Martial Arts Studies PDF Download

Author: Paul Bowman
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1783481293
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
The phrase “martial arts studies” is increasingly circulating as a term to describe a new field of interest. But many academic fields including history, philosophy, anthropology, and Area studies already engage with martial arts in their own particular way. Therefore, is there really such a thing as a unique field of martial arts studies? Martial Arts Studies is the first book to engage directly with these questions. It assesses the multiplicity and heterogeneity of possible approaches to martial arts studies, exploring orientations and limitations of existing approaches. It makes a case for constructing the field of martial arts studies in terms of key coordinates from post-structuralism, cultural studies, media studies, and post-colonialism. By using these anti-disciplinary approaches to disrupt the approaches of other disciplines, Martial Arts Studies proposes a field that both emerges out of and differs from its many disciplinary locations.

Author: Daniel Miles Amos
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1786615444
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
This imaginative and innovative study by Daniel Miles Amos, begun in 1976 and completed in 2020, examines sociocultural changes in the practices of Chinese martial artists in two closely related and interconnected southern Chinese cities, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. The initial chapters of the book compare how sociocultural changes from World War II to the mid-1980s affected the practices of Chinese martial artists in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong and neighboring Guangzhou in mainland China. An analysis is made of how the practices of Chinese martial artists have been influenced by revolutionary sociocultural changes in both cities. In Guangzhou, the victory of the Chinese Communist Party lead to the disappearance in the early 1950s of secret societies and kungfu brotherhoods. Kungfu brotherhoods reappeared during the Cultural Revolution, and subsequently were transformed again after the death of Mao Zedong, and China’s opening to capitalism. In Hong Kong, dramatic sociocultural changes were set off by the introduction of manufacturing production lines by international corporations in the mid-1950s, and the proliferation of foreign franchises and products. Economic globalization in Hong Kong has led to dramatic increases both in the territory’s Gross Domestic Product and in cultural homogenization, with corresponding declines in many local traditions and folk cultures, including Chinese martial arts. The final chapters of the book focus on changes in the practices of Chinese martial arts in Hong Kong from the years 1987 to 2020, a period which includes the last decade of British colonial administration, as well as the first quarter of a century of rule by the Chinese government.

Author: Paul Bowman, Professor of Cultural Studies at Cardiff University, UK
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1786601931
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Mythologies of Martial Arts is an introduction to the key myths and ideologies around martial arts in contemporary popular culture internationally. It is the first book to draw together practical experience and seminal texts across a multitude of disciplines to offer original insights into the complex, contradictory world of martial arts. It is an accessible but theoretically sophisticated book aimed at student, scholars and anyone interested in martial arts practice.

Author: Paul Bowman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0197540333
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
"The Invention of Martial Arts examines the media history of what we now call 'martial arts' and argues that martial arts is a cultural construction that was born in film, TV and other media. It argues that 'martial arts' exploded into popular consciousness entirely thanks to the work of media. Of course, the book does not deny the existence of real, material histories and non-media dimensions in martial arts practices. But it thoroughly recasts the status of such histories, combining recent myth-busting findings in historical martial arts research with important insights into the discontinuous character of history, the widespread 'invention of tradition', the orientalism and imagined geographies that animate many ideas about history, and the frequent manipulation of history for reasons of status, cultural capital, private or public power, politics, and/or financial gain. In doing so, The Invention of Martial Arts argues for the primacy of media representation as key player in the emergence and spread of martial arts. This argument overturns the dominant belief that 'real practices' are primary, while representations are secondary. The book makes its case via historical analysis of the British media history of such Eastern and Western martial arts as Bartitsu, jujutsu, judo, karate, tai chi and MMA across a range of media, from newspapers, comics and books to cartoon, film and TV series, as well as television adverts and music videos, focusing on key but often overlooked texts such as adverts for 'Hai Karate', the 1970s disco hit 'Kung Fu Fighting', and many other mainstream and marginal media texts"--

Author: Paul Bowman
Publisher: Cardiff University Press
ISBN: 1911653032
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
What is the essence of martial arts? What is their place in or relationship with culture and society? Deconstructing Martial Arts analyses familiar issues and debates that arise in scholarly, practitioner and popular cultural discussions and treatments of martial arts and argues that martial arts are dynamic and variable constructs whose meanings and values regularly shift, mutate and transform, depending on the context. It argues that deconstructing martial arts is an invaluable approach to both the scholarly study of martial arts in culture and society and also to wider understandings of what and why martial arts are. Placing martial arts in relation to core questions and concerns of media and cultural studies around identity, value, orientalism, and embodiment, Deconstructing Martial Arts introduces and elaborates deconstruction as a rewarding method of cultural studies.

Author: G Hurst I
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300116748
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This unique history of Japanese armed martial arts--the only comprehensive treatment of the subject in English--focuses on traditions of swordsmanship and archery from ancient times to the present. G. Cameron Hurst III provides an overview of martial arts in Japanese history and culture, then closely examines the transformation of these fighting skills into sports. He discusses the influence of the Western athletic tradition on the armed martial arts as well as the ways the martial arts have remained distinctly Japanese. During the Tokugawa era (1600-1867), swordsmanship and archery developed from fighting systems into martial arts, transformed by the powerful social forces of peace, urbanization, literacy, and professionalized instruction in art forms. Hurst investigates the changes that occurred as military skills that were no longer necessary took on new purposes: physical fitness, spiritual composure, character development, and sport. He also considers Western misperceptions of Japanese traditional martial arts and argues that, contrary to common views in the West, Zen Buddhism is associated with the martial arts in only a limited way. The author concludes by exploring the modern organization, teaching, ritual, and philosophy of archery and swordsmanship; relating these martial arts to other art forms and placing them in the broader context of Japanese culture.

Author: Carol Fuller
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315448068
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Martial Arts and Well-Being explores how martial arts as a source of learning can contribute in important ways to health and well-being, as well as provide other broader social benefits. Using psychological and sociological theory related to behaviour, ritual, perception and reality construction, the book seeks to illustrate, with empirical data, how individuals make sense of and perceive the value of martial arts in their lives. This book draws on data from over 500 people, across all age ranges, and powerfully demonstrates that participating in martial arts can have a profound influence on the construction of behaviour patterns that are directly linked to lifestyle and health. Making individual connections regarding the benefits of practice, improvements to health and well-being – regardless of whether these improvements are ‘true’ in a medical sense – this book offers an important and original window into the importance of beliefs to health and well-being as well as the value of thinking about education as a process of life-long learning. This book will be of great interest to a range of audiences, including researchers, academics and postgraduate students interested in sports and exercise psychology, martial art studies and health and well-being. It should also be of interest to sociologists, social workers and martial arts practitioners. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315448084, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Author: Shifu Jonathan Bluestein
Publisher: Jonathan Bluestein
ISBN: 1499122519
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Jonathan Bluestein's Research of Martial Arts is a book about the true essence of martial arts. It includes neither instruction on deadly killing techniques, nor mystical tales of so called super-human masters. Rather, it is a vast compilation of seriously thought-out observations made on the subject by the author, as well as many other martial artists and scientists, with a slight touch of history and humour. The goal of this project had from the start been to surpass the current standard in the martial arts literary market, and offer readers worldwide something which they have never seen before. In essence, a book in which are found countless answers for martial arts practitioners which they cannot be read elsewhere, which address commonly discussed martially-related topics with breadth and depth unparalleled in other works to this day (in any language). It holds among its pages no less than 220,000 words, containing knowledge which would be coveted by many. The aim of this book is to present the reader a coherent, clear-cut, and in-depth view of some of the most perplexing and controversial subjects in the world of martial arts, as well as providing a healthy dose of philosophical outlook on these subjects (from various individuals). At its core is the author's aspiration to build a stronger theoretical foundation for the discussion of martial arts, while addressing matters in innovative ways, which I have come to believe, would help people to better grasp the nature of these arts. There are books by authors who will tell you that some aspects of the martial arts are too complex for concrete, coherent and defined explanations. Others have used ambiguous terminology to explain what they could not pronounce otherwise. This is no such book. This book was written to provide you with the solid, applicable answers and ideas that you could actually understand, and take away with you. This book is mainly comprised of three parts: | Part I: From the Inside Out – External and Internal Gong Fu | This is essentially mostly a very long & thorough discussion of martial arts theory and practice. Traditional and modern concepts and methods are discussed through the mediums of Physiology, Biology, Anatomy, Psychology, Philosophy (Western and Oriental alike), sports science, and the author's personal experiences. The Internal Martial Arts of China receive a special, lengthier treatment in this part of the book. | Part II: Contemplations on Controlled Violence | This one is of a Philosophical and Psychological nature, and contains the author's thoughts on the martial arts and their manifestation in our daily lives, with guest-articles by various martial arts teachers. | Part III: The Wisdom of Martial Spirits: Teachers, and the Things They Hold Dear | This part includes various interesting and comprehensive interviews with distinguished martial arts masters, spanning dozens of pages each. Every one of the interviewees is a person whose views and ideas are thought provoking and well-worth reading. The teachers interviewed in this book are: Master Chen Zhonghua (Chen Taiji Quan) Master Yang Hai (Xing Yi Quan, Bagua Zhang and Chen Taiji Quan) Shifu Strider Clark (Tongbei Quan, Wu style Taiji, Shuai Jiao and more) Shifu Neil Ripski (Traditional Drunken Fist and many others) Sifu James Cama (Buddha Hand Wing Chun and Southern Praying Mantis) Itzik Cohen Sensei (Shito-ryu Karate) No matter the age, rank, status or experience – this book was written for everyone who see themselves part of the martial arts community. It is my sincere hope that any person who reads this book will benefit from the time he or she had spent doing so. May this work encourage others to continue intelligent writing and research in the field, as I was pushed forth and built upon the knowledge others have shared before me. May you have a pleasant reading experience! =]

Author: Paul Bowman, Professor of Cultural Studies at Cardiff University, UK
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1786605503
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
The first authoritative overview of martial arts studies, written by pioneers of this dynamic and rapidly expanding new field

Author: D. S. Farrer
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438439687
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
This landmark work provides a wide-ranging scholarly consideration of the traditional Asian martial arts. Most of the contributors to the volume are practitioners of the martial arts, and all are keenly aware that these traditions now exist in a transnational context. The book's cutting-edge research includes ethnography and approaches from film, literature, performance, and theater studies. Three central aspects emerge from this book: martial arts as embodied fantasy, as a culturally embedded form of self-cultivation, and as a continuous process of identity formation. Contributors explore several popular and highbrow cultural considerations, including the career of Bruce Lee, Chinese wuxia films, and Don DeLillo's novel Running Dog. Ethnographies explored describe how the social body trains in martial arts and how martial arts are constructed in transnational training. Ultimately, this academic study of martial arts offers a focal point for new understandings of cultural and social beliefs and of practice and agency.