how popular are martial arts

[golden arhat]

in comparison with other sports ?

[The Xia]

At least TMA that is. However, MMA events are gaining popularity.

[Royal Dragon]

I think any MA's are really an undergraound thing. Very few peopel know more than the introductions to even Boxing, let alone any other MA's

[Phrost]

Popular enough that nearly every single town with a population over 10,000 or so has some form of a Martial Arts school in it. Not to mention that it's a $Billion industry.

It's hardly something that's "underground" when there are thousands of movies and several dozen TV shows based on Martial Arts.

[Chief Fox]

Well I did a quick little google results test.

2,020,000 results for karate
9,380,000 results for hip hop
9,560,000 results for cheer leading
14,300,000 results for kung fu
17,200,000 results for MMA
18,000,000 results for archery
24,400,000 results for snowboarding
28,300,000 results for martial arts
29,700,000 results for breasts
241,000,000 results for soccer
259,000,000 results for baseball
294,000,000 results for tennis
463,000,000 results for football

So how popular are "martial arts"? More popular than snowboarding and almost as popular as breasts. WOW! now that is saying something.

[Anthony]

I'll throw in a few personal observations.

All my life, I've opted for MA as my prefered physical activity. I also like swimming, skiing, bicycle riding, and weight training.

As far as the popularity of what I call the "so-called martial arts" as a whole (Karate, Kung-fu, Tai-Chi, etc.) I think that they are quite popular. Everywhere you go you find someone who has studied at one point or another it seems.

One problem/contradiction that I see is that schools open and close so quickly. When I drive around the Island (Long Island, NY) I constantly see schools that have gone out of business. You know the sight......vaccant business with a "for rent" sign in the window and a "Shaolin Kung-fu" or "so and so Karate" sign above. I see so many of them. It seems that MA schools in particular have a difficult time sustaining themselves. But then again, I'm only noticing the MA schools since that's what I'm into.

Another problem I see is a lack of respect for the activity as a whole. There's so much variety in MA and so much that falls under the definition (or lack of definition to be more accurate) that the average person doesn't know what to make of it. To confuse matters further, no matter who they possibly ask, they'll get: "we do it the way it's really supposed to be done, everyone else has no clue." Or better yet they get some "Pai Mei" story and walk away thinking MAists are nuts for believing in this stuff.

Again, the popularity is there, I just don't think it's taken seriously by the general public.

You say "Kung-fu" and it implies "chop-sockey" black-belt theater-type stuff.

You say "Martial Arts"......again, it has many meanings so it's confusing, is it "Militarty Arts" like the soldiers in Iraq or is it what we on this forum do? Or, is it "self-defense?"

The MA are popular no doubt but I'm not sure it's in a positive light.

[lkfmdc]

633,000,000 for s-x

[David Jamieson]

not very popular overall compared to team sports or recreational activities.

you'd have an easier go of it putting together a soccer team or a flag football team than you would trying to get an ma team or lion dance team together.