Marital Arts: Sport or Cultural Form?

[Lark]

What's your opinion on this? Its clear to me that there's always been varieties of martial artistry before the Bruce Lee movies popularised Kung Fu and Karate in the west, there were waves before that but I kind of think that's one of the more recent that I can think of, but the west didnt look upon fighting or fighting artistry quite the same way.

 

[Sniffles]

Well one of the biggest myths out there is that martial arts are purely a Far Eastern thing. The West has plenty of its own martial arts, and over the past decade or so there has been a growing interest in those traditions. One result of this has been the boom in Mixed Martial Arts(MMA).

 

[KDude]

Not to mention, Bruce Lee tried to break down "cultural form" in his own teachings by heavily incorporating western boxing and fencing (especially in footwork). He was an Ali addict..

Anyways, it's a sport. I guess. Not really the best word for it. For some people, it's just self-defense.

[edit] typo

 

[Biaxident]

Well one of the biggest myths out there is that martial arts are purely a Far Eastern thing. The West has plenty of its own martial arts, and over the past decade or so there has been a growing interest in those traditions. One result of this has been the boom in Mixed Martial Arts(MMA).

The problem was, when gun powder made an appearance in the West and became entrenched. More personal forms of combat were left by the wayside. Or relegated to ceremony only. And some of it was forgotten almost completely.

OP: It can be both.

 

[JocktheMotie]

I am a master of the Marital Art known as "The Way of the Pimp," as it's translated in English. My Open Palm Bitch Slap is my signature move, but if I have to be sneaky I go with the Dolla Bill Rainstorm to incapacitate my opponents.

 

[Sniffles]

The problem was, when gun powder made an appearance in the West and became entrenched. More personal forms of combat were left by the wayside. Or relegated to ceremony only. And some of it was forgotten almost completely.

Yes and no.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Not to mention, Bruce Lee tried to break down "cultural form" in his own teachings by heavily incorporating western boxing and fencing (especially in footwork). He was an Ali addict..

Its probably the most important thing.

 

[Mole]

What's your opinion on this? Its clear to me that there's always been varieties of martial artistry before the Bruce Lee movies popularised Kung Fu and Karate in the west, there were waves before that but I kind of think that's one of the more recent that I can think of, but the west didnt look upon fighting or fighting artistry quite the same way.

Inside every martial artist, and inside every body builder, is a 98 lb weakling.

 

[Andy]

Inside every martial artist, and inside every body builder, is a 98 lb weakling.

Only some of them. In others it an unyielding perfectionist! Certainly, it's true that it takes a particular driving force to reach the hights of either.

 

[KDude]

Ueshiba probably was about 98lbs actually. But he'd still toss you around way.

 

[Ivy]

This has to be the best thread title misspelling ever. I'm totally not changing it, ever.

As for what I think the OP is asking about- does it have to be one or the other? Couldn't it be both? I think it's both.

We have had our daughter in Aikido classes since she was 6 (she's 10 now). It's a "peaceful" form of martial arts, in that there are no offensive moves, only defensive, and it's about harnessing/negating your opponent's energy that is being used against you. She has also attended a Won Buddhism summer camp and they had daily Taekwondo training. For us, it's less of a cultural thing and more of a way to help her feel at home and capable in her skin. Not so she can beat people up. One prong of a many-pronged parenting approach aimed at raising confident, but peaceful adults.

 

[Sniffles]

The founder of Akido I know was a pacifist.

 

[KDude]

True. He created that art because, at least according to some story, he felt bad for nearly killing a thief with one hit. He developed Aikido as a way to.. basically.. turn a fight into no fight at all. But there is strength in it, nonetheless.

Victor is being unfair to what martial artists are about. Or "bodybuilders" for that matter. Not everyone is trying to be Cobra Kai or something.

 

[Sniffles]

True. He created that art because, at least according to some story, he felt bad for nearly killing a thief with one hit. He developed Aikido as a way to.. basically.. turn a fight into no fight at all. But there is strength in it, nonetheless.

From what I've heard, it also came about from his experiences in the Japanese army, and how he became appalled at the brutalities he saw.

Victor is being unfair to what martial artists are about. Or "bodybuilders" for that matter.

Victor is being Victor - what more needs to be said?

 

[Oaky]

I thought this was about the art of marriage. Anyways, I used to take Taekwondo lessons and that I learnt was originally from Korea. Not much of a contribution but... 'meh'.

 

[Mole]

The True Métier

Ueshiba probably was about 98lbs actually. But he'd still toss you around way.

I would compare martial arts to universal literacy or the electronic media.

Martial arts seem to me to be pre-modern, while universal literacy and electronic media find their home in modernity.

Martial arts seem to me to be a throwback, a hankering for an idealised past, a nostalgia for the medieval.

But what is most striking about the martial arts is that they exclude the sexual.

And of course this is their modern appeal.

When the pill and sexual revolution freaked out the authoritarians, it seemed they had nowhere to go. But fortuitously martial arts offered them sanctuary.

And while it is true that 98lb weaklings find their home in the martial arts, the modern authoritarians have found their true métier.

 

[KDude]

Victor is being Victor - what more needs to be said?

I'm new here. Duly noted.

Victor, I have no idea what you're talking about with "excluding the sexual". Not sure about your stream of thought and such.. Explain more if you like.

 

[Sniffles]

I'm new here. Duly noted.

Victor, I have no idea what you're talking about with "excluding the sexual". Not sure about your stream of thought and such.. Explain more if you like.

Victor likes to tie in every discussion here to one about sexual abuse.

 

[Mole]

Victor is being unfair to what martial artists are about.

You want me to be fair?

We all live in the same electronic envelope. I stretch it one way because I can be sure of an equal and opposite reaction.

I am simply applying the principles of martial arts to the electronic media.

I stretch it one way, and you stretch it the other. And we oscillate around the centre.

This is called movement, just as martial arts is all about movement.

But here we can move naturally whereas martial arts is a form of taught movements.

And it is these taught movements that appeal to the authoritarian personality.

Whereas free flowing conversation is more like a dance that appeals to the creative personality.

 

[KDude]

Hmm, electronic envelopes. Ok.

Well, thanks for that though. Makes no sense, but thanks. I think I'm gonna log off and take a piss now (a real one.. not an electronic one.. although I'm sure it'll be sort of "free flowing"..).

Meh.