Yes. I think they became one as soon as they had regulated competitions and matches, with interested spectators. The definition of "sport" is very broad, indeed.

It is a sport and sometimes a way of life

That depends which martial art. Some of them really are. Some, definitely not so much. What I practice is NOT a sport, but is an art, and a martial one at that. But there are many practitioners of, for example, Judo or Tae Kwon Do which definite practice a sport, not an art.

Most defenately a way of life. it has lesson of discipline, emotion control and willpower. You can use it as sports but it does not say it is sports. sports is all about making a profit out of it (fun or money).

Definitely not. Martial Arts started out as a type of meditation or spiritual experience. I practiced Aikido for 2 years, and it was much more about energy and calming oneself than competition.

Martial arts began as a way to become better at war, specifically, to be able to survive and defend from other warlike attacks. Much later, came the development of philosophy and religion, and spiritual aspects were added to make a warrior wiser. Only after all of that did the development of martial sports begin to take form. The warriors needed a way to hone their skills and keep them sharp, but without killing each other while practicing. Taekwondo, Judo, wrestling, boxing, and Sumo are just friendly games that are based on warfare ... while martial arts such as Shaolin Chuan are deeply religious, spiritual, and philosophical ... and martial arts such as Hwrangdo are are brutal ways to cripple or kill your attacking enemies ... and then there are healing arts such as Ninjitsu, their knowledge of poisons & antidotes, medical herbs, pressure point massage, etc. were all developped to make the person able to live longer, in a better state of health, and with meditations for a stronger, better mind. So, martial arts need to be divided, based on style and type ... some are war arts, some are sporting games, and some are spiritual and medical based. and most are some sort of blend of all of the above.

some martial arts are sports, my sensei says that any martial art where the amount of trophies you have defines how good you are, is a sport. i kinda agree.

For me it has been a way of life. I was blessed with a Sifu who guided me since bai shi until his death 27 years later. With the growing interest in the martial arts, several teachers have emerged, many of which have never been taught the Way. You cannot teach what you do not know, so much of the art has been lost. There are millions who enjoy the benefits that the martial arts can bring. For most it is a 'sport.' For many a pursuit of rank and perceived power. For few, the discovery and development of the inner strength.

Martial arts means "fighting as a way of life"...can be used as a "sport" or for "self-defense" Take for example, Karate: if you fight in a tournament, it's a sport but if you fight with a mugger, it's self-defense. The "rules" you follow in a tournament is the main difference. In a life or death situation there are no rules, you fight until your opponent can no longer fight back and hurt you. The "Art" in martial arts takes time to develop, and when it does, it becomes truly your own (you develop your own unique way of doing it, not entirely the same as when you were first taught. During initial training, a kick looks and feels like a kick but as time passes, a kick is "no-longer" a kick; but you "become" the kick (the kick and you are one).

I suppose sports is as good a category as any. It's likely that very few of us will use MA in a life and death encounter. Even though I train to do pretty brutal stuff, sparring is still "sporting" in nature. Whether it's a way of life or not depends on how much your lifestyle is dependant on or intertwined with MA. I train pretty much every day, so it's close to becoming a way of life for me. :)

The more popular martial arts are sports: karate, judo, judo, jujutsu, BJJ, taekwondo, kickboxing, wrestling, boxing, kungfu, etc. Most of the Asian martial arts used to be considered ways of life, but this was wa back when you could devote your entire life to martial arts e.g. samurai, warrior monk. Nowadays most people only practice martial arts a couple times a week so its no longer way of life for most martial artists outside of instructors.