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This is Panel 9 of the 6th Martial Arts Studies Conference 2020. which has a theme of Martial Arts, Religion and Spirituality.
The discussants for this panel are Edouard L’Hérisson (IFRAE, INALCO) & Fanny Caron (IrAsia – Aix-Marseille University/CNRS).
The panel is taking place on Thursday 16 July 2020 at 14.00 Paris time (13.00 UK time). If you’d like to watch the discussion please email marsconf2020 [at] gmail.com for a free link.
During the discussion, everyone will be able to take part in the debates and post questions and comments live on the TEAMS chat-box.
The full abstracts and information about this panel are available here.
In this blog post, I’m going to quickly summarise each of the presentations, to give you a flavour of what the discussion is likely to cover.
Please note that I’ve simplified the titles of the presentations, and the title of this panel overall, to make the information more accessible for non-academic readers. The original titles are listed on the MARS website . . .
How are martial arts and religion connected?
Sixt Wetzler (Deutsches Klingenmuseum Solingen)
Popular culture tells us that the martial arts and religion are inextricably linked in deep and mystical ways – but the historical truth is quite different, especially when we look outside the Chinese and Japanese styles.
However, the links are definitely there – we just need to understand them in a more careful and nuanced way. In his talk, Sixt explains three types of relationship between martial arts and religions, of which he suggests the third may be particularly interesting:
a. Religion as an element of the martial arts: – e.g. religious rituals and symbolic acts that are believed to ensure victory
b. Martial arts as an element of religion – e.g. the importance of Silat training for some Muslim groups in Malaysia.
c. Martial arts as a ‘substitute religion’ – In the 21st century, martial arts can often fulfil the same role as religion in practitioners’ lives, just like other systems such as New Age esotericism, yoga and so on.
Reflecting on spirituality in our martial arts journeys
Anna Kavoura (University of Jyväskylä)
This talk is paired with Noora J. Ronkainen’s talk, as Anna and Noora are working as a team on this research with Heli Siltala & Olli Tikkanen
Anna, Noora, Heli and Olli are carrying out a long-term research project into what “spirituality in the martial arts” actually looks like. The research has two parts.
The first part is a review of existing academic papers on the topic of martial arts and spirituality. So far the team have reviewed 17, which Anna briefly outlines in her presentation. They would be really grateful if anyone can point them to any others that they may have missed!
The second part is an informal mix of diary writing, group discussions and inspirational readings etc, in order to understand whether and how the team members experience any spiritual dimensions in their own martial arts / combat sports practice.
Although the research isn’t yet finished, Anna reports that the group are finding this method really powerful, both as researchers and as martial artists. For Anna herself, the exercise has made her less focused on competition, and more focused on discovery, enjoyment and personal development in her training.
What does “spirituality” look like in a martial arts context?
Noora J. Ronkainen, (University of Jyväskylä)
Noora’s talk continues on from Anna’s talk above, with Noora focusing on the outcomes to date of the group’s diary writing and discussions.
So far, several key themes have emerged: the search for a meaningful way to practice; values and relationships; embodied experiences of joy/pleasure/transcendence; and tensions and anxiety associated with competing.
The team have also reflected on the difference in the spiritual dimension of martial arts compared to other physical activities such as surfing, running, horse riding and snowboarding etc. They’ve concluded that the notion of harmony (or indeed lack of harmony) with training partners is a key factor specific to martial arts practice.
Noora explains that the exercise is showing the team that martial arts practice can definitely create a sense of “spiritual” meaning – but it can also create feelings of frustration and psychological disruption that feel decidedly “non-spiritual” at times.
What is qì 气 . . . ?
Gabriel Guarino de Almeida (PUC-Rio)
Is a tai chi routine martial in nature? Or is it religious, or even artistic? Gabriel argues that the problem with this question is that it feels very “Western”, in trying to assign martial arts to one or more “boxes”. His talk seeks to move beyond these categories, and seek out the true nature of qì (chi) and tai chi.
Gabriel outlines two “lightbulb” moments in his tai chi journey to date.
The first was his instructor telling him to stop trying so hard with a sword cut, and to just relax and let the “qì” create the movement through his body.
The second was hearing someone ask: How do I teach qì to students? The instructor replied: You don’t have to explain qì. It will naturally start to manifest when the student reaches a certain level.
Gabriel combines these insights with Alfred Gell’s theory, to present an alternative model of martial arts. Is it possible that the body-mind division is an illusion, and perhaps the spirituality of tai chi can’t be described within European definitions? So perhaps we are not “doing” the forms, but are simply being acted on by the qì, and/or also by our instructor’s guidance? But just to be clear – this doesn’t make qì some kind of external force – again that’s reverting to “Western” dualism – it’s more like some kind of external quality or agency.
Gabriel is just about to travel to China for some tai chi fieldwork, and hopes to explore these ideas further!
What do martial artists actually experience inside when training?
Thabata Castelo Branco Telles (University of São Paulo)
Thabata’s talk reflects on martial arts and spirituality through the lense of phenomenology, which is a philosophy of experience. Phenomenologists believe that the ultimate source of all meaning and value is our lived experience – not theories.
Thabata explains that she’s therefore seeking to step back from all the “taken for granted” ideas she has about spirituality and martial arts, and focus right down on the pure, lived experience. She notes that when sparring or fighting, the body often reacts in the moment, with little time to “choose” each technique. So on one level it feels like these are automatic responses, with no reflection going on.
However, there clearly is some kind of reflection going on, as the fighter is seeking to have an impact on their partner, and the situation. Thabata is interested in exploring exactly what is going on for the martial artist in these moments.
She also hopes to extend this to the idea of “spirituality in martial arts”. Again, something may be going on inside, that the practitioner is not consciously aware of. But if we can start to understand and articulate these processes, it will surely lead to a deeper understanding of the martial arts . . .