Martial Arts Practitioners Research Articles

The evolution of extreme cooperation via shared dysphoric experiences

Willingness to lay down one’s life for a group of non-kin, well documented historically and ethnographically, represents an evolutionary puzzle. Building on research in social psychology, we develop a mathematical model showing how conditioning cooperation on previous shared experience can allow individually costly pro-group behavior to evolve. The model generates a series of predictions that we then test empirically in a range of special sample populations (including military veterans, college fraternity/sorority members, football fans, martial arts practitioners, and twins). Our empirical results show that sharing painful experiences produces “identity fusion” – a visceral sense of oneness – which in turn can motivate self-sacrifice, including willingness to fight and die for the group. Practically, our account of how shared dysphoric experiences produce identity fusion helps us better understand such pressing social issues as suicide terrorism, holy wars, sectarian violence, gang-related violence, and other forms of intergroup conflict.

Satisfaction with current martial arts\u2019 uniforms and purchase intention of new uniforms

The purpose of the present study is to investigate martial arts practitioners’ satisfaction with their current uniforms and purchase intention of new uniforms. A total of 588 martial arts practitioners were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk, including 401 men and 187 women. The results indicated that martial art practitioners were satisfied with their current uniforms when three functional attributes were good: quality, fit, and comfort. The aesthetic variable, fashion, only moderately influenced satisfaction with the current uniforms. However, when purchasing new uniforms, both functional and aesthetic attributes were essential factors. In addition, benefits of martial arts and protection from injury were two necessary conditions for commitment to martial arts. However, neither commitment to martial arts or satisfaction with the current uniform contributed to purchase intention of new uniforms. The purchase intention was only related to the characteristics of the new uniforms: whether the new uniforms can enhance practitioners’ functional performance and aesthetic appearance. The present study, for the first time, revealed marital arts practitioners’ strong desire of protection: protection strongly contributed to expected performance, expected appearance, and commitment to martial arts.

Social Determinants of Attitudes towards Health in Martial Arts: comparison between combat sports and combat systems and martial arts practitioners

Background. The theoretical perspective for this research is inspired by Humanistic Theory of Martial Arts, the anthropology of martial arts, the sociology of health, and the sociology of physical culture/sociology of sport. Aim. This research poses two research problems. The first research problem attempts to determine the significance of the social dimension of martial arts participation, comparatively, in Poland, the Czech Republic and the United States of America. The second research problem seeks the social determinants of attitudes towards health - the behavioural component. Methods. Respondents (n = 112) were students of martial arts, combat sports and combat systems from the USA, Poland and the Czech Republic. A diagnostic survey was used - Questionnaire of Health Behavior of Martial Arts Students. The variables used for comparison in the chi-square tests were: education, types of martial arts, pro-health choices, cultural area and parental level of education. Results. Results showed that the level of education, cultural origin and health choices were not related to practising martial arts, combat sports and combat systems. Conclusions. The level of education did not affected respondents' decisions to engage in practising combat sports and combat systems or martial arts (non-contact). Parental educational level, which is related to the social background, is related to practising combat sports and combat systems or martial arts (non-contact). There are no differences between cultural origin with regard to practising combat sports and combat systems or martial arts (non-contact); 4) There are no differences between cultural origin of people practising combat sports and combat systems or martial arts (non-contact) and healthy lifestyles.

Musculoskeletal profile of middle-aged Ving Tsun Chinese martial art practitioners: A cross-sectional study.

This cross-sectional exploratory study aimed to quantify and compare the axial and appendicular bone mineral density (BMD), muscle mass, and muscle strength of middle-aged practitioners of Ving Tsun (VT; a hard-style Chinese martial art) with those of nonpractitioners.Eighteen VT practitioners (mean age ± standard deviation = 51.8 ± 17.7 years; 12 men and six women) and 36 active controls (mean age ± standard deviation = 58.7 ± 11.0 years; 18 men and 18 women) participated in the study. All participants underwent a 1-day battery of musculoskeletal examinations. The BMD of the total radius, total hip, femoral neck, and lumbar spine was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, as was the lean mass of the arm, leg, and trunk. Muscle strength of the upper and lower limbs was assessed using a Jamar dynamometer and an isokinetic dynamometer at 60°/second, respectively.VT-trained participants had a 11.5% higher total radius BMD (P = 0.023), a 17.8% higher leg lean mass (P = 0.014), a 56.4% higher isokinetic body weight-adjusted peak torque of the knee extensors (P < 0.001), a 60.8% higher isokinetic body weight-adjusted peak torque of knee flexors (P < 0.001), and a 31.4% shorter time to reach peak torque in the knee flexors (P = 0.001) than the active controls. No significant differences were found in any of the other musculoskeletal outcomes between the 2 groups (P > 0.05).Middle-aged VT practitioners displayed a higher total radius BMD and leg lean mass and better knee extensor and flexor muscular performances than their healthy active counterparts. Healthcare professionals may consider using this alternative method of training to improve the musculoskeletal health of middle-aged adults.

Stability Limits of Standing Postural Control in Young Male Ving Tsun Chinese Martial Art Practitioners: A Pilot Study in Hong Kong

This study aimed to compare the stability limits of standing balance control between Ving Tsun (VT) practitioners and non-practitioners. Four male VT practitioners (mean age ± standard deviation = 26.3 ± 5.0 years) and 4 healthy active male adults (mean age ± standard deviation = 21.5 ± 2.4 years) as controls participated in the study. Balance ability, specifically limits of stability (LOS) in standing, was assessed using the LOS test. Outcome measures included reaction time, movement velocity, maximum excursion, end-point excursion and directional control in the forward, backward, right and left directions. Results revealed that VT practitioners had lower LOS maximum excursion scores in the backward direction (17.6% lower, p = 0.020), and lower directional control scores in both the backward direction (8.6% lower, p = 0.042) and to the right side (7.7% lower, p = 0.043) compared to the controls. No significant between-group differences in other outcome variables were found (p > 0.05). VT practitioners showed inferior LOS balance performance in standing compared to non-practitioners in general, except that they seemed to have better maximum excursion in the forward direction (effect size = 0.951). Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.

Limits of Understanding in the Study of Lost Martial Arts

The paper is organised around the notion of embodied technique. The recent attempts to formulate scientific methodologies for the reconstruction of medieval fighting techniques based on a study of premodern fight books raise questions about the epistemological status of these (re)constructed techniques developed by modern practitioners of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA). Approaching the subject from a perspective of cultural history and martial arts studies, the following questions are discussed: What is technique and how is it related to practice? How is technique acquired and transmitted? How can technique be recorded? And finally, how can historical records of technique be understood, interpreted and converted into practice? Following Ben Spatz, technique is defined as the knowledge content of specific practices and the semiotic references between practice, technique, and symbols referring to embodied technique are discussed. By looking at the intersubjective communication of subjective fighting skills and relying on the work of Michael Polanyi, the possibility to record the “tacit knowing” of these skills as explicit knowledge is questioned. Given the low knowledge content of the fight books in regard to the execution of the referenced techniques, modern HEMA techniques therefore are to be addressed as purely modern constructions based on modern fighting practices instead of as reconstructions of medieval technique. The discourses in HEMA are also compared to a similar debate in musicology, where the status and the “authenticity” of attempts to recreate the sound of medieval music based on interpretations of early musical notation systems was vividly discussed until the early 2000s. Fighting techniques are furthermore addressed as elements of complex fighting systems that only exist within a given historical culture of fighting and are transformed when transferred to another societal context.

Limits of Understanding in the Study of Lost Martial Arts

AbstractThe paper is organised around the notion of embodied technique. The recent attempts to formulate scientific methodologies for the reconstruction of medieval fighting techniques based on a study of premodern fight books raise questions about the epistemological status of these (re)constructed techniques developed by modern practitioners of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA).Approaching the subject from a perspective of cultural history and martial arts studies, the following questions are discussed: What is technique and how is it related to practice? How is technique acquired and transmitted? How can technique be recorded? And finally, how can historical records of technique be understood, interpreted and converted into practice?Following Ben Spatz, technique is defined as the knowledge content of specific practices and the semiotic references between practice, technique, and symbols referring to embodied technique are discussed. By looking at the intersubjective communication of subjective fighting skills and relying on the work of Michael Polanyi, the possibility to record the “tacit knowing” of these skills as explicit knowledge is questioned. Given the low knowledge content of the fight books in regard to the execution of the referenced techniques, modern HEMA techniques therefore are to be addressed as purely modern constructions based on modern fighting practices instead of as reconstructions of medieval technique. The discourses in HEMA are also compared to a similar debate in musicology, where the status and the “authenticity” of attempts to recreate the sound of medieval music based on interpretations of early musical notation systems was vividly discussed until the early 2000s.Fighting techniques are furthermore addressed as elements of complex fighting systems that only exist within a given historical culture of fighting and are transformed when transferred to another societal context.

Adição de prebiótico em barras de cereais: caracterização físico-química e aceitabilidade sensorial entre praticantes de lutas marciais

The objective this study was to verify the sensory acceptability of cereal bars added inulin between practitioners of martial arts. Also, to determine the physico-chemical composition of the standard formulation and that more inulin content and standard similar to acceptance. Five formulations were prepared cereal bars: F1 (standard with 0% inulin) and the other containing 2% (F2), 4% (F3), 6% (F4) and 8% (F5) inulin. Participated in the sensory evaluation 100 untrained panelists, of both genders, aged between 18 and 60 years. The physico-chemical analysis evaluated the moisture, ash, protein, lipids, carbohydrates, calories and dietary fiber content. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between samples for appearance, aroma and color attributes. However, F5 had lower acceptability than the standard formulation in taste and texture attributes, and global acceptance and purchase intent. Considering this context, F4 was the sample with the highest inulin content and similar acceptance to the standard in most of the evaluated attributes being selected along with the standard formulation for evaluation of physico-chemical composition. There was no difference between the moisture, ash, protein and lipids content to the standard formulation and F4. Lower content of calories and higher carbohydrate and dietary fiber were found in F4 comparing it with the standard sample. It is concluded that a level of addition of up to 6% inulin into the cereal bars was well accepted by tasters to give sensory acceptance similar to standard product with good market expectation.

Development of the Cultural Appreciation of Martial Arts Scale

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable social sciences instrument to measure the cultural appreciation of martial arts practitioners. To that end, the Cultural Appreciation of Martial Arts Scale (CAMAS) was developed. The study resulted in a 20-item, 3-factor scale that measures Cultural Knowledge, Cultural Sensitivity, and Cultural Awareness in the martial arts. The CAMAS has already garnered interest from instructors, whose schools were selected for this study, for use in evaluating program efficacy in providing cultural teachings and as a possible method to expose marketing opportunities for program offerings.

Remembering Fred Ho: The Legacy of Afro Asian Futurism

What is Afro Asia? What are the political and cultural connections between Black Americans and Asian Americans? What does jazz have to do with martial arts? In 1997 Fred Ho began creating a series of Afro Asian jazz martial arts performance pieces that brought together a synthesis of martial arts practitioners, dancers, and jazz artists, reflecting the legacy of the Bandung Conference of 1955.

Prática de artes marciais e densidade mineral óssea em adolescentes de ambos os sexos

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between martial arts practice (judo, karate and kung‐fu) and bone mineral density in adolescents. MethodsThe study was composed of 138 (48 martial arts practitioners and 90 non‐practitioners) adolescents of both sexes, with an average age of 12.6 years. Bone mineral density was measured using Dual‐Energy X‐ray Absorptiometry in arms, legs, spine, trunk, pelvis and total. Weekly training load and previous time of engagement in the sport modality were reported by the coach. Partial correlation tested the association between weekly training load and bone mineral density, controlled by sex, chronological age, previous practice and somatic maturation. Analysis of covariance was used to compare bone mineral density values according to control and martial arts groups, controlled by sex, chronological age, previous practice and somatic maturation. Significant relationships between bone mineral density and muscle mass were inserted into a multivariate model and the slopes of the models were compared using the Student t test (control versus martial art). ResultsAdolescents engaged in judo practice presented higher values of bone mineral density than the control individuals (p‐value=0.042; Medium Effect size [Eta‐squared=0.063]), while the relationship between quantity of weekly training and bone mineral density was significant among adolescents engaged in judo (arms [r=0.308] and legs [r=0.223]) and kung‐fu (arms [r=0.248] and spine [r=0.228]). ConclusionsDifferent modalities of martial arts are related to higher bone mineral density in different body regions among adolescents.

Practice of martial arts and bone mineral density in adolescents of both sexes

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between martial arts practice (judo, karate and kung-fu) and bone mineral density in adolescents. MethodsThe study was composed of 138 (48 martial arts practitioners and 90 non-practitioners) adolescents of both sexes, with an average age of 12.6 years. Bone mineral density was measured using Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry in arms, legs, spine, trunk, pelvis and total. Weekly training load and previous time of engagement in the sport modality were reported by the coach. Partial correlation tested the association between weekly training load and bone mineral density, controlled by sex, chronological age, previous practice and somatic maturation. Analysis of covariance was used to compare bone mineral density values according to control and martial arts groups, controlled by sex, chronological age, previous practice and somatic maturation. Significant relationships between bone mineral density and muscle mass were inserted into a multivariate model and the slopes of the models were compared using the Student t test (control versus martial art). ResultsAdolescents engaged in judo practice presented higher values of bone mineral density than the control individuals (p-value=0.042; Medium Effect size [Eta-squared=0.063]), while the relationship between quantity of weekly training and bone mineral density was significant among adolescents engaged in judo (arms [r=0.308] and legs [r=0.223]) and kung-fu (arms [r=0.248] and spine [r=0.228]). ConclusionsDifferent modalities of martial arts are related to higher bone mineral density in different body regions among adolescents.

Traditional Martial Arts Training Enhances Balance and Neuromuscular Control in Female Modern Martial Artists

To investigate the effects of Traditional Martial Arts training on markers of balance and neuromuscular control in modern martial artists, twenty-three female modern martial arts practitioners (mean age 37.17 ± 11.5), were divided into two matched groups: Intervention (n = 11) and Control (n = 12). The Intervention group participated in a 30 min Traditional Martial Arts training session, twice a week for four weeks. Reach measurements from the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) were analysed to determine whether improvements had occurred. Pair-wise comparisons revealed significant (p = 0.00) improvements in SEBT reach for the intervention group with mean scores improving for both dominant and non-dominant legs (517 ± 18 to 592 ± 21 and 487 ± 18 to 565 ± 20). No significant differences were noted in the control group. The results from the SEBT tests in this study suggest that the modern martial artist can show improvements in balance performance after an intervention of four weeks traditional martial arts training. This presents the possibility that traditional martial art training methods could be incorporated into sport specific injury prevention training programmes for Modern Martial Arts.

Imposing the terms of the battle: Donn F. Draeger, Count Dante, and the struggle for American martial arts identity

The trifecta of Robert W. Smith, Donn F. Draeger, and Jon Bluming formed, for a time, the core of what became the most influential group of Western practitioners of Asian martial arts in the English-speaking world. Their collective work from the 1950s through to the 1980s was central to the basis of Western martial arts folk culture, in particular with regards to the lexicon utilized even today, the nature of how performances are understood and evaluated by the group in terms of effectiveness, the availability and interpretation of the group’s repertoires, and, perhaps most important, by establishing different modes of cultural preservation that resulted in radically different approaches to the subject matter by practitioners worldwide. These men can be juxtaposed against others selling their wares in the American domestic market at the same time, but lacking the scholarly rigor of Draeger and Smith. Such capitalistic figures include one of the most colorful figures in the history of American martial arts culture, John ‘Count Dante’ Keehan. The struggle between these two groups for control of the market illustrates how textures of knowledge and objects of knowledge were often confused in the postwar period of American martial arts development.

Fighters who Don’t Fight: The Case of Aikido and Somatic Metaphorism

Practitioners of martial arts and combat sports are motivated to train their bodies to dispense and manage violence, in part, to prepare for competitions or for “on-the-street” altercations. Fighting practices that prohibit competitions and whose practitioners are unlikely to encounter violence in their everyday lives challenge existing research on the motivations for training one’s body to be “fit to fight.” This article investigates one such fighting practice: aikido. Drawing from in-depth participant observation of the practice and interviews with its mostly white, middle-class practitioners, I show that aikido’s unique bodily deployment, while rarely used in “real” situations, is an effective metaphor for practitioners to make sense of and overcome non-martial challenges in their everyday lives. I call this process “somatic metaphorism” and argue that it helps explain the value of a well-trained body beyond the context of the training center.

Towards the “Undoing” of Gender in Mixed-Sex Martial Arts and Combat Sports

This paper addresses sex integration in martial arts and combat sports, discussing the implications of mixed-sex training for challenging orthodox Western constructions of gender. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 37 long-term martial arts practitioners from around the English East Midlands between 2007–2011, the paper argues that restrictive, essentialist and hierarchal conceptions of sex difference can be challenged through integrated training practices. The paper advocates the “undoing” of gender in this regard as helping to build a more progressive, inclusive and liberal form of physical culture, seen as a key potential of sex-integrated training. To that end, the paper makes a number of proposals for instructors and practitioners interested in developing such inclusive environments in their own clubs and training settings.

Genesis, the creation and development of International Martial Arts and Combat Sports Scientifics Society (IMACSSS), as a community of scientists and practitioners of Martial Arts and Combat Sports

Genesis, the creation and development of International Martial Arts and Combat Sports Scientifics Society (IMACSSS), as a community of scientists and practitioners of Martial Arts and Combat Sports

Wheelchair martial arts practitioners have similar bone strength, sitting balance and self-esteem to healthy individuals

smfong@hku.hk This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of t he Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Copyright © 2014 Korean Academy of Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science

From Many Masters to Many Students: YouTube, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and communities of practice

Prior to the last two decades, martial arts practice in Western countries was shrouded by secrecy and esoteric philosophies and there was very little transmission of techniques between practitioners outside of individual martial arts clubs. Techniques were passed down from one master to many students. With the increase in popularity of mixed martial arts, there has been a greater exposure to and transmission of martial arts techniques between practitioners across the globe. Now, anyone with access to television or the Internet can watch and analyze martial arts techniques. In relation to one prominent martial art, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the Internet has come to serve as the means by which practitioners transmit Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques, profess the philosophies of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and reflect on the current state of the art. Based on reflections on the last five years of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practice and analysis of video posts by martial arts practitioners and comments by viewers, this article probes the nexus between ‘offline’ communities of practice and ‘virtual’ communities of practice that are centered on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu technique acquisition. Specifically, focus is on the use of YouTube as a tool for disseminating and learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques. Drawing from theories of communities of practice and skill acquisition, this article examines how the exhibition of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques on YouTube has become integrated into practice of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu across the globe. With this mediatization of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and other martial arts, it is no longer viable to conceive of pure internet-based and offline social networks. The transmission of martial art techniques now consists of many masters and many students.

Quality of Life of Martial Arts and Combat Sports Practitioners

Quality of Life of Martial Arts and Combat Sports Practitioners