I think there's a point to be made there, yeah. On the flip side, you could also argue that European martial arts weren't forgotten, they just were 'sportified'

I think there's a point to be made there, yeah. On the flip side, you could also argue that European martial arts weren't forgotten, they just were 'sportified' into competitive fencing, boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, etc, where the original martial intent was greatly obscured with sporting-specific rules and techniques but not completely lost.