1,766,794 research outputs found
The physical and psychological benefits of martial arts training for individuals with disabilities
Get PDFPlan BThe purpose of this study was to determine the physical and emotional benefits of martial arts training for persons with disabilities. Three specific research questions were asked: Does participation in martial arts training lead to a reduction in the functional limitations caused by an individual's disability? Does participation in martial arts improve self-esteem, and instill confidence in people with cognitive, developmental, and/or physical disabilities? Can martial arts improve an individual's perceived quality of life through the development of physical and mental fitness? A survey questionnaire was used to gather relevant information. Results suggested that martial arts training does help improve physical functioning, especially in the areas of increased strength, balance, and stamina. In addition, survey respondents reported an increased sense of well-being and overall improvement iridquality of life. Implication for inclusion of individuals with disabilities in martial arts training was discussed
Aikidō and spirituality: Japanese religious influences in a martial art
Get PDFThis thesis examines spirituality in the Japanese martial art aikidō, which was created in the 1940s in Japan by Ueshiba Morihei. He described aikidō entirely in spiritual terms and claimed that it is an art of peace which leads religion to completion. The study has two aims: first, to show how spirituality, defined as ultimate concern and action directed towards it, is possible in the context of a martial art; second, to gain an overview of the original teaching of Ueshiba Morihei which has been fragmented and often misunderstood since his death. After considering some conceptual hindrances to appreciation of spirituality in the martial arts, the main themes of Japanese spirituality are identified in order to provide context for spirituality in aikidō. An analysis of Ueshiba's life and the evolution of aikidō is then given. Spirituality in this martial art is then evaluated by comparing the aikidō world view and method of practice with those of four religious belief systems influential in Japan: Daoism, Zen Buddhism, Shingon Mikkyō and Shinto. The research entailed reading and analysing primary and secondary documents concerning aikidō in several languages scattered in private archives and libraries, as well as discussion with a member of the Omoto organisation, consultation of library resources and quality internet sites. By positioning aikidō within a religious context, this work aims to provide a clearer understanding of the origins of aikidō in Japanese spirituality and the intent of its founder. In so doing, it hopes to contribute to removing some of the confusion which has surrounded this art's role as spiritual technique since it spread outside Japan
Martial arts fiction : translational migrations east and west
Get PDFThis thesis was motivated by Robert Chard's puzzlement over the translational
phenomenon of martial arts fiction in the West. It proposes to address how the
translational migration of martial arts fiction took place, first to other Asian countries in the
1920's, but to the West only after a lapse of a few decades beginning in the early 1990's.
Adopting a descriptive approach as described by Gideon Toury, the thesis is intended to
add further to the limited inventory of case studies in urgent demand to test the polysystem
theory propounded by Even-Zohar.
The thesis is made up of two parts. Part I is a macro-level study of martial arts fiction,
intended to contribute to testing the limits of the polysystem theory. After examining
Chinese fiction as a low form in the Chinese literary polysystem and its weak function as
translated literature in the Western literary polysystem, the study explores the translational
phenomenon of martial arts fiction in the West as well as the concurrent phenomenon as to
why so little of martial arts fiction has been translated into Western languages, compared to
the copious amount into other Asian languages, to the extent of stimulating a new literary
genre or (re)writing martial arts fiction in indigenous languages in Indonesia, Vietnam and
Korea, sinicized countries or countries boasting large overseas Chinese communities.
Issues and problems related to these translational activities and cultural phenomena are
presented as tools to test the limits of the polysystem theory.
Part II is a micro-level study focussing on the specifics of rendering Fox Volant of the
Snowy Mountain by Jin Yong into English. I will argue, in the main, that many difficulties,
inherent in both the translating and reading processes, can be constructed within the
theoretical framework of Andre Lefevere's concept of "constraint", particularly that of the
universe of discourse. Lefevere's connotation of the universe of discourse will be expanded
to embrace different cultural presuppositions and literary assumptions underlying two
divergent world cultures, hence different reader expectations in the reading process.
It is hoped that the findings and results of this descriptive case history of martial arts fiction
as a literary genre in translational migrations will contribute to the accumulation of
knowledge
Martial Culture and Historical Martial Arts in Europe and Asia
Get PDFThis open access book is the first publication to provide a comparative framework for the study of martial culture and historical martial arts in Europe and Asia, in particular in Italy and China. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of martial studies, contributors to this volume include historians, archeologists, art historians, scholars of fencing literature, metallurgists, as well as contemporary master swordsmiths and masters-of-arms in historical martial arts. Assembling researchers from these diverse fields, this book offers a multi-perspectival and dynamic view of martial culture across time and space. The cross-cultural and interdisciplinary significance of this book cannot be overemphasized. Whereas a number of contributors are internationally recognized and, indeed, leading authorities in their respective fields; for example, Jeffrey Shaw has been a world-leading new media artist and scholar since the 1970s, while Ma Mingda is a well-known historian and the contemporary founder of Chinese martial studies; and while there are significant overlaps in their research interests, this book brings their research within a single volume for the first time. Equally significant, the book is structured in such a way to reflect the various core aspects of martial studies, particularly in relation to the study of historic sword culture, including history, culture, philosophy, literature and knowledge transmission, material culture, as well as the technical aspects of historical fencing. As one of the first titles on martial studies, this book becomes a reference not only for scholars taking an interest in this subject, but also for historians; scholars with interest in Chinese and/or Italian history (particularly of the Medieval or early modern periods), the history of international relations in Asia / Far East; anthropologists; scholars of martial (arts) studies and researchers in sword-making and/or historic metallurgy
Enhancing Wellness through Martial Arts: Restoring Body-Mind Connection - A Qualitative Analysis
Get PDFThis study aimed to investigate the impact of Martial Arts practice on leisure, healing, and wellness by examining the experiences of 12 practitioners recruited through the researchers' network. Participants were asked questions focusing on how Martial Arts contributed to their mental wellbeing. Three themes emerged, indicating that Martial Arts training acts as a coping mechanism for stress (T1), while Kata and fighting facilitate self-reflection towards achieving self-mastery (T2) and overall wellbeing (T3). These findings underscore the evident correlation between enhancing leisure, healing, and wellness through Martial Arts. Martial Arts integrate the body and mind, offering a comprehensive route to wellbeing that surpasses mere combat training
Martial ou l'apogée de l'épigramme
No full textMartial est un auteur mal connu en France. La chape morale du XIXe siècle pèse encore sur lui. Il reste condamné pour son obscénité (réelle, mais qui ne devrait pas effaroucher nos contemporains, habitués à pire) et sa servilité (supposée, car c’est l’étiquette qui imposait de s’adresser à l’empereur sur le ton du panégyrique). Malgré ce jugement moderne, il a été un des auteurs latins les plus lus entre le XVe et le XVIIe siècle. Martial est en effet le maître de l’épigramme latine. Il a porté ce genre à son apogée à Rome, en même temps qu’il l’a théorisé dans un certain nombre d’épigrammes qui sont un discours sur le genre lui-même. Ce petit livre cherche à mieux comprendre Martial, en faisant, notamment, la distinction entre l’homme et l’œuvre à laquelle il invitait lui-même. Il s’attache parallèlement à montrer les caractéristiques de l’épigramme telle qu’il l’a pratiquée. On s’aperçoit finalement que Martial est un auteur complexe, qu’on ne saurait réduire au statut de source intéressante pour la vie quotidienne comme on le fait encore souvent
Martial on Ovid on Ovid. Mart. 11.104, The Remedia Amoris, and Saturnalian Poetics
Get PDFThis article re-examines the interactions of Martial’s epigram 11.104 with Ovidian poetry. While previous interpretations have been primarily concerned with Martial’s manifest allusion to the Ars amatoria in this epigram, its hitherto neglected relations to Ovid’s Remedia amoris are here taken into consideration. The case is made that Martial systematically alludes to motifs from Ars amatoria as well as Amores in order to confront them with their respective reworkings in the Remedia. Thus, Martial’s epigram gives an exemplary reading of the Remedia as an inversion of Ovid’s former works. Ultimately, this engagement with Ovid’s Remedia stands in the service of Martial’s Saturnalian poetics
Becoming a martial arts researcher: a comparative critical autoethnography of the experiences of two early career researchers
Get PDF[EN] Becoming a martial arts researcher can take many forms. Studies of martial arts occur in a variety of disciplines and academic fields. The positionality of martial arts researchers is singular in that while engaging in rigorous scholarship on martial arts, martial arts researchers are often also practitioners and members of martial arts communities. How do we navigate the inherent tensions of being scholar-practitioners, particularly the “field of tension” between these dual roles? This paper contributes to these discussions by focusing on the experiences of two Early Career Researchers (ECRs), offering a reflexive analysis of the challenges and transformations we encountered as martial artists transitioning into researchers and, ultimately, into martial arts scholars.
We explore this question and compare our experiences of negotiating the dual identities of practitioner and scholar, with a particular focus on our relationships with academic and martial arts communities. We also critique the advantages, disadvantages, and tensions associated with the scholar-practitioner roles as outlined in the Typology of Martial Arts Scholar-Practitioners by Author and Jennings (2023). We draw on our experiences as ECRs researching two distinct martial arts—Capoeira and Muay Thai—to highlight the diversity of perspectives within martial arts studies
Folklore and foundation myths in Chinese martial arts: testing and expanding the Theory of Martial Creation
Get PDF[EN] How and why might a person create a new martial art? Folklore is a continued tradition in martial arts that helps us answer this question in a narrative format. What are often regarded as the traditionalist Asian martial arts are full of rich myths and legends, from tales of supernatural strength and power in unusual bodily regions to the cunning strategies and daring deeds of undefeated feudal swordsmen (Lewis, 1998; Roe, 2023). This martial folklore also contains those treasured tales among practitioner communities of how many of those seemingly ancient fighting systems were founded by specific martial artists, warriors and monks in the first place. Anthropologist Green (2003) notes commonalities in terms of the inspiration for the creation of specific martial arts, including the founders observing the elements of nature and witnessing animals locked in combat – all of which reflect the Chinese (and Daoist) respect for animals, nature and the cosmic order. Historians have taken a critical view on foundation myths as more recent creations reflective of new, nationalistic martial arts styles created out of more rudimentary schools (Lorge, 2016). Elsewhere, Weztler (2014) categorised forms of foundation myths, considering them from the perspective of religious studies, while cultural studies theorist Bowman (2016) has pointed to the potential of these stories to tell us about the beliefs and wishes of modern martial artists buying into their narratives such as a notion of a slight, female progenitor of Wing Chun.
Popular texts such as Lewis (1998) and encylopaedia as in Crudelli (2008) illustrate the rich collection of martial folklore in Chinese martial arts and other cultures but they do not offer theories connecting such tales. Moreover, foundation myths are prevalent in many systems and practitioner-oriented books about them. Adding to the above literature, this documentary analysis study is partly inspired by my ongoing ethnographic research since 2004, where I have observed and recorded practitioners buying and borrowing books containing details on these myths – often within the introductory chapter or sections
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