 The martial arts have roots that go back millennium, but which one is actually the oldest? The answer is probably different than you think. There are several arts including Kalari, Taikyeon, and other older styles of boxing and folk wrestling that are often considered the foundation of today's martial arts. Well, this one may take the title. I'm talking about Kurita, an ancient form of Australian folk wrestling that predates the other arts, is based on a unique animal style, and is still practiced today. But just how old is it? We'll answer that in a minute. But first, we're going to take a tour of this arts rather bizarre origin story and how it uses a kangaroo as a foundation for its dance and combat. And if you stick around to the end, we'll show you just how formidable a kangaroo can actually be and what to do in the, hopefully, unlike the event that you find yourself in about a fisticust with one. So let's hop to it. Time for a quick shameless plug. If you would like to represent your art in a colorful blast or honor your grandmaster, please check out the shirts and canvases on our website. It's a great way to help this channel, plus the holidays are coming up and they make fantastic gifts. Check out the card right here or the link in the description. Now, when we say the roots of Kurita are old, we're talking about a cultural art that is evidenced in Aboriginal cave drawings, and any known origins are attributed to folktales and Australian mythology. Now, there is a term used by anthropologists called the dreaming, and it refers to a time called the everyone during which the Aborigines believed ancestral spirits inhabited the land. Australian Aborigines are considered to be one of the oldest civilizations on earth, and their tales speak of ancient times of great warfare between tribes that claimed the lives of many young men, and these deaths often resulted in reprisal killings, so the circle of violence just continued. And in these stories, ancestral beings from the time of mythology were often described as men with animal characteristics or hybrid beings. And in one such folktale, the tale of Kurita, there was a lizard man named Barion, and he was heartbroken after losing so many loved ones to all the killings. He sat by a watering hole, and he chanted, and he prayed for a solution to peace. Now, how the story goes is a giant snake came out of the water, and instructed him to observe the giant red kangaroo in conflict, so that he could learn how to fight without using weapons. Barion then found two bucks locked into a struggle, and he watched one pick up the other one and throw it. The losing buck took off, and Barion realized that, for the kangaroo, it wasn't about killing, but simply establishing dominance. He took this inspiration back to his tribe, and he created a style of folk wrestling that he hoped would serve as a ceremony for maintaining peace between tribes. The kangaroo has a heavy influence on the art, and in fact, Kurita is an aboriginal word that means kangaroo spirit. Movements in the art draw great inspiration from the animal strength, speed, and agility. At a glance, the techniques invoke a mixture of capoeira, sumo wrestling, and jujitsu, but performed in low crouching postures. Kurita is divided into two practices, dance and combat, and both are performed within a four and a half meter circle. Kurita dance has become a ritualistic custom, much like the Y crew performance found in traditional Muay Thai matches. Competitors use kangaroo movements in a dance that is composed of three different segments. The first segment is to show off agility, and competitors must remain in constant motion inside the circle. Only their hands and feet may touch the floor, and they often mimic the movements and characteristics of the kangaroo. The second and third segments of the dance progress to a light grappling exchange with throws, sweeps, and attempts to throw the opponent outside of the circle. Basically, if kangaroos were sumo wrestlers, not gonna lie, that's kind of badass. The dance is not only a display of pride and culture, but also serves to determine the combatant's positions in the combat portion. The winner gets to choose if they want to start as the attacker or as a defender. Now the combat portion of a Kurita match is divided into four quarters, lasting two minutes each. The attacker begins the match on the outside of the circle and the defender on the inside. They then engage in the grappling exchange, and the attacker's goal is to force the defender outside the circle. If they can do that, the attacker wins the round. However, if the defender is able to hold the attacker within the circle for 20 seconds, then the defender wins. The participants will trade off positions for the remainder of the quarters, and the overall winners will be determined by the tally of points scored. Now Kurita is also a team sport, and teams are comprised of six participants, each representing a different weight class. And each weight class is named after a different species of kangaroo or species of macropod. Because, yes. Teams are designated by either red or black, which is an homage to the Aboriginal flag. So exactly how far back do the roots of Kurita actually go? Well historians estimate, based on evidence such as wall art remains, that the earliest Kurita tournaments may have been held in the region of New South Wales as far back as 10,000 years ago. 10,000 years. You can watch the Kurita kid 43.8 million times during that span. It's probably not healthy that I know that. Even more impressive than that, KVAR work found at the Mount Grenfell Historic Site depicts early Aboriginal folk wrestling and is dated back to an estimated 30,000 years. This by far predates any of the other recorded styles of wrestling or other organized martial arts systems for that matter. Now, kangaroos may often appear friendly and cute. I mean, just look at that. However, they can be a very aggressive and very strong animal and should never be approached in the wild. They are incredibly strong. I mean, look at those guns. They have massive claws and they are very agile and deliver powerful kicks. Their kung fu is strong. You also have to watch pets around them. They have been known to drown dogs and chase after them into the water. Now, if you find yourself threatened by a kangaroo, the Queensland Wildlife Guide instructs that you should move away as slowly as possible until you get to a safe place. Avoid eye contact while giving short, deep coughs and keeping your arms at your side to appear less of a threat. Do not turn your back or run and if possible, try to keep a barrier between you. If you are attacked, they say to drop to the ground, curl up into a ball or at least lie face down to protect your face and try to remain calm until the animal gives up and moves away. Or you can insert your own dominance and just throw them outside the yellow circle. Just kidding, please don't actually do that. Now, I know I shouldn't have to give that a disclaimer, but this is YouTube and after six years of reading comments, I need to throw that out there as a disclaimer. Coretta may possibly be the oldest sport in martial art, but there are a lot of other obscure and largely unknown martial arts out there that you can learn about right here. So I hope you enjoyed this history and the story of Kangaroo. I will see myself out.