Expat Croatia

Martial Arts

Part exercise and part philosophy, a martial art is a great way to feed your body and mind also.  Some may consider it a physical sport, where others consider it an art or spiritual exercise.

The success of popular martial arts films means lots of people are kung fu fighting these days. This goes for Croatia also. Martial arts used to be more popular then these days but they still hold a spot light when are individual sports are mentioned. For the most part, modern Croatian systems can be divided into two basic categories. The first category includes arts, which stem from the original Croatian combative traditions, include little to no outside influence. The second one includes modern self defense systems which are basically off-shoots of their Asian "parent arts" e.g. Aikido, but also Gendai Jujutsu, Judo etc.

In terms of the number of practitioners, Taekwondo is the most popular of all martial arts around the world (being practiced by 70 million people in 190 countries). Taekwondo is also one of only two martial arts in the Olympics,  introduced as a demonstration sport during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and later became a full medal event during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. There are two major Taekwondo federations, World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF). 

Why is better to study martial arts than participate in regular sport activities.

Self-Defense - It is a great way to learn how to defend oneself and build up the reflexes
Self-Confidence - Practicing martial arts you become more self-assured and confident.
Belts and Ranking - Belts and ranking help build confidence and desire to succeed, it shows that with the right motivation, you can succeed.
Discipline - The mantra of any martial art is ‘practice makes perfect’ There is constant repetition in drills and practices with emphasis on details and rhythm.
Emphasis on Individual Achievement  - In the martial arts, success is based on your own individual merits.
Gender Equity - The martial arts are one of the few sports where both boys and girls can play together. There are also tremendous international opportunities in Women’s martial arts as well.
Exercise - The typical martial arts class will often be comprised of warm-up calisthenics, teaching and practicing of moves and possibly some sparring.
Competition - Competition is great for you to test their skills and show the progress. Unlike team sports, the loser can’t really blame anyone beyond his or herself. But then this gives you a sense of respect for their opponent, as well as motivation to do better the next time.
You can do it with your children - any martial arts schools offer classes for both adults and children. While most do not run those classes simultaneously, they are usually one right after the other. This means that you can watch your children workout, and then they can watch you.

You could practice a lot different martial arts in Croatia. Anything from Aikido to to Yiquan is available. It’s up to you to choose the optimal art.

Zagreb

Martial Arts school – Shaolin
Address: Jankovacka ulica br.18,
Phone: +385 98 173 0492 (Zoran Grgos)

Aikikai Zagreb
Phone: +385 98 9233785
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AC Dojo
Address: Avenija Veceslava Holjevca 17
Phone: +385  +385 1 3897 408

AC Izvor - HOMBU DOJO
Adresa: Avenija Dubrovnik 15
Phone: +385 95 902 5330 (Ivan)

AC Musubi
Address: Sveti Duh 4,
Phone: +385 98 771 771

AC Put
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , +385 91 668 8552

Real Aikido Kobra
Address: Velesajam, pav.25
Phone: +385 91 591 6118

For the other cities and different types of the martial art visit THIS page.