The term marital arts can be:

• a euphemism for sexual techniques
• a typo for martial arts

Human sexual behavior or human sexual practices refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. It encompass a wide range of activities such as strategies to find or attract partners (mating and display behaviour), interactions between individuals, physical or emotional intimacy, and sexual contact.

Some cultures find only sexual contact within marriage acceptable; however, extramarital sexual activity still takes place within such cultures. Unprotected sex poses a risk in unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. In some areas, sexual abuse of individuals is prohibited by law and considered against the norms of society.

As a basic instinct, the sexual drive can be discharged through activity without a partner, through masturbation and/or sexual fantasy, however "sexual activity" normally refers to acts involving at least two persons and engaging in the prior activities is not generally considered a violation of celibacy.

Aspects of human sexual behavior

Sexual pleasure

Sexual pleasure is pleasure derived from any kind of sexual activity, most commonly masturbation and sexual intercourse. Though orgasm (sexual climax) is generally known, sexual pleasure includes erotic pleasure during foreplay, and pleasure due to fetish or BDSM.^[1][2]

Cultural aspects

As with other behaviors, human intelligence and complex societies have produced among the most complicated sexual behaviors of any animal. Most people experiment with a range of sexual activities during their lives, though they tend to engage in only a few of these regularly. Most people enjoy some sexual activities. However, most societies have defined some sexual activities as inappropriate (wrong person, wrong activity, wrong place, etc.) Some people enjoy many different sexual activities, while others avoid sexual activities altogether for religious or other reasons (see chastity, sexual abstinence). Some societies and religions view sex as appropriate only within marriage.

Social norms and rules

Human sexual behavior, like many other kinds of activity engaged in by human beings, is generally governed by social rules that are culturally specific and vary widely. These social rules are referred to as sexual morality (what can and can not be done by society's rules) and sexual norms (what is and is not expected). In the United States, attitudes towards premarital sex and the use of contraceptives correlate to religious beliefs and political affiliation.^[3]

Sexual ethics, morals, and norms relate to issues including deception/honesty, legality, fidelity and consent. Some activities, known as sex crimes in some locations, are illegal in some jurisdictions, including those conducted between (or among) consenting and competent adults (examples include sodomy law and adult-adult incest).

Some people who are in a relationship but want to hide homosexual or heterosexual activity from their partner, may solicit consensual sexual activity with others through personal contacts, online chat rooms, or, advertising in select media.

Some people engage in various sexual activities as a business transaction. When this involves having sex with, or performing certain actual sexual acts for another person in exchange for money or something of value, it is called prostitution. Other aspects of the adult industry include (for example) telephone sex operators, strip clubs, pornography and the like.

Nearly all developed societies consider it a serious crime to force someone to engage in sexual behavior or to engage in sexual behavior with someone who does not consent. This is called sexual assault, and if sexual penetration occurs it is called rape, the most serious kind of sexual assault. The details of this distinction may vary among different legal jurisdictions. Also, precisely what constitutes effective consent to have sex varies from culture to culture and is frequently debated. Laws regulating the minimum age at which a person can consent to have sex (age of consent) are frequently the subject of political and moral debate^{[citation needed]}, as is adolescent sexual behavior in general. Additionally, many societies have forced marriage, so consent does not really figure in to the equation of a sex crime.^{[citation needed]}

Frequency of sexual activity

The frequency of sexual intercourse might range from zero (sexual abstinence) to 15 or 20 times a week.^[4] The average frequency of sexual intercourse for married couples is 2 to 3 times a week (in America).^[5] It is generally recognized that postmenopausal women experience declines in frequency of sexual intercourse^[6] and that average frequency of intercourse declines with age. According to the Kinsey Institute, average frequency of sexual intercourse in USA is 112 times per year (age 18-29), 86 times per year (age 30-39), and 69 times per year (age 40-49).^[7]

Safety and ancillary issues

There are four main areas of risk in sexual activity, namely:

• choosing to trust a partner who is physically at risk
• seeking or engaging in an activity which is legally or culturally disapproved
• sexually transmitted disease
• unwanted pregnancy

These risks are raised by any condition (temporary or permanent) which impairs one's judgement, such as excess alcohol or other drugs, or emotional states such as loneliness, depression or euphoria. Carefully considered activity can greatly reduce all of these issues.

Sexual behaviors that involve contact with the bodily fluids of another person entail risk of transmission of sexually transmitted disease. Safe sex practices try to avoid this. These techniques are often seen as less necessary for those in committed relationships with persons known to be free of disease; see fluid bonding.

Due to health concerns arising from HIV/AIDS, chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, HPV and other sexually transmitted infections, some people may want potential sex partners to be tested for STDs before engaging in sex.

Sexual behaviors that involve the contact of semen with the vagina or vulva may result in pregnancy. To prevent pregnancy, many people employ a variety of birth control measures. The most popular methods of prevention are condoms, spermicides, hormonal contraception, and sterilization.

Martial arts

Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. While they may be studied for various reasons, martial arts share a single objective: to physically defeat other persons and to defend oneself or others from physical threat. In addition, some martial arts are linked to beliefs such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism or Shinto while others follow a particular code of honour. Many arts are also practised competitively, most commonly as combat sports, but may also take the form of dance.

The term martial arts refers to the art of warfare (from Mars, the god of war). It comes from a 15th-century European term for fighting arts now known as historical European martial arts. A practitioner of martial arts is referred to as a martial artist.

In popular culture, the term martial arts often specifically refers to the combat systems that originated in Asian cultures, especially East Asian martial arts. However, the term actually refers to any codified combat system, regardless of origin. Europe is home to many extensive systems of martial arts, both living traditions (e.g. Jogo do Pau and other stick and sword fencing and Savate, a French kicking style developed by sailors and street fighters) and older systems of historical European martial arts that have existed through the present, many of which are now being reconstructed. In the Americas, Native Americans have traditions of open-handed martial arts including wrestling, and Hawaiians have historically practiced arts featuring small- and large-joint manipulation. A mix of origins is found in the athletic movements of Capoeira, which African slaves developed based on skills they had brought from Africa.

While each style has unique facets that make it different from other martial arts, a common characteristic is the systemization of fighting techniques. Methods of training vary and may include sparring (simulated combat) or formal sets or routines of techniques known as forms or kata. Forms are especially common in the Asian and Asian-derived martial arts.^[1]