Category talk:Martial arts

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[edit] Categorization scheme

Those looking for Karate, Kung Fu, or Taekwondo in Category:Martial arts should be able to find it!

When the average person thinks of martial arts, he probably thinks of Karate, Kung Fu, Taekwondo, and other martial arts of east Asia. He probably doesn't think of martial arts that were invented in Australia. If the prototypical martial arts Karate, Kung Fu, Taekwondo are not going to be directly listed on the Category:Martial arts page, it is very important that the average user not look at that page incredulously and wonder what kind of encyclopedia doesn't have Karate, Kung Fu, or Taekwondo listed, then, at the very least, he should notice Japanese martial arts, Korean martial arts, or Chinese martial arts as needed. It would be absolutely ridiculous to expect him to notice Martial arts by region and know what that means (I assumed it was Karate in the U.S. - or maybe some subdivision of the U.S., Karate in Japan, Karate in Singapore, etc.) and then expect him to dig down two levels to find Karate, Kung Fu, or Taekwondo! -DoctorW 02:57, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Shall we eliminate Category:Martial arts by region or rename it? I think that a category that breaks down every martial art in the world by regional origin can be helpful to interested readers, as long as such a category's title is clearly stated. Shawnc 07:31, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

It might be worth considering renaming it as you described it: "Martial arts by regional origin"; at least then it would be less ambiguous and not make people think it was "Martial arts by region (present location)," as I mentioned above (as in Yahoo's "regional" categories).

I agree that the "regional" category can be helpful; I don't think it's necessary to eliminate it and put all the regional entries on the main (Category:Martial arts) page. I think reasonable people would agree that when we talk about martial arts, most people think first about east Asia (Japan, China, Korea), so it's not necessary to put Australia and every other country on the Category:Martial arts page, as long as the countries that are far and away the most significant as countries of origin of the most well-known martial arts. We have to think about what readers coming to Wikipedia would reasonably expect to find. -DoctorW 08:01, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Good suggestion; "Category:Martial arts by region" has now been replaced by Category:Martial arts by regional origin. Shawnc 10:27, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Sounds good to me. --Dangerous-Boy 09:09, 1 December 2005 (UTC)