tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/martial-arts-20046/articles
Martial arts – The Conversation
2023-09-05T12:31:24Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211650
2023-09-05T12:31:24Z
2023-09-05T12:31:24Z
I love swords, so I designed a course on how to use them to succeed in life
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544847/original/file-20230826-29838-e4gftt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C51%2C4230%2C2792&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Can knowing how to handle a sword help in other areas of life?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-with-katana-black-background-royalty-free-image/185056501?phrase=samurai+sword&adppopup=true">by_nicholas/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>“Samurai Swordsmanship”</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>When I was very young, I was intrigued by swords. Maybe that was a result of watching too many <a href="https://vimeo.com/1937576">sword scenes from Errol Flynn movies</a>. At any rate, the result was that when I was working on my bachelor’s degree, I began participating in European fencing, which is a style of competition using a foil – which is a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/foil-sword">sword with a light, flexible blade</a> – or a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/rapier-sword">rapier</a> with a protective tip. This style of competition is very popular and can be seen in the Olympics.</p>
<p>Then I saw a gentleman demonstrate techniques and movements with a samurai sword, a Japanese katana,
and I was instantly hooked. I began training in <a href="https://www.iaido.com/Iaido.html">iaido</a> – which is the art of unsheathing and using the Japanese katana.</p>
<p>The katana is a <a href="https://katana-sword.com/blogs/katana-blog/who-invented-the-katana">sword developed during the Kamakura period</a> – from 1185 to 1333 – and it became my passion. The idea for this course came from my desire to share this passion with others.</p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>The most obvious subject covered in the class, which I teach at the University of Tennessee, involves the various techniques of using the sword. The techniques are from iaido and are centuries old.</p>
<p>In this course, bokken are used to practice the techniques. Bokken are wooden training tools which are used to ensure the safety of beginning practitioners. The techniques taught in this course are very close to the same techniques that the samurai trained with hundreds of years ago. But, in addition, the course delves into the mental and emotional aspects of iaido.</p>
<p>Iaido is about maintaining mental and emotional balance in the midst of turmoil. This course explores some of the strategies that enable the student to achieve that mastery over themselves. A good example of that would be the use of positive self-affirmations. For instance, if we were to look at ourselves in the mirror and think to ourselves, “I am overweight and out of shape,” we are programming ourselves to have a negative self-image. By using positive self-affirmations, we change that observation of self to, “I am working toward being in the kind of shape that I want to be in.” We are then programming ourselves to have a more positive self-image because we are improving. The self-image that we program into ourselves has a large influence on our daily interactions with the world around us. </p>
<h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>
<p>In our modern culture, people often maintain an extremely fast pace. Information and stimuli bombard us at a rate never seen before, and it can be overwhelming. Being able to maintain a sense of calm and inner peace in the midst of this maelstrom is key, and a very real challenge. Iaido is centered around achieving and maintaining that balance. </p>
<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>The martial arts are so much more than a recreational pursuit. If used properly, lessons learned from martial arts can be applied in a peaceful, nonviolent manner every day, allowing us to achieve our true potential.</p>
<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>
<p>Research has shown that when students process information <a href="https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/types-of-learning-styles/">in different ways</a>, they are <a href="https://www.educationcorner.com/the-learning-pyramid.html">more likely</a> to <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/10129/chapter/8#118">retain the information</a>.</p>
<p>Based on that, in this class the students see the techniques performed, then they perform the techniques, and then they sketch and describe the techniques. This provides an opportunity to not only process the information multiple times but to process the information in multiple ways.</p>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>At the end of this course, students should have a good foundation in samurai swordsmanship, specifically iaido.</p>
<p>Essentially, iaido is about helping students learn how to find peace and harmony within themselves and how to maintain a calm and peaceful manner when faced with a stressful situation. </p>
<p>The students will learn realistic swordsmanship as well as self-defense techniques. Also, students will receive the benefits from the physical workout as well as an appreciation for a holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211650/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lancing C. England Ed.S. holds a 9th Degree Black Belt in Satori-Ryu Iaido, under the instruction of Dale S. Kirby Sr., the founder. </span></em></p>
A former fencer who fell in love with the samurai sword explains how learning to wield the weapon can help people stave off trouble in other areas of life.
Lancing C. England, Instructor, University of Tennessee
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195276
2023-01-12T13:22:40Z
2023-01-12T13:22:40Z
Meditation and mindfulness offer an abundance of health benefits and may be as effective as medication for treating certain conditions
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503183/original/file-20230105-12-ywtjr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People of any age or walk of life can access and benefit from meditation.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-multiracial-latina-woman-meditating-at-home-royalty-free-image/1394449576?phrase=mindfulness%20meditation&adppopup=true">Daniel de la Hoz/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many people look to diet trends or new exercise regimens – often with questionable benefit – to get a healthier start on the new year. But there is one strategy that’s been shown time and again to boost both mood and health: meditation.</p>
<p>In late 2022, a <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.3679">high-profile study</a> made a splash when it claimed that meditation may work as well as a common drug named Lexapro for the treatment of anxiety. Over the past couple of decades, similar evidence has emerged about mindfulness and meditation’s broad array of health benefits, for purposes ranging from stress and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9844-2">pain reduction</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.008">depression treatments</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006">boosting brain health</a> and helping to manage excessive <a href="https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/3523432">inflammation and long COVID-19</a>. </p>
<p>Despite the mounting body of evidence showing the health benefits of meditation, it can be hard to weigh the science and to know how robust it is.</p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=S9ykvZUAAAAJ&hl=en">neuroscientist studying the effects of stress and trauma</a> on <a href="https://theconversation.com/meditation-holds-the-potential-to-help-treat-children-suffering-from-traumas-difficult-diagnoses-or-other-stressors-a-behavioral-neuroscientist-explains-189037">brain development in children and adolescents</a>. I also study how mindfulness, meditation and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-runners-high-may-result-from-molecules-called-cannabinoids-the-bodys-own-version-of-thc-and-cbd-170796">exercise</a> can positively affect brain development and mental health in youth. </p>
<p>I am very excited about how meditation can be used as a tool to provide powerful new insights into the ways the mind and brain work, and to fundamentally change a person’s outlook on life. And as a mental health researcher, I see the promise of meditation as a low- or no-cost, evidence-based tool to improve health that can be relatively easily integrated into daily life. </p>
<p>Meditation requires some training, discipline and practice – which are not always easy to come by. But with some specific tools and strategies, it can be accessible to everyone.</p>
<h2>What are mindfulness and meditation?</h2>
<p>There are many different types of meditation, and mindfulness is one of the most common. Fundamentally, mindfulness is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-give-the-gift-of-mindfulness-this-new-year-195711">mental state</a> that, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.149.7.936">Jon Kabat-Zinn</a> a renowned expert in mindfulness-based practices, involves “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” </p>
<p>This means not ruminating about something that happened in the past or worrying about that to-do list. Being focused on the present, or living in the moment, has been shown to have a broad array of benefits, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00677">elevating mood, reducing anxiety</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0163-8343(82)90026-3">lessening pain</a> and potentially improving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-021-09519-y">cognitive performance</a>. </p>
<p>Mindfulness is a skill that can be practiced and cultivated over time. The goal is that, with repetition, the benefits of practicing mindfulness carry over into everyday life – when you aren’t actively meditating. For example, if you learn that you aren’t defined by an emotion that arises transiently, like anger, then it may be harder to stay angry for long. </p>
<p>The health benefits of meditation and other strategies aimed at stress reduction are thought to stem from increasing levels of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2015.7">overall mindfulness</a> through practice. Elements of mindfulness are also present in practices like yoga, martial arts and dance that require focusing attention and discipline.</p>
<p>The vast body of evidence supporting the health benefits of meditation is too expansive to cover exhaustively. But the studies I reference below represent some of the top tier, or the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-88555-1_2">highest-quality and most rigorous summaries</a> of scientific data on the topic to date. Many of these include systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which synthesize many studies on a given topic. </p>
<h2>Stress and mental health</h2>
<p>Mindfulness-based programs have been shown to significantly reduce stress in a variety of populations, ranging from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275211043486">caregivers of people living with dementia</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12307">children during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>Meta-analyses published during the pandemic show that mindfulness programs are effective for reducing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3138">symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2022.100712">obsessive-compulsive disorder</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.12.048">attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/jicm.2021.0036">depression</a> – including the <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-4-in-5-pregnancy-related-deaths-are-preventable-in-the-us-and-mental-health-is-the-leading-cause-193909">particularly vulnerable time</a> during <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12441">pregnancy and the postnatal period</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">In addition to improving mood and lowering stress, mindfulness has been shown to elevate cognitive performance, cut down on mind wandering and distractibility and increase emotional intelligence.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Mindfulness-based programs also show promise as a treatment option for anxiety disorders, which are the most common mental disorders, affecting an estimated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00395-3">301 million people globally</a>. While effective treatments for anxiety exist, many patients do not have access to them because they lack insurance coverage or transportation to providers, for instance, or they may experience only limited relief.</p>
<p>It’s important to note, however, that for those affected by mental or substance use disorders, mindfulness-based approaches should not replace first-line treatments like medicine and psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Mindfulness strategies should be seen as a supplement to these evidence-based treatments and a complement to healthy lifestyle interventions like physical activity and healthy eating. </p>
<h2>How does meditation work? A look into the brain</h2>
<p>Studies show that regular meditators experience better attention control and improved control of heart rate, breathing and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.0707678104">autonomic nervous system functioning</a>, which regulates involuntary responses in the body, such as blood pressure. Research also shows that people who meditate have
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0707678104">lower levels of cortisol</a> – a hormone involved in the stress response – than those who don’t. </p>
<p>A recent systematic review of neuroimaging studies showed that focused attention meditation is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104846">functional changes in several brain regions</a> involved in cognitive control and emotion-related processing. The review also found that more experienced meditators had stronger activation of the brain regions involved in those cognitive and emotional processes, suggesting that the brain benefits improve with more practice. </p>
<p>A regular meditation practice may also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.wnr.0000186598.66243.19">stave off age-related thinning of the cerebral cortex</a>, which may help to protect against age-related disease and cognitive impairment. </p>
<h2>Limitations of meditation research</h2>
<p>This research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2022.100620">does have limits</a>. These include a lack of a consistent definition for the types of programs used, and a lack of rigorously controlled studies. In gold-standard randomized controlled trials with medications, study participants don’t know whether they are getting the active drug or a placebo. </p>
<p>In contrast, in trials of mindfulness-based interventions, participants know what condition they are assigned to and are not “blinded,” so they may expect that some of the health benefits may happen to them. This creates a sense of expectancy, which can be a confounding variable in studies. Many meditation studies also don’t frequently include a control group, which is needed to assess how it compares with other treatments.</p>
<h2>Benefits and wider applications</h2>
<p>Compared with medications, mindfulness-based programs may be more easily accessible and have fewer negative side effects. However, medication and psychotherapy – <a href="https://theconversation.com/cbt-dbt-psychodynamic-what-type-of-therapy-is-right-for-me-171101">particularly cognitive behavioral therapy</a> – work well for many, and a combination approach may be best. Mindfulness-based interventions are also cost-effective and have better health outcomes than usual care, particularly among <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01960-1">high-risk patient populations</a> – so there are economic benefits as well.</p>
<p>Researchers are studying ways to deliver mindfulness tools on a computer or smartphone app, or with virtual reality, which may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2022.08.001">more effective</a> than conventional in-person meditation training. </p>
<p>Importantly, mindfulness is not just for those with physical or mental health diagnoses. Anyone can use these strategies to reduce the risk of disease and to take advantage of the health benefits in everyday life, such as improved sleep and cognitive performance, elevated mood and lowered stress and anxiety. </p>
<h2>Where to get started?</h2>
<p>Many recreation centers, fitness studios and even universities offer in-person meditation classes. For those looking to see if meditation can help with the treatment of a physical or mental condition, there are over 600 <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=mindfulness+OR+meditation&Search=Apply&recrs=a&age_v=&gndr=&type=&rslt=">clinical trials</a> currently recruiting participants for various conditions, such as pain, cancer and depression. </p>
<p>If you want to try meditation from the comfort of your home, there are many free online videos on how to practice, including meditations for sleep, stress reduction, mindful eating and more. Several apps, such as Headspace, appear promising, with randomized controlled trials <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/40924">showing benefits for users</a>. </p>
<p>The hardest part is, of course, getting started. However, if you set an alarm to practice every day, it will become a habit and may even translate into everyday life – which is the ultimate goal. For some, this may take some time and practice, and for others, this may start to happen pretty quickly. Even a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01163-1">single five-minute session</a> can have positive health effects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195276/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hilary A. Marusak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Mindfulness, one of the most common forms of meditation, is a skill that must be cultivated and practiced. With some training and discipline, it can help anyone live more fully in the moment.
Hilary A. Marusak, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/181480
2022-04-28T20:01:28Z
2022-04-28T20:01:28Z
Butt plug duels and fanny pack stunts: how Everything Everywhere All At Once fits into the canon of comedy-martial arts films
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460185/original/file-20220428-24-25qmps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C1917%2C1074&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roadshow</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6710474/">Everything Everywhere All At Once</a>, a sci-fi action comedy, manages the surprising feat of paying homage to martial arts cinema classics while also delivering a strange and completely fresh, genre-bending film. </p>
<p>Written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as “the Daniels”), Everything Everywhere All At Once is a delirious adventure blending a heartwarming examination of personal and family crisis with a wild sci-fi storyline, and some of the most amusingly bizarre fight scenes to ever grace the screen. </p>
<p>Taking inspiration from Jackie Chan’s kung fu comedies, the film’s fight scenes combine fast, free-flowing martial arts with slapstick humour. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/michelle-yeoh-interview-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-1235111436">Daniels have acknowledged</a> the film was originally conceived of as a vehicle for Chan. However, after seizing upon the idea of flipping the gender of its unlikely hero, the directors decided to hand the reins to Michelle Yeoh, who has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after starring in two recent hits, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104988/">Crazy Rich Asians</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-bruce-lee-to-shang-chi-a-short-history-of-the-kung-fu-film-in-cinema-168273">Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings</a>. </p>
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<h2>Into the Michelle Yeohniverse</h2>
<p>Although never professionally trained in martial arts, Malaysian-born Yeoh achieved fame in 1990s Hong Kong action films such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093229/">Yes, Madam!</a> and Jackie Chan’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104558/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">Supercop</a>. An ex ballerina, renowned for <a href="https://collider.com/michelle-yeoh-stunts-jackie-chan-supercop/">doing most of her own stunts</a>, Yeoh typically relies on on-set fight training for her action scenes. </p>
<p>In Everything Everywhere All At Once, this meant Yeoh was teaming with brothers <a href="https://ew.com/movies/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-le-brothers-martial-club/">Andy and Brian Le</a> for the most outlandish fight of her career – a scene where Yeoh’s character must fight a pair of butt plug-armed henchmen. </p>
<p>The self-taught Le brothers drew Hollywood’s attention via the popular <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g85fS-XEpM">Martial Club YouTube channel</a> where, along with friend Daniel Mah, the brothers recreated fight scenes from classic Hong Kong kung fu films.</p>
<p>Working with stunt coordinator, Timothy Eulich, to choreograph a number of Everything Everywhere All At Once’s fight scenes, the Le brother’s encyclopaedic knowledge of kung fu cinema is <a href="https://ew.com/movies/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-le-brothers-martial-club">credited by Eulich</a> as helping shape the film’s approach to action.</p>
<h2>Everything Everywhere All At Once</h2>
<p>Caught up in shattering disappointment over what her life has become, laundromat owner Evelyn Wang (Yeoh) gets a welcome reprieve from her drab reality when she is drawn into a cosmic battle and given the ability to travel through the multiverse. </p>
<p>Skipping between alternate lives she could have led, Evelyn draws upon the memories and skills of her other selves, including a Teppanyaki chef and an opera singer. In a nice nod to Yeoh’s own position as a globally-recognised star of films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, one of Evelyn’s most significant alternate selves is a famous, martial arts-trained actress.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460175/original/file-20220427-18-ldtb26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460175/original/file-20220427-18-ldtb26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460175/original/file-20220427-18-ldtb26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460175/original/file-20220427-18-ldtb26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460175/original/file-20220427-18-ldtb26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460175/original/file-20220427-18-ldtb26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460175/original/file-20220427-18-ldtb26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460175/original/file-20220427-18-ldtb26.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once, playing a version of Evelyn that is an homage to Yeoh herself.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
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<p>Evelyn discovers she is the multiverse’s only chance at salvation and, as various evil beings hunt her and her family, she is forced to engage in frequent battles, using whatever objects are close at hand as weapons.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-bruce-lee-to-shang-chi-a-short-history-of-the-kung-fu-film-in-cinema-168273">From Bruce Lee to Shang-Chi: a short history of the kung fu film in cinema</a>
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<h2>Everything is a weapon</h2>
<p>The combination of an unlikely hero being forced to fight – typically with impromptu weapons – before revealing a startling degree of martial arts proficiency is the key ingredient of numerous Jackie Chan action comedies, especially those made for English-speaking audiences after Chan relocated to the USA in the 1990s.</p>
<p>Drawing inspiration from Buster Keaton’s silent-era physical comedies, Chan’s films eschew traditional action genre rules. The most obvious divergence is that Chan’s characters rarely enter a fight armed with anything other than natural ability. Chan forsakes outright hostility for demonstrations of acrobatic martial skill combined with humour. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460176/original/file-20220428-16-n4jats.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460176/original/file-20220428-16-n4jats.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460176/original/file-20220428-16-n4jats.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460176/original/file-20220428-16-n4jats.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460176/original/file-20220428-16-n4jats.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460176/original/file-20220428-16-n4jats.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460176/original/file-20220428-16-n4jats.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460176/original/file-20220428-16-n4jats.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Jackie Chan in Rumble in the Bronx (1995)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
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<p>Each set of Chan’s iconic fight scenes are filled with a suite of potential weapons. For example, Chan’s confrontation with a gang of punks in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113326/">Rumble In The Bronx</a>, starts with Chan on a pool table. The actor uses everything from a fridge, to a television, a set of speakers, a shopping trolley and even a pinball machine, as weapons. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1273678/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">The Spy Next Door</a>, Chan is trapped in a kitchen and, after first slamming a fridge door into a thug, Chan repeatedly beats the man over the head with pots and pans. Though it sounds violent, the tone of the scene is more Looney Tunes than Dirty Harry. </p>
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<h2>Everything old is new again</h2>
<p>The scene is a homage to the 1976 Hong Kong Hui Brothers’ comedy, <a href="https://www.fareastfilms.com/?review_post_type=the-private-eyes">The Private Eyes</a>. In the original film, an inept private eye finds himself battling a villain in the kitchen of a restaurant. The ridiculous nature of the fight escalates as the opponents move from pans and colanders to a gourd-slicing swordfish, a shark jaw, a sausage nunchuck, and a wok that is tossed like a boomerang. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460178/original/file-20220428-16-hvpn0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460178/original/file-20220428-16-hvpn0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460178/original/file-20220428-16-hvpn0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460178/original/file-20220428-16-hvpn0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460178/original/file-20220428-16-hvpn0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460178/original/file-20220428-16-hvpn0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460178/original/file-20220428-16-hvpn0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460178/original/file-20220428-16-hvpn0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Private Eyes is a 1976 Hong Kong comedy film written, directed by and starring Michael Hui and co-starring his brothers Samuel Hui and Ricky Hui .</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Everything Everywhere All At Once features a similar throwback to that iconic scene – this time swapping the sausages for dildos to make a pair of impromptu <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonfa">tonfa batons</a>. Another standout scene features Evelyn’s husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) expertly wielding a fanny pack to take down an entire group of thugs. </p>
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<p>Everything Everywhere All At Once is a fresh addition to the comedy martial arts canon. </p>
<p>Despite the existential premise of the film – and the surprising depth of the relationship dramas – the execution of action is skilful. More significantly, the action doesn’t take itself seriously and the humour doesn’t stop when the action starts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181480/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joyleen Christensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The outrageous martial arts scenes in Everything Everywhere All At Once pay homage to classic films like Jackie Chan’s Rumble In The Bronx and the Hui brothers’ The Private Eyes.
Joyleen Christensen, Senior lecturer, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/168273
2021-09-26T20:06:25Z
2021-09-26T20:06:25Z
From Bruce Lee to Shang-Chi: a short history of the kung fu film in cinema
<p>With action sequences that are being hailed as some of the best in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is shaping up to overtake Black Widow as the <a href="https://deadline.com/2021/09/shang-chi-weekend-box-office-1234839150/">biggest film of the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>A hit with critics and audience alike, <a href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings/">many commentators</a> are praising Shang-Chi’s cast and, in particular, the performance by <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/shang-chi-tony-leung-interview-wenwu-fathers-the-mandarin-stereotypes">Hong Kong screen legend Tony Leung Chiu-wai</a>, for helping breathe new life into a familiar Marvel formula. </p>
<p>Given the huge challenge of presenting a film of this scale with a kung fu master as its central character, it was imperative the filmmakers delivered authentic fight scenes that could stand alongside the classics and showcase the best action the genre has to offer. </p>
<p>Tracing through China, Hong Kong and Hollywood, martial arts films have a history almost as long cinema itself. This history is on exciting display in Shang-Chi, and will cement the film’s position in kung fu cinematic history. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-didnt-have-a-superhero-that-looked-like-me-marvels-new-female-culturally-diverse-and-queer-protagonists-mirror-our-times-160917">'I didn't have a superhero that looked like me': Marvel's new female, culturally diverse and queer protagonists mirror our times</a>
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<h2>Birth of the kung fu genre and the first boom</h2>
<p>Beginning with Shanghai productions in the 1920s, early martial arts films drew influence from Chinese opera and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia">wuxia novels</a>: narratives set in Ancient China focusing on heroes with supernatural martial arts abilities. Fight scenes in these early films emphasised flowing dramatised movements, but rarely showcased actual martial arts skills. </p>
<p>This changed with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Hong_Kong#Years_of_transformation_(1970s)">transformation of Hong Kong cinema</a> in the 1970s. Resisting the fantastical elements of the wuxia style, local studios Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest put actual martial artists into their films. </p>
<p>With this move, the kung fu genre was born. </p>
<p>Popular titles of the time like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077559/">Five Deadly Venoms</a> (1978) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078243/">The 36th Chamber of Shaolin</a> (1978) are classics, and the films of Bruce Lee brought kung fu to the world’s attention.</p>
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<p>Lee’s intense and realistic fighting style, as shown in films like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067824/">The Big Boss</a> (1971) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070034/">Enter the Dragon</a> (1973), sparked an international obsession with the art of kung fu — even as international fans often had to deal with poor-quality dubbing and bootleg videos.</p>
<p>After Lee’s untimely death in 1973, the genre morphed from showcasing ferocious physicality into a more acrobatic, comedy-infused approach, such as in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080179/">Drunken Master</a> (1978) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079472/">The Magnificent Butcher</a> (1979) starring, respectively, Jackie Chan and his China Drama Academy “brother”, Sammo Hung.</p>
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<p>Hong Kong cinema entered its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Hong_Kong#1980s_%E2%80%93_early_1990s:_the_boom_years">Golden Age</a> in the 1980 and ‘90s. At this time, contemporary kung fu classics like Chan’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089374/">Police Story</a> (1985) complimented popular historical films such as Jet Li’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108281/">Tai Chi Master</a> (1993) and Donnie Yen’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108148/">Iron Monkey</a> (1993).</p>
<h2>The second boom</h2>
<p>In the late 1990s, around the time of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handover_of_Hong_Kong">Hong Kong’s handover to China</a>, many of the industry’s leading figures made the move to Hollywood. </p>
<p>With films like Chan’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120812/">Rush Hour</a> (1998) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184894/">Shanghai Noon</a> (2000), and Li’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165929/">Romeo Must Die</a> (2000) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0267804/">The One</a> (2001), English-speaking fans could finally see kung fu films on a big screen without the need for subtitles.</p>
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<p>Celebrated martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping also lent his talents to international productions, allowing kung fu to find its way into hits like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/">The Matrix</a> (1999) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266697">Kill Bill</a> (2003).</p>
<p>In 2000, the Chinese blockbuster <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/">Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon</a> showed modern international audiences now had an appetite for the elaborate swordplay and gravity-defying wirework of wuxia films, and many stars returned to China to capitalised on the trend. </p>
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<p>Jet Li’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/">Hero</a> (2002) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446059">Fearless</a> (2006), as well as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385004/">House of Flying Daggers</a> (2004) and the first film to feature both Jackie Chan and Jet Li, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865556/">Forbidden Kingdom</a> (2008), all helped to redefine the martial arts film: bringing star power and global audiences to an industry that had, until then, largely received only local attention. </p>
<p>These Chinese-made films focused on producing elegant wuxia action dramas. In Hong Kong, kung fu was still going strong, largely thanks to Stephen Chow’s hugely popular comedies <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286112">Shaolin Soccer</a> (2001) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373074/">Kung Fu Hustle</a> (2004), and Donnie Yen’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1220719/">Ip Man</a> (2008).</p>
<h2>Shang-Chi: the first Asian superhero</h2>
<p>In many ways, the character of Shang-Chi may be seen as the cultural successor to Bruce Lee. Created during the height of the global obsession with Lee’s films, the character of Shang-Chi first appeared in Marvel comics in December 1973 – just months after the death of the legendary actor. </p>
<p>Marvel’s “other kung fu hero”, Iron Fist from the 2017 Netflix <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322310/">series of the same name</a>, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/watching/iron-fist-review-roundup-controversy.html">controversial</a>. The star, Finn Jones, lacked martial arts experience, and the show was criticised for its <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2017/03/17/iron-fist-marvel-could-have-avoided-a-white-saviour-and-made-the-netflix-series-better-6514756/">“white saviour” narrative</a>. </p>
<p>In light of this, the producers of Shang-Chi were keen to bring together a predominantly Asian and Asian-American cast and crew who could do justice to the first Asian superhero to headline a Marvel feature film. </p>
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<p>This has paid off: Shang-Chi is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/06/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings-makes-up-for-the-flaws-of-mulan">being praised</a> as both a classic Marvel superhero film, and an exceptional kung fu film in its own right.</p>
<p>Under fight director Andy Cheng and stunt coordinator Brad Allan, the film draws upon <a href="https://screenrant.com/shang-chi-martial-arts-styles/">a range of different styles</a>, including wing chun, Shaolin kung fu, bajiquan and hung ga stances, and the iron rings from which the film gets its title. </p>
<p>Hollywood has come a long way from declaring Lee “<a href="https://time.com/5953090/kung-fu-cw-asian-representation/">too authentic</a>” to take the lead role in the original 1970s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068093/">Kung Fu</a> television series. Shang-Chi is likely to inspire a whole new generation of kung fu cinema fans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joyleen Christensen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The history of martial arts films is almost as long as the history of cinema. Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings excitingly pushes the genre forward.
Joyleen Christensen, Senior lecturer, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/167293
2021-09-03T13:48:30Z
2021-09-03T13:48:30Z
Tokyo Paralympics: why para taekwondo is the most thrilling new sport
<p>For fans of <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-brain-boosting-reasons-to-take-up-martial-arts-at-any-age-95263">martial arts</a>, Tokyo 2020 was always going to be something to look forward to. Along with para badminton, the <a href="https://www.paralympic.org/sports">programme</a> this year saw <a href="https://www.paralympic.org/news/sport-week-10-things-know-about-para-taekwondo">para taekwondo</a> make its debut.</p>
<p>The new discipline joins para judo and wheelchair fencing in the combat sports roster, but because of the way points are scored – by landing powerful kicks on the body – para taekwondo is <a href="https://www.paralympic.org/news/sport-week-10-things-know-about-para-taekwondo">the first full-contact para sport</a> in the history of the Olympic Games. And it has not disappointed. </p>
<p>For the sport’s first bout on Thursday September 2, Afghanistan’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/world/asia/afghan-paralympians-kabul-tokyo.html">Zakia Khudadadi</a> emerged on the mat to spar with Ziyodakhon Isakova of Uzbekistan, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210902-taekwondo-kicks-its-way-into-paralympics">AC/DC’s Thunderstruck</a> playing over the speakers. Khadadadi was one of only two Paralympians who made it out of Kabul in time to compete in Tokyo.</p>
<p>Isakova won and para taekwondo has continued making headlines. Leonor Espinoza Carranza took Peru’s <a href="https://www.paralympic.org/news/day-9-review-taekwondo-kicks-debut-upsets-zahra-nemati-amazes">first gold medal</a> in Tokyo, and the country’s first Paralympic gold since Sydney 2000, in the women’s up to 49kg category. </p>
<p>Chances are that even if you don’t know the rules, you’ll find para taekwondo exciting to watch. For many, the spectacular kicks that characterise the sport make it the new highlight on the Paralympic calendar. </p>
<h2>Developing a para sport</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/martial-arts-can-improve-your-attention-span-and-alertness-long-term-new-study-91798">Taekwondo</a> was first showcased at the Seoul 1988 Games and, in 2000, made an official Olympic discipline <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/wt">at the Sydney Games</a>. The <a href="http://www.worldtaekwondo.org/index.html">subsequent development</a> of the sport for para athletes by World Taekwondo, the official sports organisation, opened up the possibility that para taekwondo might follow suit in the future. </p>
<p>Starting in 2005, para taekwondo was developed from the kyorugi or free-form sparring discipline, one of several that make up taekwondo. The <a href="https://www.paralympic.org/taekwondo/classification">eligible impairments</a> include limb impairments, arm amputations and the loss of toes which impact the ability to lift the heel properly.</p>
<p>The first Para Taekwondo World Championships were held in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2009, with 40 athletes from 20 nations. Participation worldwide has been on the rise ever since. The Tokyo 2020 events comprise kyorugi in three weight categories per gender, with <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/para-taekwondo-athlete-aruna-aims-for-tokyo-glory/articleshow/83902213.cms">72 athletes</a> competing in total. </p>
<p>Para athletes, like their Olympic peers, <a href="https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/know-your-sport-taekwondo-rules-scoring-equipment">wear</a> helmets and trunk protectors (padded vests around their chest). They compete on an octagonal padded mat, 8m wide. And bouts are organised in three two-minute rounds. </p>
<p>Points in taekwondo are scored by landing kicks to the body with sufficient power and accuracy. Minor adjustments have been made to the rules for para-athletes’ safety. Kicks to the head are strictly forbidden, contrary to taekwondo, and punches to the body do not score because para taekwondoins do not have the full ability to block.</p>
<p>Instead, athletes can score two points for a valid kick to the trunk protector. They can score additional points for more difficult kicks – one more for a turn kick; two more for a spinning kick; and three points for a kick involving a 180-degree turn. </p>
<h2>Spectacular potential</h2>
<p>Since 2017, athletes can score four points for 360-degree spinning kicks too. This has meant that entire matches can turn on <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/sports/taekwondo/">a single move</a>, making spectacular spin-kick combinations the essence of the sport. </p>
<p>Taekwondo allows for various attacks and counter-attacks with linear, spinning and circular types of kicks. Analysis of how the perfect kick is pulled off has shown that an initial so-called loading phase of the knee and hip extension <a href="http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s42600-019-00022-1">is essential</a> to the athlete being able to launch into the kicking phase. </p>
<p>Research shows that para athletes <a href="https://wnus.edu.pl/cejssm/en/issue/15/article/97/">frequently execute</a> dynamic moves, including turning kicks, fast kicks, cut kicks, jump back kicks, and tornado kicks, in both defence and offence. <a href="https://wnus.edu.pl/cejssm/en/issue/15/article/97/">To perform these</a>, they need <a href="https://jomh.org/articles/10.31083/jomh.2021.019">exceptional speed</a>, agility, explosive power and dynamic balance.</p>
<p>In addition, all elite taekwondo athletes are trained <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02708/full">to anticipate</a> the opponent’s moves. They pre-empt attacks by kicking the opponent directly and performing spinning kicks from short distances when they perceive an opponent’s cutting action. </p>
<p>To successfully perform the turning kicks, taekwondo athletes use their arms to control their rotation (angular momentum). What sets para taekwondoins apart is that they do not have the same use of their upper limbs. Instead they deploy other compensatory motions to <a href="https://commons.nmu.edu/isbs/vol35/iss1/11/">achieve</a> extraordinary attacks, counter-attacks, combinations and defensive movements. <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210902-taekwondo-kicks-its-way-into-paralympics">For many</a>, para taekwondo offers more thrills than its Olympic counterpart.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167293/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jožef Šimenko does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Para taekwondo isn’t just a new Olympic discipline - it’s a millennial sport, developed in 2005. Its explosive debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games means it’s here to stay
Jožef Šimenko, Lecturer in Anatomy and Physiology, Essex Pathways Department, University of Essex
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/137329
2020-05-20T12:30:36Z
2020-05-20T12:30:36Z
I joined a mixed martial arts gym looking for a fight – but found inner peace
<p>I returned to the UK after a four-year absence to find that the popularity of mixed martial arts (MMA) had increased dramatically. As a physically fit(ish) researcher in the field of sport sociology, I decided to investigate. So for the last two and a half years, I have trained, fought, socialised and competed with other members of an urban MMA gym in the north west of England. Training between four to eight hours a week, every week, I entered this world expecting a fight for acceptance in a dog-eat-dog enclave of hyper masculine brutality. I was wrong.</p>
<p>The UK was home to 12 MMA gyms 11 years ago; today there are <a href="https://www.tapology.com/gyms/country/gb">320</a>. The growth in participants has been matched by spikes in fandom, attendances at live events and growing interest from mainstream media outlets and sponsors. Packaged and sold as a violent, bloody and transgressive sport, MMA has been the target of many critiques as both a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/15/mixed-martial-arts-mma-banned-joao-carvalho-fighter">sport and spectacle</a>. Fights can be brutal, as are the training regimes which, even for amateurs, put significant demands on the body, wallets and time of gym members. So why are people – mainly men, but growing numbers of women too – putting themselves through this?</p>
<p>On first entering the gym it was the smell that hit first: sweat thinly veiled by incense burning at the reception area’s makeshift café. Then the sound: music booming, from The Stone Roses to minimal techno, shouts punctuated by the thwack of pads absorbing impacts of jabs and kicks. Then the sight: 20 to 50 men, women and children at work, sparring in the cage at the centre of the gym, rolling on the mats around it. I didn’t know it then but this messy ecosystem, mixed by design, was to become a necessary home away from home.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336353/original/file-20200520-152327-1t0qe9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336353/original/file-20200520-152327-1t0qe9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336353/original/file-20200520-152327-1t0qe9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336353/original/file-20200520-152327-1t0qe9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336353/original/file-20200520-152327-1t0qe9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336353/original/file-20200520-152327-1t0qe9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336353/original/file-20200520-152327-1t0qe9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A class in session.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Rob Kershaw photography</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My early diary entries are full of observations confounding initial expectations. As a lifelong football and rugby enthusiast, with a record of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441352318301220?casa_token=75GBgGl7D2cAAAAA:X9ZqSiUCjmbuJzI1hVgNyeKMvColNrdXeX8j8qqaohdXRqA28ApS7L-mGFhtLM4R05AVmMg9Wg">in-depth investigation</a> into these <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441352318301220?casa_token=75GBgGl7D2cAAAAA:X9ZqSiUCjmbuJzI1hVgNyeKMvColNrdXeX8j8qqaohdXRqA28ApS7L-mGFhtLM4R05AVmMg9Wg">sporting</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17430437.2020.1725476?casa_token=Sg6zMqel38YAAAAA:AJDisrd8gflkA3Ox-JKEDfK5KmFyzX4CyWv2b_OY6Y3B4-KbkNt-hx3oESryPvRSnw7DmBpNwqYI">worlds</a>, I was amazed to find the gym to be far friendlier than those sub-cultures. And it was much more socio-economically diverse – doctors, scaffolders, lawyers, taxi drivers, and those who make a more spurious living, form close bonds through the shared growth and torment that typifies MMA. </p>
<p>Many of these bonds were formed through the practice of jiu-jitsu, which occupies the centre of this mixed ecosystem.</p>
<h2>The gentle art</h2>
<p>A proficient MMA fighter needs to become skilled in several key disciplines. But since Royce Gracie won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1993, employing jiu-jitsu to defeat stronger and larger opponents, jiu-jitsu has become both fundamental to the house of MMA, and a fast-growing sport in its own right.</p>
<p>Originating in Japan, jiu-jitsu, which roughly translates as “the gentle art”, requires you to redirect your opponent’s force, taking them to the ground, where you battle to submit them through a multitude of chokes and limb locks. Unlike other martial arts, such as karate or taekwondo, aggression is discouraged. Yet, jiu-jitsu is an indispensable discipline in MMA, with many gyms making it a focus. A large amount of professional MMA bouts <a href="http://www.fightmatrix.com/ufc-records/ufc-fight-outcomes-by-weight-class/">end in submission</a>. My gym was no different, with jiu-jitsu sparring and instruction dominating the mats.</p>
<p>But rather than the fight I was expecting, jiu-jitsu can be a <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7T3Dn0rQC68C&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=Ultimate+fighting+and+embodiment:+Violence,+gender+and+mixed+martial+art&ots=lTOL2ZT47v&sig=zlDimmAfV5wt8hzinmVVUajhJ9A#v=onepage&q=Ultimate%20fighting%20and%20embodiment%3A%20Violence%2C%20gender%20and%20mixed%20martial%20art&f=false">mindful practise</a> likened to chess, a game of which is often in progress in the reception area. This “cerebral” element of jiu-jitsu is a central aspect of MMA that is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304422X1630136X?casa_token=xNNd1vGMtjYAAAAA:z_PhE8ErPvkzOUwJ5YVlqpbBaL7EhjhJ4VtMV-IanCFipYjt6XDjvXfySTKRFPv35AsJZTmGMA">rarely portrayed</a> in the way the sport is packaged by much mainstream media. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336354/original/file-20200520-152284-1omvd11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336354/original/file-20200520-152284-1omvd11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336354/original/file-20200520-152284-1omvd11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336354/original/file-20200520-152284-1omvd11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336354/original/file-20200520-152284-1omvd11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336354/original/file-20200520-152284-1omvd11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336354/original/file-20200520-152284-1omvd11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seeking submission.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Rob Kershaw photography</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is also difficult to grasp in the early stages of training, when the drive home often meant fighting back tears of frustration, pain or both. But with perseverance comes reward. Frequent defeats on the mats are lessons learned and passed down from more experienced partners. The following reflection was typical:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I pin my chin against my chest to hold off his choking arm, but he readjusts and it slips under … I pull at it futilely, but he arches his back, and squeezes … am I done?? … can’t breathe and vision starts to go … I’m done, I tap and he lets go immediately. We bump fists, breathing heavily, ‘nice’ he says ‘you could have prevented that though … come here let me show you’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Such scenarios can be profoundly uncomfortable and extremely stressful yet happen in various forms several times a session, over several sessions a week. Success is found in remaining calm, controlling your breathing and thinking carefully, clearly and quickly. Such practice had a significant impact on my life outside of the gym.</p>
<h2>A mental fight</h2>
<p>After a year of regular training I felt I knew enough to sit down with experienced competitors to ask why they committed so much to the gym. One told me that he missed his daughter’s first steps because he wanted to get better at jiu-jitsu. But he went on to say that he trained largely for mental health reasons, often at the expense of his physical health due to injury. </p>
<p>Connor, who oversees the gym induction process, had similar ideas. “No-one ever wants to tell you the main reason [for joining],” he said. “They’ll say it’s about fitness or it’s about a hobby but deep down it can be about something else.” It became clear that the “something else” tended to be more cognitive than physical. The fight against stress, anxiety, depression is greater than the threats from physical opponents. Simon admitted that training was “an important outlet for a lot of people and for a long time I didn’t realise quite how much of an outlet it was”. Neither did I.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336355/original/file-20200520-152349-koz6ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336355/original/file-20200520-152349-koz6ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336355/original/file-20200520-152349-koz6ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336355/original/file-20200520-152349-koz6ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336355/original/file-20200520-152349-koz6ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336355/original/file-20200520-152349-koz6ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336355/original/file-20200520-152349-koz6ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">MMA can be far less macho than football or rugby.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Rob Kershaw photography</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The consistent training, the testing of oneself against another and the many defeats in sparring mean a very personal confrontation with yourself and ego. It takes a lot to try and it takes even more to get beaten again (often by smaller opponents) and to try again. This dynamic equips you with mental resilience and a calm under pressure that I have never known. </p>
<p>There is a paradox here. Stereotypes around masculinity are <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?type=printable&id=10.1371/journal.pone.0049779">said to be</a> a barrier to “mental health literacy” and help-seeking for sufferers. Yet in learning to fight, it seems that some participants are fighting off real threats to their mental wellbeing.</p>
<p>The gym is not a wellness retreat. Significant injury is commonplace, yet up and down the country people have signed up in their droves. I no longer ask why people put themselves through such a training regime, but I do wonder: what kind of society makes such a choice worthwhile?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Sugden does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
I entered this world expecting a fight for acceptance in a dog-eat-dog enclave of hyper masculine brutality. I was wrong.
Jack Sugden, Lecturer in Sport Development, Management and Sociology, Edge Hill University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/131851
2020-02-24T15:53:14Z
2020-02-24T15:53:14Z
Hip-hop’s obsession with combat imagery is about more than violence
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316834/original/file-20200224-24655-buzp1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C18%2C2032%2C1342&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of Wu-Tang Clan at Glastonbury 2019. The group took their name from the 1983 Kung Fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Wu_Tang_Clan_West_Holts_Stage_Glastonbury_2019_007.jpg/2048px-Wu_Tang_Clan_West_Holts_Stage_Glastonbury_2019_007.jpg">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALPH86ybA6U">Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em</a>, legendary New York MC Rakim proclaims: “I’m the arsenal, I got artillery, lyrics are ammo….”</p>
<p>Senegalese-born French rapper MC Solaar compares his mic to body armour and warns listeners about his cache of lyrical bullets halfway through <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Bo5rbFD28">La Concubine de l’Hémoglobine</a></em> (The Haemoglobin Concubine): <em>“…le mic est devenu ma tenue combat … le Solaarsenal est équipé de balles vocales …”</em>.</p>
<p>Kendrick Lamar refers to himself as <a href="https://www.thefader.com/2017/04/20/don-cheadle-confirms-kendrick-lamars-kung-fu-kenny-moniker-is-a-irush-hour-2i-reference">Kung Fu Kenny</a> throughout the album DAMN, a reference to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJnJonRPJ-w">Don Cheadle’s character</a> in the 2001 buddy cop and martial arts film Rush Hour 2 starring Jackie Chan. </p>
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<p>As all these examples confirm, it’s a common practice for rappers to equate verbal prowess with martial skill. MCs “spit” incendiary lines. Breakdancers “battle” for supremacy on the dance floor. DJs “cut” samples to their own liking. Graffiti artists “bomb” public spaces with tags. </p>
<p>Critics of hip-hop music and culture denounce such imagery as encouraging actual violence. They often cite graphic examples from commercial American “<a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/the-great-and-the-grisly-of-gangsta-rap-1.2317070">gangsta rap</a>” to make their case. Yet from <a href="https://www.ucc.ie/en/cipher/">the research</a> in which I have been involved, there’s a whole other way of looking at this imagery that casts hip-hop in a very different light. </p>
<h2><strong>Planet rap</strong></h2>
<p>Musicologist Griff Rollefson offers a different view of this tendency for hip-hop MCs to use their “<a href="https://europeanhiphoporg.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/HipHopAsMartialArt-OxfordHandbook-Rollefson.pdf">words as weapons</a>”. For members of marginalised communities, he argues, hip-hop potentially offers “a discursive and performative field in which to vent frustrations, enact fantasies, build confidence and formulate plots”. It’s a cathartic space free from threat of physical harm or retaliation from authorities. </p>
<p>I would argue that the metaphors of combat in global hip-hop are often concerned with messages of <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/12/its-a-hip-hop-world/">empowerment and social action</a>. The seeming violence of such expressions serves as a means for practitioners to channel their dissatisfaction with adverse social conditions through creative artistry. On her 2019 track <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qceP35fafc">Land of Gray</a>, for instance, South African MC Yugen Blakrok “dismembers a fascist” with her incisive “verbal blades”. </p>
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<p>In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpY3XTS9EZw">another instance</a>, Japanese rapper Zeebra fires off a lyrical “bullet of truth”, changing listeners’ thought patterns and “slowly directing brain cells” toward more enlightened ways of being (Saishu Heiki, 2005).</p>
<h2><strong>Musical art to martial art</strong></h2>
<p>At a time when issues of migration, secession and isolationism dominate, an in-depth study of the impact of global forms of hip-hop marks an important change in political and cultural perspectives. As part of the <a href="https://www.ucc.ie/en/cipher/">CIPHER</a> initiative, Rollfeson, the researcher Jason Ng and I are investigating hip-hop’s social importance and re-evaluating its stigmas. The aim is to shift the focus from a strictly US context to look at models from around the world.</p>
<p>Rollefson’s idea that hip-hop is a “martial art” is a part of this approach. Not only does it position rap within its contemporary context but it also considers the culture’s deep indebtedness to Kung Fu cinematic lore and East Asian philosophy. </p>
<p>Take the Wu-Tang Clan’s debut album <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/15-fun-facts-about-wu-tang-clans-enter-the-wu-tang-36-chambers-187134/">Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)</a>. The title references the classic martial arts movies Enter the Dragon (1973) starring Bruce Lee, and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978). </p>
<p>Busta Rhymes’ video for the 1997 track Dangerous, directed by <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb9wm3/hype-williams-changed-hip-hop-forever-with-these-10-videos">Hype Williams</a> (who made some of the period’s most well-known hip-hop videos), takes its inspiration from the 1985 classic <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089461/">The Last Dragon</a>. </p>
<p>Ask any old-skool hip-hop head “Who is the master?” and they’ll answer, “Sho’nuff!”. This scene is played out in the music video with Rhymes taking the role of martial arts master Sho’nuff. For brown and black kids growing up in the socioeconomically repressed Bronx of the 1980s, what’s a more aspirational narrative, what’s more hip-hop, than the tale of a lone warrior acting decisively, but only when provoked? </p>
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<p>This influence also manifests globally, but in very different ways. Irish MC Jun Tzu (his <em>nom de guerre</em> a nod to Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu), often highlights the continued need for unity in his hometown of Belfast after <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2w4cg0cdhs">the Troubles</a>. In the single <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBaJORaQI9k">Klik Klak</a> – the title imitating the sound of a pistol being racked and readied to fire – the South African rapper Cream declares: “I’m Jackie Chan with a pen… I defend rappers in my clan…” </p>
<p>Just as martial arts principles are handed down from teacher to disciple, hip-hop MCs spread ideological “truths” through their music. Global practitioners of hip-hop in particular prioritise a resistive aesthetic – an awareness of cultural identity, personal expression and a fundamental “knowledge of self” in their work. </p>
<p>The notion of hip-hop as a martial art also helps to illustrate the community-oriented ethos of the culture. In the cipher, which is the name given to hip-hop performance gatherings, MCs hone their skills and “sharpen their blades” in lyrical combat. This rite of passage, where performers are called on to demonstrate their talents and be evaluated by peers, exemplifies the “each one teach one” approach that characterises much of global hip-hop.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131851/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Warrick Moses receives funding from the European Research Council as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the CIPHER Hip Hop Interpellation project, hosted by University College Cork, Ireland.</span></em></p>
Global hip-hop takes many cues from Kung Fu. Contrary to what denouncers might think, there is a rhyme and reason to using ‘words as weapons’.
Warrick Moses, Postdoctoral Fellow in Hip-Hop Studies, University College Cork
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/101692
2018-10-10T08:22:27Z
2018-10-10T08:22:27Z
Wiro Sableng: a revival of Indonesian martial arts genre?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239551/original/file-20181006-133328-rju2v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4256%2C2809&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Characters in _Wiro Sableng_ (from left to right) : Anggini (Sherina Munaf), Bujang Gila Tapak Sakti (Fariz Alfarazi), Wiro Sableng (Vino G. Bastian), the Prince (Yusuf Mahardhika) and Rara Murni (Aghniny Haque) </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eriek Juragan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After being wowed by western superheroes from Marvel and DC universes, Indonesia finally gets its own hero on the big screen.</p>
<p>A film about a local hero clad in all white costume from the 16th century, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6730970/"><em>Wiro Sableng</em></a> (Crazy Wiro), <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2018/08/30/wiro-sableng-an-eye-opener-for-hollywood-filmmakers.html">hit</a> Indonesian theatres on August 30. It will be released in Singapore on October 11 following Malaysia’s release on September 27.</p>
<p>The film mostly received positive reviews from media and audience. Reputable US magazine Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2018/film/asia/indonesia-crazy-for-wiro-sableng-1202921657/">called</a> the film a breakthrough in Indonesia’s film industry for being the first film backed by Hollywood’s 20th Century Fox.</p>
<p>Despite the hype, <em>Wiro Sableng</em> has left a big question about genre filmmaking in the local cinema industry. Many consider <em>Wiro</em> to be a superhero movie, but from its cinematic elements and style, <em>Wiro Sableng</em> is closer to martial arts or <em>silat</em> genre.</p>
<h2>What is genre?</h2>
<p>Genre is a reference tool for filmmakers and audiences alike. Film professor <a href="https://books.google.co.id/books/about/Film_Genre.html?id=tCQOwvI9vsAC&redir_esc=y">Barry Keith Grant explains</a> that genre classify commercial feature films that “tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familiar situations”. These references are useful for both filmmakers and audience to provide a pool of cinematic elements that they can work on as points of departure for film consumption, as well as for promotional purposes, so both sides know what to expect from a film. </p>
<p>The genre convention also refers to culture and social contexts surrounding the movies. It is very common that a genre can disappear or getting significant revisions in its elements when the culture supporting it is no longer dominant. One example is western genre. Once this genre dominated the screen worldwide from the 1950s to the 1970s, but now it has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/21/western-films-hollywood-enduring-genre">been revised</a> to cope with new society’s values.</p>
<h2>Wiro Sableng’s case</h2>
<p>Since its production, many consider that <em>Wiro Sableng</em> is a superhero movie. Some websites even <a href="https://mojok.co/red/komen/status/berharap-wiro-sableng-kelak-bergabung-dalam-marvel-cinematic-universe/">speculate</a> that Wiro will join the Avengers, a franchise from Marvel Cinematic Universe, whose parent company, Disney, owns 20th Century Fox. The appearance of Wiro in <em>Deadpool 2</em> trailer, one of Marvel Studio’s films, also strengthens this speculation.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘<em>Wiro Sableng</em>’ in ‘Deadpool 2’ trailer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The assumption that <em>Wiro Sableng</em> is similar to Hollywood superhero movie is inevitable. This is because there have been no reference in Indonesian films whose main characters have superhuman abilities. </p>
<h2>Local martial arts genre</h2>
<p>From its cinematic elements and style, <em>Wiro Sableng</em> is closer to martial arts or <em>silat</em> genre. Indonesian <em>silat</em> genre is akin to <em>wuxia</em> genre in Hong Kong cinema. Both genres have historical settings with corresponding costumes, properties and architecture. Important elements in this genre are the characters’ ability to do choreographed fighting with “high-kicks” and “flying swords”. Sometimes superhuman abilities are featured to add entertainment values.</p>
<p>Indonesian <em>silat</em> genre dominated the screen in the 1980s. <em>Jaka Sembung</em> series (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090295/">The Warrior</a>) – the third top earner film in 1982 according to <a href="http://filmindonesia.or.id/movie/title/lf-j023-81-531181_jaka-sembung-sang-penakluk#.W60BIWhKg2w">Film Indonesia website</a> – and <em>Si Buta dari Gua Hantu</em> series (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045882/?ref_=nv_sr_2">The Blind Swordsman</a>) are among the successful ones. After that, the genre fell into obscurity. The <em>Jaka Sembung</em> and <em>Si Buta</em> series are now circulated in low quality VCD format, and have lost their appeal to a new generation of filmgoers.</p>
<p>Attempts to revive <em>silat</em> genre occurred in 2014 with the production of Pendekar Tongkat Emas (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4235342/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Golden Cane Warrior</a>, but to no avail. The film <a href="http://filmindonesia.or.id/movie/viewer/2014#.W60Ks2hKg2w">flopped</a> and received bad reviews, with one saying the film lacked <a href="https://cinemapoetica.com/seusai-menonton-pendekar-tongkat-emas/">fresh ideas</a>.</p>
<p>The superhero genre <a href="https://archive.tabloidbintang.com/film/on-location/3317-mengapa-kita-tak-lagi-membuat-film-superhero.html">has not been produced for a while in Indonesia</a> while the martial arts genre, which once dominated the screen, has also all but disappeared. No wonder, then, that people associate Wiro Sableng with the Hollywood superhero genre, which has dominated the global film industry.</p>
<h2>Technology for <em>silat</em> genre revival</h2>
<p>Technological development in moviemaking has opened many possibilities for featuring superhuman abilities on screen. This has become a new standard in the film industry. Any films laden with special effects to portray superhuman abilities always bring with them the expectation of an enjoyable watching experience.</p>
<p>Chinese films in the <em>Wuxia</em> genre have undergone an upgrade. We can see how visual effects play its magic in Ang Lee’s films such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/">Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon</a> (2000) or <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/">Hero</a> (2002). The special effects has helped these films create better film narratives for audiences in the new century.</p>
<p>Indonesia’s success story with visual effects can be found in the remake of
a classic horror film, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281048/?ref_=nv_sr_2">Pengabdi Setan</a> (Satan’s Slave, 1982) into the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7076834/">2017 version</a>.</p>
<p>Film critic Hikmat Darmawan has <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2018/09/06/wiro-sableng-a-colorful-silat-fantasy.html">praised</a> <em>Wiro Sableng</em> for its “luxury special effects against the benchmark of Indonesian fantasy pictures”. He also says <em>Wiro Sableng</em> belongs to the <em>silat</em> genre, hinting at the possibility of the genre’s revival in the local film industry. But again, the revival of <em>silat</em> genre will depend on creating convincing special effects that can woo millennials who have grown up on the slick special effects of Hollywood superhero movies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Sasono tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>
Many consider Wiro is a superhero movie but from its cinematic elements and style, Wiro Sableng is closer to martial arts or silat genre.
Eric Sasono, Executive board secretary, Indonesian Documentary Film Center
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/101530
2018-09-07T09:46:19Z
2018-09-07T09:46:19Z
Cobra Kai: Karate Kid spin-off is a social parable for our times
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235370/original/file-20180907-90562-1x6ojhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Karate Kid is back – and so is his nemesis. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwwxNbtK6Y">YouTube. </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than three decades after the release of the original <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087538/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Karate Kid</a>, YouTube Originals miniseries <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwwxNbtK6Y">Cobra Kai</a> seizes on nostalgic enthusiasm for the film, centring on the story of former antagonist, Johnny Lawrence. Presented as an “ace degenerate”, the out-of-work, alcoholic failed father seeks to resurrect the infamous Cobra Kai <a href="http://maaml.blogspot.com/2009/09/dojo-its-purpose-and-meaning.html">dojo</a>, in a bid to salvage his self respect and rebuild his life. </p>
<p>Haunted by the success of his childhood nemesis – the original film’s protagonist, Daniel Larusso – Lawrence’s efforts draw both men back into a personal rivalry, characterised by conflicting philosophies of karate. Despite the faithful coherence with the original movie – including poignant flashbacks, references to iconic training methods (“wax on, wax off”) and a soundtrack straight from the 1980s – the series is more than simple, nostalgic melodrama. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xCwwxNbtK6Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Cobra Kai offers insightful commentary on a divided US society, tackling issues such as gender politics, cyber-bullying, intergenerational learning and family relations. Through Lawrence and Larusso’s radically different teaching methods, karate is shown to offer a variety of skills, values and pathways to help young people fight back or find balance within this challenging world. </p>
<h2>A modern parable</h2>
<p>The narrative is built around Lawrence’s attempts to update and rehabilitate the Cobra Kai mantra of “strike first, strike hard, no mercy”. In the original film, this is portrayed as an irredeemably negative vision of karate. But in the series, it becomes a source of strength and pride for those struggling in a world that has rejected them.</p>
<p>Lawrence is portrayed as one of contemporary <a href="http://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/02/men-left-behind.aspx">America’s “left behind” men</a>. He works demeaning manual jobs and holds problematic views towards women and immigrants. But rather than write Lawrence off as a deplorable failure, deserving of all his misfortune, the series invites viewers to empathise with him as he struggles to assert the only strength he has, in a world he barely understands. </p>
<p>Lawrence’s quest for redemption is tied to the bunch of misfit pupils who join his Cobra Kai dojo, starting with Miguel, a Latino-American boy who gets bullied at school. The students gradually learn karate as a way to take control over their own lives; to “flip the script” and reinvent themselves from cowering “losers” to “bad-ass” cobras. In the process, they question, challenge and eventually come to accept Lawrence’s politically incorrect language, conservative gender values and harsh teaching style. </p>
<figure>
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</figure>
<p>Although Lawrence himself is shown to soften towards the end of the series, his students come to use the Cobra Kai philosophy, as their teacher does, as a source of personal strength. The story addresses contemporary political concerns about <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/05/can-rhetoric-on-the-left-fuel-bigotry-on-the-right/560285/">left wing intolerance</a> towards right wing “Trumpian” politics, by avoiding the wholesale rejection of conservative worldviews (and the people holding them), while advocating balance, dialogue and understanding between the generations.</p>
<h2>Finding balance</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, as cracks begin to appear in his own seemingly perfect life, Larusso also turns to karate for inspiration, recalling his <a href="https://judoinfo.com/sensei1/">sensei</a>, Mr Miyagi, praising the virtue of balance in all things. Seeking a training partner, he starts to mentor the wayward teenager Robby, who – unknown to him – is actually Lawrence’s estranged son. </p>
<p>Larusso passes on the reflective and serene Miyagi-Do philosophy to Robby, using metaphoric activities such as pruning Bonsai trees and listening to the quiet countryside to help the teenager master his chaotic life. While Cobra Kai karate empowers the weak, Miyagi-Do tempers the unruly.</p>
<p>By framing karate practice as a search for balance in a difficult and changing world, the series illuminates many of the issues and concerns emerging in real-world martial arts classes. For example, tensions around integrating girls into the Cobra Kai dojo echo debates about the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1012690217737044">inclusion of more and more women</a> into the historically male dominated Brazilian martial art of <a href="https://dancinggender.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/abeginnersguidetocapoeria/">capoeira</a>. The series also provides a light-hearted take on the gendered problems involved <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ssj.30.4.487">with integrating men and women in martial arts</a>, such as the negotiation of painful and intimate touch in mixed-sex practice.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235372/original/file-20180907-90546-xgjl86.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235372/original/file-20180907-90546-xgjl86.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235372/original/file-20180907-90546-xgjl86.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235372/original/file-20180907-90546-xgjl86.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235372/original/file-20180907-90546-xgjl86.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235372/original/file-20180907-90546-xgjl86.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235372/original/file-20180907-90546-xgjl86.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Awkward …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwwxNbtK6Y">YouTube.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And as Lawrence consistently frames his tutelage of Miguel in terms of masculinity, their evolving relationship plays out many of the tensions and contradictions embedded in the ways <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21640599.2012.751170">Western men understand their practice of Asian martial arts</a>. This includes contrasting the humble, restrained civility of the ideal martial artist with the aggressive, dominating competitiveness typically required for combat sports. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Larusso’s use of metaphorical teaching activities mirror <a href="http://revpubli.unileon.es/index.php/artesmarciales/article/viewFile/5462/4176">research findings</a> that document the power of “journey” and “family” – related metaphors that help practitioners cultivate a sense of belonging and solidarity within Kung Fu communities. </p>
<p>By addressing these issues, the series suggests that karate can act as a mechanism for young people to find their own balance, in what is often a <a href="https://theconversation.com/brexit-trump-and-post-truth-the-science-of-how-we-become-entrenched-in-our-views-69228">hyper-competitive, politically divisive and unforgiving society</a>. </p>
<p>Both schools and teachers are finding their own way of addressing these issues: balance between the interests of different generations, between Eastern and Western ideologies, between traditional and modern approaches to learning and between liberal and conservative values. And, as the unfolding narrative of the series eventually suggests, learning valuable life lessons through both approaches may hold the answers that today’s young people need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101530/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
With nostalgic flashbacks, epic training montages and most of the original cast, Cobra Kai is faithful to the Karate Kid film – all while delivering cutting-edge contemporary social commentary.
Craig Owen, Lecturer in Psychology, St Mary's University, Twickenham
Alex Channon, Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Sport Studies, University of Brighton
George Jennings, Lecturer in Sport Sociology/Physical Culture, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/99232
2018-07-05T08:31:40Z
2018-07-05T08:31:40Z
The real life dangers of learning self-defence from viral videos – martial arts experts
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226023/original/file-20180703-116152-8oj3wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C62%2C4579%2C3389&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-female-trainer-training-kick-on-1121607773?src=QEfyqw97pbbcZ6rF9uaNcQ-1-21">Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every day, women live with the risk of being physically attacked. It’s not one of those dangers that is regularly <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227763756_The_Social_Amplification_of_Risk_A_Conceptual_Framework">blown out of proportion</a> – such as <a href="https://www.economist.com/gulliver/2015/01/29/a-crash-course-in-probability">being in an aeroplane crash</a> or getting <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/odds/compare-risk/death/">bitten by a shark</a>. Attacks on women are common. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights <a href="http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/violence-against-women-eu-wide-survey-main-results-report">surveyed</a> 42,000 women and concluded that 31% of women have experienced one or more acts of physical violence since the age of 15. </p>
<p>But there is also a long tradition of women learning how to fight back against assault. In Edwardian Britain, suffragettes trained in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34425615">the Japanese martial art, jiu-jitsu</a>, to defend themselves during rallies and protests. And during WWII, the growing number of physical attacks against women performing new roles led to the first of many self-defence manuals: <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Hands_Off.html?id=ar0gGQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Hands Off!: Self-Defence for Women</a>.</p>
<p>Self-defence has recently moved to social media. Videos from sites such as Buzzfeed have gone viral. One video: <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/skycowans/11-self-defense-tips-that-will-make-you-feel-safer-walking?utm_term=.boyZewYoOw#.ulzreKgWXK">11 Self Defense Tips That Will Make You Feel Safer Walking Alone</a> – has had more than 19m hits <a href="https://www.facebook.com/buzzfeedfyi/videos/617166092000399/?hc_ref=ARTGQs46SOMNoWU-1KY-JftHO5oAZT5AkbGahBB7Za-4qSl0CsaMLcUNxGvttAUoi4Q">on Facebook alone</a>. But while such displays often come with laudable intentions and good advice, they could actually put women in danger. </p>
<figure>
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</figure>
<p>Let’s take the Buzzfeed video, as an example. The instructor and “assailant” is Nelson Nio, founder of martial arts-derived street self-defence system for women – <a href="https://shieldselfdefense.com">SHIELD</a>. The video offers some sound tips – it encourages women to be aware of their surroundings, use their voice or scream as a weapon and run in a zig-zag manner whenever possible.</p>
<p>The emergency self-defence techniques are correctly executed. The “victim” – an athletic young woman – overcomes bear hugs, hair and arm grabs and chokes from behind. She is most likely a SHIELD practitioner who makes the moves look simple, effective and readily applied regardless of size and strength.</p>
<p>But videos like this can imply that it’s possible to learn self-defence online, or that attacks will actually play out as the video depicts. Viewers may also feel more confident after watching such videos and shift their response to attack from “flight” to “fight”. The Buzzfeed piece concludes that if you must defend yourself, “let your adrenaline take over and become the aggressor”. </p>
<h2>The physicality of fighting</h2>
<p>But unless the viewer is prepared to invest plenty of time and training this is probably not the best advice. Simple techniques are difficult to apply under real-life pressure, where there are limited chances to slip, strike or run. And attackers often behave in unpredictable ways. </p>
<p>Even in self-defence classes, demonstrations tend to be given with compliant partners – as is clearly the case in the Buzzfeed video. You can see that the assailant pauses briefly following the attacks and uses singular rather than multiple attacking movements. He pauses and feigns pain when being “struck”, fails to free himself from the restraint techniques and remains silent throughout.</p>
<p>But real assaults are not perfectly choreographed – and attackers won’t be following the script. There is evidence to suggest that determined people can often absorb powerful strikes, even to sensitive areas, and may continue attacks regardless of injury or pain – especially if they have consumed drugs, alcohol or <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238047747_It_hurts_so_it_is_real_Sensing_the_seduction_of_mixed_martial_arts">are experienced fighters themselves</a>. Even strikes to the face or groin might not halt an attack, unless they <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249722460_Producing_Pain_Techniques_and_Technologies_in_No-Holds-Barred_Fighting">inflict considerable pain and damage</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226024/original/file-20180703-116126-g48ve3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226024/original/file-20180703-116126-g48ve3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226024/original/file-20180703-116126-g48ve3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226024/original/file-20180703-116126-g48ve3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226024/original/file-20180703-116126-g48ve3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226024/original/file-20180703-116126-g48ve3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226024/original/file-20180703-116126-g48ve3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226024/original/file-20180703-116126-g48ve3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Don’t get close.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sporty-young-girl-doing-selfdefence-moves-1070594726?src=auUKhYH4kaKp2Wfxj5gdaQ-1-65">Shutterstock.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Striking ineffectually carries a big risk, because it leaves you within range of the attacker – and because striking an aggressor turns the confrontation into a fight. Attacks are usually fast and committed, and attackers do not normally freeze when executing a move. A grab from behind can transition to a takedown, while a hair grasp might be accompanied with strikes, kicks or shoves.</p>
<p>When people are put into locks, they generally resist, struggle, shift their weight to gain leverage, kick out or use a free hand. In a bear hug, when kicked in the groin, attackers will just as likely tighten their grip and drop to the floor with the victim underneath. A heavier attacker will be better able to resist locks and absorb strikes, too. Mass matters – this is why combat sports have weight categories.</p>
<h2>Making techniques work</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-phillips/boards-dont-hit-back-and-_b_5577150.html">Bruce Lee said</a>, “boards don’t hit back”. Training objects, such as compliant training partners and demonstration videos, lack the <a href="http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110810105219735">kinaesthetic feedback</a> (the awareness if the movement of parts of the body by the sensory organs) required to develop skills to cope with real-world situations. Those looking to defend themselves must be able to adapt techniques depending on the circumstances of the attack. They should also be able to transition between techniques and automatically perform powerful and accurate counterattacks. </p>
<p>All this takes lots of time, practice and variation with partners of different sizes, reaches, strengths, personalities and motivations. Progressive scenarios should be used to simulate reality. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274472610_Rebuilding_the_body_through_violence_and_control">Combat systems use such methods</a> to prepare people for potential scenarios through months or even years of regular, intense and interactive physical training, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233719531_Timing_in_Karate_and_the_Body_in_Its_Own_Right">with knowledgeable and competent others</a>, some of whom should possess experiences of violence. </p>
<p>Training involves <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249686473_Habitus_Body_Techniques_and_Body_Callusing_An_Ethnography_of_Mixed_Martial_Arts">conditioning the body</a> and multiple senses including <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Seeking-the-Senses-in-Physical-Culture-Sensuous-scholarship-in-action/Sparkes/p/book/9781138100589">sound smell, taste, and touch</a>. This progressive practice eventually modifies one’s mind and body, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306045165_The_Social_Logic_of_Boxing_in_Black_Chicago_Toward_a_Sociology_of_Pugilism">developing contextually specific intelligence and creativity</a>. </p>
<p>There’s scientific evidence to show that sustained training has the power to improve <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11220203_Reaction_time_and_anticipatory_skills_of_Karate_athletes">combat reaction times</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/martial-arts-can-improve-your-attention-span-and-alertness-long-term-new-study-91798">attention and alertness</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283868723_Comparing_the_effectiveness_of_karate_and_fitness_training_on_cognitive_functioning_in_older_adults-A_randomized_controlled_trial">cognitive function in older adults</a>. </p>
<p>Even then, the ultimate aim of self-defence is to minimise violence and avoid confrontation. Spending so much of one’s life perfecting this goal is indeed the <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Way-Warrior-Paradox-Martial-Arts/dp/158567513X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530194464&sr=8-1&keywords=Way-Warrior-Paradox-Martial-Arts">paradox of the martial arts</a> – to <a href="http://lfhv.org">love fighting but hate violence</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99232/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Real life attackers won’t follow a carefully choreographed fight sequence – that’s why training is essential.
David H K Brown, Reader in the Sociology of Sport and Physical Culture, Cardiff Metropolitan University
George Jennings, Lecturer in Sport Sociology/Physical Culture, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/95263
2018-05-08T11:17:47Z
2018-05-08T11:17:47Z
Five brain-boosting reasons to take up martial arts – at any age
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217989/original/file-20180507-46328-tyq9pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-practises-martial-arts-dramatic-cloudy-73460365?src=bOqM4Mmyhe4vYQmMzE-IBw-1-54">Lucy Baldwin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are all aware that exercise generally has many benefits, such as improving physical fitness and strength. But what do we know about the effects of specific types of exercise? Researchers have already shown that jogging can <a href="https://theconversation.com/jogging-can-add-years-to-your-life-here-are-six-simple-tips-to-get-you-started-63542">increase life expectancy</a>, for example, while yoga <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-yoga-makes-us-happy-according-to-science-77840">makes us happy</a>. However, there is one activity that goes beyond enhancing physical and mental health – martial arts can boost your brain’s cognition too.</p>
<h2>1. Improved attention</h2>
<p>Researchers say that there are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661309000655">two ways</a> to improve attention, through attention training (AT), and attention state training (AST). AT is based on practising a specific skill and getting better at that skill, but not others – using a brain training video game, for example. AST on the other hand is about getting into a specific state of mind that allows a stronger focus. This can be done by using exercise, meditation, or yoga, among other things. </p>
<p>It has been suggested that martial arts is a form of AST, and supporting this, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00080/full">recent research</a> has shown a link between practice and <a href="https://theconversation.com/martial-arts-can-improve-your-attention-span-and-alertness-long-term-new-study-91798">improved alertness</a>. Backing this idea up further, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254615000939">another study</a> showed that martial arts practice – specifically karate – is linked with better performance on a divided attention task. This is an assignment in which the person has to keep two rules in mind and respond to signals based on whether they are auditory or visual. </p>
<h2>2. Reduced aggression</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pits.20344">US study</a>, children aged 8-11 were tasked with traditional martial arts training that focused on respecting other people and defending themselves as part of an anti-bullying programme. The children were also taught how to maintain a level of self-control in heated situations. </p>
<p>The researchers found that the martial arts training reduced the level of aggressive behaviour in boys, and found that they were more likely to step in and help someone who was being bullied than before they took part in the training. Significant changes were not found in the girls’ behaviour, potentially because they showed much lower levels of physical aggression before the training than the boys did. </p>
<p>Interestingly, this anti-agression effect is not limited to young children. A <a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/28480690">different piece of research</a> found reduced physical and verbal aggression, as well as hostility, in adolescents who practised martial arts too.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217990/original/file-20180507-46359-7gml7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">In control.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mixed-martial-arts-fighter-woman-gym-327173153?src=bOqM4Mmyhe4vYQmMzE-IBw-3-63">El Nariz/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>3. Greater stress management</h2>
<p>Some forms of martial arts, such as tai chi, place great emphasis on controlled breathing and meditation. These were <a href="http://www.eurjhm.com/index.php/eurjhm/article/view/355">strongly linked</a> in one study with reduced feelings of stress, as well as being better able to manage stress when it is present in young to middle-aged adults. </p>
<p>This effect has also been found in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197457210002144?_rdoc=1">older adults</a> – the 330 participants in this research had a mean age of 73 – too. And the softer, flowing movements make it an ideal, low-impact exercise for older people. </p>
<h2>4. Enhanced emotional well-being</h2>
<p>As several scientists are now looking into the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stimulating-the-pathway-connecting-body-and-brain-may-change-chronic-condition-patients-lives-84175">links between</a> emotional well-being and physical health, it’s vital to note that martial arts has been show to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00040/full">improve a person’s emotional well-being</a> too. </p>
<p>In the study linked above, 45 older adults (aged 67-93) were asked to take part in karate training, cognitive training, or non-martial arts physical training for three to six months. The older adults in the karate training showed lower levels of depression after the training period than both other groups, perhaps due to its meditative aspect. It was also reported that these adults showed a greater level of self-esteem after the training too.</p>
<h2>5. Improved memory</h2>
<p>After comparing a sedentary control group to a group of people doing karate, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4187589/">Italian researchers</a> found that taking part in karate can improve a person’s working memory. They used a test that involved recalling and repeating a series of numbers, both in the correct order and backwards, which increased in difficulty until the participant was unable to continue. The karate group were much better at this task than the control group, meaning they could recall longer series of numbers. <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/pdf/10.1123/japa.18.3.261">Another project</a> found similar results while comparing tai chi practice with “Western exercise” – strength, endurance, and resistance training. </p>
<p>Evidently, there is far more to martial arts than its traditional roles. Though they have been practised for self-defence and spiritual development for many hundreds of years, only relatively recently have researchers had the methods to assess the true extent of how this practice affects the brain. </p>
<p>There are a such a huge range of martial arts, some more gentle and meditative, others combative and physically intensive. But this only means that there is a type for everyone, so why not give it a go and see how you can boost your own brain using the ancient practices of martial arts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashleigh Johnstone receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).</span></em></p>
As well as increasing physical fitness and mental health, martial arts can boost brain cognition too.
Ashleigh Johnstone, PhD Researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience, Bangor University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/91798
2018-02-20T10:18:16Z
2018-02-20T10:18:16Z
Martial arts can improve your attention span and alertness long term – new study
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206984/original/file-20180219-116360-1ads7jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-dressed-traditional-kimono-practicing-665550745?src=F21ByMoRehpAjHawrm4oig-1-11">Jasminko Ibrakovic/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Martial arts require a good level of physical strength, but those who take up training need to develop an incredible amount of mental acuity, too. </p>
<p>Mental strength is so important to martial arts that researchers have found karate experts’ stronger punching force may be down to a <a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1208/15082012-Karate-experts-brains-increase-punching-power-Husain">better control of muscle movement in the brain</a>, rather than increased muscular strength. Other studies have also found that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0193397304000309">children who practice Taekwondo</a> improved in maths test scores, and behaviour.</p>
<p>Which leads to an interesting question – does taking part in martial arts cause the brain to develop better control, or do people with these brain characteristics choose to do martial arts? It is something that our team has been researching, with interesting results. </p>
<h2>Martial attention</h2>
<p>We’ve been specifically measuring attention to assess mental control, as previous research has suggested that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211949316300011">mindfulness</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335516300547">exercise</a> can both have beneficial effects on attention. You could argue that martial arts are a combination of both – active sports that involve aspects of meditation and mindfulness.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206981/original/file-20180219-116360-c3pvl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206981/original/file-20180219-116360-c3pvl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206981/original/file-20180219-116360-c3pvl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206981/original/file-20180219-116360-c3pvl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206981/original/file-20180219-116360-c3pvl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206981/original/file-20180219-116360-c3pvl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206981/original/file-20180219-116360-c3pvl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sparring black belts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/people-gym-martial-arts-training-exercising-69614008?src=zywHWFLMVXS_eTe_46QuCg-1-0">Kzenon/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In our <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00080/full">recently published study</a>, we recruited 21 amateur adults who practice martial arts (karate, judo and taekwondo, among others) and 27 adults with no experience in the sports, to take part in an <a href="https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/089892902317361886">attention network test</a>. This test assesses three different types of attention: alerting (maintaining a sense of alertness), orienting (the shifting of attention), and executive (involved in choosing the correct response when there’s conflicting information).</p>
<p>We were particularly interested in the alert network, which can reveal how vigilant a person is. If a person has a high alert score on this test, it would suggest that they are better able to respond to unpredictably timed targets than those with a low score. </p>
<p>While there are differences across each <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired/23436235">martial art</a> in terms of their core philosophies, whether they’re more of a “fighting” martial art or more “meditative”, and their intensity, we did not discriminate about the type our participants took part in. Future research could compare the different types, but for this study we were more interested in general martial artists’ attention compared to non-martial artists’.</p>
<h2>Sparring tests</h2>
<p>We invited the participants to our lab, and recorded details of their martial arts experience (including the type, how often they practice, and how many years they’ve been involved in the sport) before asking them to take part in the computer-based task. This involved participants seeing a row of five arrows, and having to respond to the direction of the central arrow by pressing a letter button on a keyboard (“c” for left-facing arrows, and “m” for right) as quickly as possible. In some trials, they were given a warning cue that told them the arrows would appear soon, and in others they weren’t. </p>
<p>Typically, in most martial arts training, there’s an element of sparring, which is a form of simulated fighting with a partner. One of the aims of this is that the partners will be attempting to remain focused and avoid their partner making contact. After all, nobody <em>wants</em> to be punched in the face. It is rare for a sparring opponent to give a clear warning of the exact timing of a punch so the defending partner needs to stay alert, or vigilant, at all times so that they are ready to dodge the hit.</p>
<p>During our research, the martial arts participants produced higher alert scores than our non-martial artists. This means that the martial artists responded to the arrows fastest, especially when they were not given a warning. This signifies that they have a greater level of vigilance, which could reflect stronger cognitive control.</p>
<p>We also looked at the effects of long-term martial arts practice, and found that alertness was better in the martial artists with the most amount of experience. Several of our participants who had more than nine years’ experience in the sport, showed the best alertness in our tests. This suggests that the longer a person sticks at martial arts, the bigger their reward. Taking this a step further, it appears that the effects of improved attention may be long lasting, rather than just a short boost after training. </p>
<p>While it could be argued that martial arts simply are among many activities that can lead to better health, what we and other researchers have found is that their practice is one of those rare crossovers that helps significantly improve the brain just as much as the body.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashleigh Johnstone receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).</span></em></p>
Martial arts help boost both brain and body.
Ashleigh Johnstone, PhD Researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience, Bangor University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/55910
2016-03-09T13:59:46Z
2016-03-09T13:59:46Z
The rise and rise of ultimate fighting (and why boxing is now so passé)
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114256/original/image-20160308-22126-1mjhm6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ronda Rousey ( R ) and Bethe Correa battle it out in 2015.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-302724440/stock-photo-rio-de-janeiro-brazil-july-ronda-rousey-the-ufc-fighter-bethe-correa-in-ufc-case.html?src=pp-same_artist-302724434-Pnl-tXYBUoQu4Lt0iyizkw-1">UFC 190 by Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>UFC fighters Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey are becoming household names and Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, is rapidly making the move from minority to mainstream sport. Although MMA only emerged in the 1990s, its growth has been, quite simply, phenomenal; it is currently one of the fastest growing sports in the world. According to <a href="https://www.sfia.org/reports/315_2015-Sports,-Fitness,-and-Leisure-Activities-Topline-Participation-Report">a recent report</a>, MMA is second only to adventure racing when it comes to growing participation, recording a 19.5% increase since 2013. </p>
<p>While viewing figures are still to be released for the recent UFC 196 <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2016/mar/05/ufc-196-live-conor-mcgregor-nate-diaz-holly-holm-miesha-tate">McGregor v Diaz fight</a> in March – in which Irishman McGregor was defeated by a rear naked choke hold in the second round (after previously beating Jose Aldo <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/ufc/article-3357981/Conor-McGregor-beats-Jose-Aldo-13-SECONDS-UFC-194-claim-featherweight-title.html">in just 13 seconds</a>) – it was widely anticipated that this would be the highest selling pay-per-view bout in UFC history. The <a href="http://mmapayout.com/2016/03/ufc-196-payout-perspective/">pre-fight press conference</a> alone attracted over 2.9m views and despite his defeat, McGregor still made history as <a href="http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/3/7/11173234/ufc-196-salaries-conor-mcgregor-earns-ufcs-first-million-dollar-purse">the first UFC fighter to earn US$1m</a> for the fight (Diaz earned US$500,000). </p>
<p>The rise of women’s MMA has also been dramatic. Having only introduced women’s divisions in 2012, UFC has also massively grown the popularity of WMMA. Ronda Rousey is still one of the sport’s most bankable athletes, despite suffering <a href="http://www.mmamania.com/2015/11/15/9733858/ufc-193-results-recap-ronda-rousey-vs-holly-holm-fight-review-analysis-knockout-mma">a shock defeat</a> to Holly Holm in UFC 193 in November 2015. Holm was herself <a href="http://www.mmamania.com/2016/3/6/11164004/ufc-196-results-recap-holly-holm-vs-miesha-tate-fight-review-analysis-womens-mma?_ga=1.237974848.1994003473.1457428280">beaten by Miesha Tate</a> at UFC 196, also with a rear naked choke. </p>
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<p>In spite of its phenomenal growth many people remain unclear as to what MMA actually involves. This is perhaps unsurprising given the rapid transformations that the sport has undergone within a relatively short time period. </p>
<p>Often referred to as “ultimate fighting” or “cage fighting” (a term despised by anyone involved in the sport), MMA is essentially a combination of bare-handed oriental martial arts and Western combat sports involving combinations of standing and striking techniques along with grappling and fighting on the ground. This can involve techniques of muay thai, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing and submission wrestling, with many participants also drawing on a variety of martial arts such as judo, savate or sambo, often depending on their country of origin. Everything martial arts goes, with many fans drawn to its incredible mix of athleticism and risk. </p>
<h2>Raw beginnings</h2>
<p>While MMA has links to the Portuguese sport of Vale Tudo (“anything goes” established in the 1930s) and the English No Holds Barred (NHB) contests of the 1990s, its emergence as a sport in its own right can be largely attributed to the American promotion of the <a href="http://uk.ufc.com/">Ultimate Fighting Championship</a> (UFC). </p>
<p>The first ever UFC event took place in 1993 after business executive Art Davie proposed the idea of an eight-man single elimination tournament to screenwriter and director John Milius and Rorion Gracie of the famous <a href="http://www.gracieacademy.com/">Gracie Jiu Jitsu</a> family (founders of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_jiu-jitsu">Brazilian Jiu Jitsu</a>). The idea was picked up by Semaphor Entertainment Group and the first event took place in Denver, Colarado – a state that had no boxing commission, meaning that there was no legal way to regulate the fight. With no weight categories or time limits, and only strikes to the crotch and throat and eye gouging forbidden, MMA was a complete rejection of amateur combat styles.</p>
<p>Initially, the UFC focused on pitting fighters from different martial arts backgrounds against each other in order to determine which martial art was superior. MMA was not considered a sport, merely a fighting contest that offered a montage of different combat sports, under new rules of engagement.</p>
<p>Despite initially drawing relatively significant TV audiences (the first UFC competition drew a <a href="http://digitalcommons.kent.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=flapubs">pay-per-view audience of 86,592</a>) throughout the early 1990s, the UFC struggled to survive because of negative public perceptions of its brutality and high levels of violence. Arizona senator John McCain famously referred to MMA as <a href="http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/haymaker/ufc-has-grown-on-one-time-enemy-mccain-020414">“human cockfighting”</a> and was successful in getting MMA banned in all but three states in the US.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114456/original/image-20160309-13717-t6yl1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114456/original/image-20160309-13717-t6yl1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114456/original/image-20160309-13717-t6yl1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114456/original/image-20160309-13717-t6yl1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114456/original/image-20160309-13717-t6yl1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114456/original/image-20160309-13717-t6yl1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114456/original/image-20160309-13717-t6yl1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">John McCain drew parallels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-246565120/stock-photo-cock-fighting.html?src=7nxKOwP9sOeUfUqdjiE3wQ-1-8">Cock fighting by Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Having struggled considerably through the 1990s, the UFC brand was sold to <a href="http://ufc.wiki.usfca.edu/Zuffa+LLC.">Zuffa LLC</a> in 2001 and MMA as we now know it began to emerge. This included <a href="http://www.ufc.com/discover/sport/rules-and-regulations">new rules</a> to make MMA more acceptable and appealing to a wider audience. These included new weight classes, rounds, time limits, a list of over 31 fouls and eight possible ways for a fight to end. </p>
<p>This “civilisation” offered an element of legitimacy to MMA. There was also now a recognition that certain styles of martial arts were susceptible to the strengths of others and rather than pitting different disciplines against each other, the prowess of individual fighters using all styles was promoted. All of these factors allowed MMA to be recognised as a proper sport. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114453/original/image-20160309-13730-1qnnddr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114453/original/image-20160309-13730-1qnnddr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114453/original/image-20160309-13730-1qnnddr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114453/original/image-20160309-13730-1qnnddr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114453/original/image-20160309-13730-1qnnddr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114453/original/image-20160309-13730-1qnnddr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114453/original/image-20160309-13730-1qnnddr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">You lose.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-146284394/stock-photo-penang-malaysia-july-general-view-of-a-mural-the-real-bruce-lee-would-never-do-this-painted.html?src=zWEYe4fu6DHOZgk0hV1x6g-1-81">Kick by Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Aggressive promotion</h2>
<p>So what is it about MMA that makes the sport so attractive? There are many factors but it could be argued that the media has played a central role in shaping the sport and stimulating its growth. While the development of most sports has been driven by the athletes and a governing body, MMA is essentially a media sport developed to appeal to mass audiences and deliver profit to the organisations behind it. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that the UFC has driven MMA into the mainstream, utilising an <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2128108-examining-the-ufcs-strategy-of-global-expansion-and-media-negativity">aggressive strategy</a> to bring the sport to new markets.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"677734716079013888"}"></div></p>
<p>Like boxing before it, MMA promotes the cult of personality, with fighters <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/ufc/article-3437803/Conor-McGregor-nightmares-m-finished-vows-Rafael-dos-Anjos.html">trash talking opponents</a>, and the theatrical design of the octagon (though also a key safety feature for fighters) adding to the drama and spectacle. Despite this spectacle and the increasing sums of money involved, MMA is also still marketed as rawer than boxing, which is seen as an establishment sport with its grand multi-million dollar promoted fights. Ultimately, however, it is perhaps the unpredictability of MMA – as exemplified by the recent shock defeats of some of its biggest stars – that makes it so appealing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55910/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Flinn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Brutal beginnings to aggressive marketing – how UFC gave momentum to take MMA mainstream.
Jenny Flinn, Lecturer in Events Management, Glasgow Caledonian University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/47056
2015-09-04T05:37:34Z
2015-09-04T05:37:34Z
Every hour you spend in front of a screen is linked to poorer exam results
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93780/original/image-20150903-8817-m6lb8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Square eyes = no prize</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&searchterm=teenagers%20television&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=268563686">bikeriderlondon</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>By the time they are teenagers, more than two-thirds of young people <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21727272">are not</a> doing enough physical activity. Teenagers <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24273308">spend</a> an average of eight hours every day sitting, with 11 to 15-year-olds <a href="http://media.ofcom.org.uk/news/2014/childrens-digital-day/">watching</a> nearly three hours of television. Most of us are well aware that such behaviour risks damaging their physical health, but there’s an additional problem. I have <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26337325">been involved in</a> a new piece of research which suggests that too much screen time is also harming grades. </p>
<p>We measured the physical activity and sitting time of 845 teenagers at 14.5 years old, using a sensor that measures movement and heart rate. We asked how much time they spent watching TV, playing computer games, going online, doing homework and reading. And at the end of year 11, when these students were 16-years-old, we collected their GCSE results.</p>
<p>We found that teenagers with higher screen time had lower GCSE grades, even when we took account of differences in homework and reading. Television, computer games and internet use were all associated with poorer academic performance, but TV viewing was the most detrimental. For every hour that someone watched per day, they showed a drop of nine GCSE points in total – the equivalent of two whole grades in one subject (or for example, one grade in each of two subjects). Two extra hours was associated with 18 fewer points.</p>
<p>Although we did not find that more physical activity was associated with higher grades, as some other studies <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24149097">have suggested</a>, it was not detrimental to academic performance either. It’s important that this message isn’t lost among the findings about screen time: schools are under so much pressure to improve exam results that many don’t prioritise PE and other opportunities for physical activity for fear that they interfere with academic achievement. </p>
<h2>The case for 60 a day</h2>
<p>The wider picture is that most teenagers are failing to meet the <a href="https://www.sportengland.org/media/388152/dh_128210.pdf">recommendations of</a> doing at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity each day (activity that makes you sweat and breathe heavily). This needs to change if we are to develop a more rounded approach to our children’s education. Behaviours developed in the teenage years are likely to persist into adulthood, and we need to take every opportunity to improve the <a href="http://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/blog/lack-exercise-premature-deaths">nation’s health</a> by tackling high levels of physical inactivity across the population.</p>
<p>There are many reasons for young people not taking enough exercise, which will differ for each individual. Teenagers are often given a bad press about being lazy but I don’t believe that, and we should resist the temptation to blame them. Even as someone who studies and promotes physical activity, for example, I find it hard to fit it into my day, and it certainly wasn’t a priority for me at school. </p>
<p>In our research, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23914878">we asked</a> teenagers how we could help them to be more active and sit less. The overwhelming response was that they didn’t want to be sitting around, but lacked opportunities to be active in a way that interested them. They wanted more variety and choice about what activities they tried, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23914878">telling us that</a> the limited range of school sports was putting most of them off. This dislike of PE in high school could sour exercise for life. Offering a range of non-traditional activities – from martial arts to zumba – over the usual football or netball could encourage young people to take more exercise.</p>
<p>A related point is that while many strategies have focused on educating us about the health benefits of exercise, it <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17884863">looks like</a> that doesn’t work. We need to change the way we pitch the message instead. Researchers and practitioners need to find out what motivates people and use that to convince them to be active instead. For instance one fascinating <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25654156">study paired</a> adult men with Scottish football clubs for a weight loss and healthy-living intervention. The programme succeeded in encouraging this hard-to-reach group to improve their health because it tapped into these men being fans of football rather than health benefits. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93782/original/image-20150903-8839-3rgtv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93782/original/image-20150903-8839-3rgtv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93782/original/image-20150903-8839-3rgtv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93782/original/image-20150903-8839-3rgtv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93782/original/image-20150903-8839-3rgtv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93782/original/image-20150903-8839-3rgtv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93782/original/image-20150903-8839-3rgtv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93782/original/image-20150903-8839-3rgtv9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Not fine to recline.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/s/teenagers+television/search.html?page=3&thumb_size=mosaic&inline=127777754">Jeff Wasserman</a></span>
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<h2>Be lean with screens</h2>
<p>Put this all together and a win/win answer begins to emerge. So long as homework and reading time are protected, schools and parents should be looking to encourage teenagers to swap screen time for physical activity. And in a multi-screen world that teenagers navigate frequently without supervision, we will need to become more sophisticated about how we guide the amount of time they spend in front of screens and what choices they make instead. Encouraging a good variety of physical activity and tapping into what makes them tick rather than speaking endlessly about health benefits looks like a good place to start. Achieve this goal and it looks like the way to maximise academic achievement and reduce health risks at the same time. </p>
<p>We also need to think about what happens in future. Screens are proliferating and we’re not going to get rid of them. Nor should we want to – the worlds that young people can access through screens can educate, inform and enrich their lives, from nature documentaries <a href="https://theconversation.com/tapping-into-kids-passion-for-minecraft-in-the-classroom-43461">to Minecraft</a>. And with more and more activities moving online – including educational resources – there are many unanswered questions about how future generations may adapt. For now and the future, the challenge is to get teenagers more active so that once they’ve done their homework, the last thing that they think of is sitting in front of a screen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47056/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsten receives funding from National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research
</span></em></p>
Teenagers spend one-third of their lives sitting down and three hours a day watching TV. New findings confirm that it’s not just their health that is at risk.
Kirsten Corder, Senior Investigator Scientist, University of Cambridge
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.