial arts, readers can explore the physical principles and training concepts behind the world's major martial arts systems. They'll learn how the practitioners of African traditions rehearse combat moves through dance, how Japanese aikido artists search for a way to blend with—rather than oppose—the aggressor, and how the practitioners of the Chinese art of bagua walk circles of various sizes while rehearsing certain moves.

The martial arts are not simply about physical conditioning for combat. From the Japanese samurai, to the medieval knight, to the American frontier gunslinger, martial artists have sought to combine the physical disciplines of combat with philosophy, tradition, and strict codes of honor.