Practising Martial Arts Versus Studying Martial Arts |
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| Authors: | Peter Lorge |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of History, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USApeter.lorge@vanderbilt.edu |
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| Abstract: | AbstractThere is often a perceived conflict between practising martial arts and the academic study of martial arts. Those who practise it do not need to know the history of martial arts, and those who study it do not need the physical practice to inform their research. This paper argues that practitioners will improve their practice by study, in particular, they will gain a demystified sense of the origins of martial arts. The construction of traditional martial arts is the result of the East Asian reaction to Western imperialism and modernity. Moreover, this category developed in direct response to the introduction of modern sports into Asia. Critical to this modern creation was the development of styles of martial arts, where before there were scattered and disparate schools. Styles suggested greater national unity and cultural coherence than schools, thus aiding the building of modern nation states in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. |
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| Keywords: | China martial arts Japan practice study |
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