The story of martial arts in the United States is closely connected with the post-Second World War history of the United States’ connections with Asia. Aikido, Judo and Karate, originating in Japan, were learned by American servicemen during the occupation of that country following its defeat in 1945. An Armed Forces Judo Association was established and this martial art was incorporated into air-force training in the 1950s. When Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games in 1964, Japan used this opportunity to establish Judo as an Olympic sport, and now as many as 400,000 Americans engage in Judo. Karate, meanwhile, was introduced to the United States in 1954 by Tsutomu Ohshima, who immigrated in 1954 and established the Southern California Karate Association, which grew into the nationwide organization, Shotokan Karate of America.

Tae Kwon Do, which was recognized as an official Olympic Sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia, was brought to the United States from Korea in the mid-1970s by Grandmaster Hyuk Kun Shim, who opened Shim’s Martial Arts Academy in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1976.

Kung Fu and Tai Chi, originating in China, have been affected by the United States’ multiple connections with this nation, in terms of migration, political alliance and hostility and economic trade, as well as the powerful impact of culture emanating from Hong Kong. Kung Fu was popularized in the United States through the career of San Franciscoborn Bruce Lee. It then achieved crossover appeal in white and black communities with the television western series Kung-Fu (ABC, 1972–5), starring the martial-arts novice David Carradine, in a role for which Lee was turned down, and with the acting successes of Chuck Norris (Lee’s adversary in Return of the Dragon, 1972), Jeanne-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal and Jackie Chan. The status of martial arts in American culture has been further enhanced by very popular and violent video and computer games.