When viewing the martial arts world, everything offered can be brought into perspective by subdividing training activities and course contents into four broad categories. Understanding these categories will allow one to evaluate and understand the focus and true nature of each art being expressed and each curriculum being taught.

The first category is combat and self-defense. An example of this would be Shaolin Wing Chun. Reality and the understanding that there are no rules in combat heavily influence the nature of these systems. Curriculums classified under this category will offer beneficial aspects of the other categories as well.

The second category would be health and fitness. This category has grown in popularity in the last decade. The main focus is to build the health of the student while educating him/her on general fitness, both internal and external. The movements imitate combat motions, but in most cases could not be used effectively in a combat or self-defense situation. A few examples would be Tai Chi, Cardio kickboxing, Tae Bo and similar programs. A student pursuing this avenue of training should keep in mind that fitness is his/her primary goal. If fitness is only one of multiple goals, then a complete combat/self defense system should be examined, as it will develop fitness and health as a byproduct.

The third category would be martial sports. This category is most often confused with the combat and self-defense category. This confusion primarily comes from the fact that sporting activity develops some of the aspects that can be applied to combat and self-defense - for example, conditioning, operating under stress, and developing muscle memory for technical skills. However, in sporting activity, all of these are governed by rules. These rules change the nature and approach of the practitioner, often time giving him/her a false sense of security. For example, in many sport sparring competitions, players are actually urged to turn the body to the side to offer less of a scoring target to the opponent. This is okay in a tournament where the back, knees, vital organs and body cavities are off limits and strikes to them result in a loss of points. In contrast, in the combat/self-defense realm, it is a big mistake to expose your flank, as the aforementioned target areas are considered primary. A few examples of Martial Arts sports would be Tae Kwon Do, Judo, kickboxing, etc. If understood as a sport rather than combat training, these systems can be highly rewarding since they develop high levels of physical condition and prowess.

The fourth category would be art and entertainment. This category reaches most people in the form of movies and demonstrations. The artistic aspect of curriculums in this category allows the student to express him/herself using similar movements and energies as in the combat/self-defense category. This category demonstrates the beauty of a system with acrobatic movements such as those performed by Jackie Chan, Jet Li, etc"

All of the above are offered at Meng's Martial Arts of Richmond . All could be effectively used to develop character and fitness. As such, they can universally be categorized as "Self-Improvement" programs. Only one can be categorized as accomplishing all martial arts goals - the Self-defense and Combat category. As such, it is by far the most important of the four categorizations.