Editing Martial arts (section)

==Martial arts industry==
Martial arts since the 1970s has become a significant industry, a subset of the wider [[sport industry]] (including [[martial arts films|cinema]] and [[sports television]]).{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide practice some form of martial art.
Web Japan (sponsored by the [[Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]) claims there are 50&nbsp;million karate practitioners worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/e16_martial_art.pdf |title=Martial Arts : Fact Sheet |publisher=Web-japan.org |access-date=13 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613134026/http://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/e16_martial_art.pdf |archive-date=13 June 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The South Korean government in 2009 published an estimate that taekwondo is practiced by 70&nbsp;million people in 190 countries.<ref name="Kim2009">Kim, H.-S. (2009): [http://www.mcst.go.kr/english/issue/issueView.jsp?pSeq=1401 Taekwondo: A new strategy for Brand Korea] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723160119/http://www.mcst.go.kr/english/issue/issueView.jsp?pSeq=1401 |date=23 July 2011 }} (21 December 2009). Retrieved on 8 January 2010.</ref>

The wholesale value of martial arts related sporting equipment shipped in the United States was estimated at US$314&nbsp;million in 2007; participation in the same year was estimated at 6.9&nbsp;million (ages 6 or older, 2% of US population).<ref>Jack W. Plunkett (2009). ''Plunkett's Sports Industry Almanac'', {{ISBN|978-1593921408}}.</ref> R. A. Court, CEO of Martial Arts Channel, stated the total revenue of the US martial arts industry at US$40&nbsp;billion and the number of US practitioners at 30&nbsp;million in 2003.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FtwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20 ''Black Belt Magazine''] September 2003, p. 20.</ref>

===Equipment===
Martial arts equipment can include that which is used for conditioning, protection and [[List of martial arts weapons|weapons]]. [[Hojo undō|Specialized conditioning equipment]] can include [[breaking board]]s, dummy partners such as the [[Muk Yan Jong|wooden dummy]], and targets such as [[punching bag]]s and the [[makiwara]]. [[Personal protective equipment|Protective equipment]] for sparring and competition includes [[boxing gloves]], [[Headgear (martial arts)|headgear]] and [[mouthguard]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 February 2020|title=The Importance Of A Mouthguard When Playing Sport|url=https://orthodonticsaustralia.org.au/importance-mouthguard-playing-sport/|access-date=6 October 2020|website=Orthodontics Australia|language=en-AU}}</ref>

===Martial arts fraud===
{{anchor|martial arts fraud}}
[[Asian martial arts]] experienced a surge of popularity in the West during the 1970s, and the rising demand resulted in numerous low quality or fraudulent schools. Fueled by fictional depictions in martial arts movies, this led to the [[ninja craze]] of the 1980s in the United States.<ref>see “[https://books.google.com/books?id=Rs8DAAAAMBAJ The Real Deal, The Buzzwords and the Latest Trend]” [[Black Belt Magazine]], June 1999, p. 78.</ref> There were also numerous fraudulent ads for martial arts training programs, inserted into comic books circa the 1960s and 1970s, which were read primarily by adolescent boys.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cartoonician.com/the-deadliest-ads-alive/|title=The Deadliest Ads Alive! &#124; Hogan's Alley|author=Tom Heintjes|date=20 June 2017|publisher=Cartoonician.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825040223/http://cartoonician.com/the-deadliest-ads-alive/|archive-date=25 August 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=13 August 2015}}</ref>

In the seventies, lower ranks ([[kyu]]) began to be given colorful belts to show progress. This proved to be commercially viable and colored-belt systems were adopted in many martial arts [[degree mill]]s (also known as ''McDojos'' and ''belt factories'') as a means to generate additional cash.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackbeltmag.com/the-mcdojo-excuse|title=The McDojo Excuse|first=Justin Lee|last=Ford|date=7 October 2022|website=Black Belt Magazine}}</ref> This was covered in the ''[[Penn & Teller: Bullshit!]]'' [[List of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! episodes#Season 8: 2010|episode "Martial Arts"]] (June 2010).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Brunt |first=Brian |title=Ending Campus Violence: New Approaches to Prevention |date=2012 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=978-0-415-80743-2 |location=Hoboken |pages=97}}</ref>