The relationship between dance and martial arts goes back to the intersection of animal based folk dancing and martial forms (kata), both were a vibrant part of many early cultures and used physical based movements to transmit and record information.

Some dances are specifically martial in nature, while others conceal their powerful fighting arts by hiding them in plain sight. You just have to know what you’re looking for. The following list is hardly comprehensive but I present it to give you an idea of the variety and scope of martial dance.

One of the most underused and underestimated forms of cross training for modern martial artists to improve their skills is that of formal dance, but this historically has not always been the case.