mareans was attributed to the skills of “King” Zumbi, reputedly a capoeira
master. Even as the art exists in the twentieth century among the urban un-
derclasses, there is a strong identification with the slave experience—even
down to the typical attire of some modern capoeiristas,which is said to be
patterned on the dress of slaves during the colonial period. The esotericism
noted for the other arts emerges in the dedication of some capoeiristas to
specific orixás(divinities) of the African Brazilian syncretic religion Can-
domble who aid and even possess the fighter from time to time. A contem-
porary master, Mestre Nô, speaks of a mystic leap he takes, describing it as
an attitude similar to the “no-mind” state of Asian Zen-based martial tra-
ditions. A further, linguistic, connection is provided by the synonym for
capoeirista, mandigueiro (sorcerer). Not surprisingly, capoeira tradition
claims that invulnerability, labeled corpo fechado(closed body), may be rit-
ually attained by practitioners. The practice of the art continues to have na-
tionalistic significance and especially, in the style called Capoeira Angola,
serves as a source of ethnic pride and a link to African heritage. Lewis notes
the power of this martial art as a means of both real and symbolic em-
powerment for economic and political underclasses.
Martial arts connect to political conflict in a less mystical but equally
crucial way as well. In colonial situations in twentieth-century Asia, mar-
tial arts have been utilized by threatened cultures, not only according to the
Indonesian and Malaysian patterns discussed above, but as vehicles for
modern nationalism. The cases of Korean taekwondo and Vietnamese
Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao are representative.
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art synthesized in the latter half of the
twentieth century from native styles (primarily t’aek’kyo ̆ n and subak,
which had survived a Japanese occupation of almost fifty years) and ele-
ments of both Chinese and Japanese combat arts. In 1945, the end of
Japanese occupation served as the catalyst for Korean nationalism, which
was signaled in part by the opening of the Chung Do Kwan (“School,”
from the Chinese guan) for instruction in Korean martial arts. The forma-
tion of the Korean Armed Forces (1945) and the ensuing Korean Conflict
(1950) further fueled the fires of nationalism and, not incidentally, pro-
vided the rationale for the study of martial skills. While no existing kwan
(or kwon) had attained dominance, t’aek’kyo ̆ n was introduced into some
military training programs as early as 1946. In 1952, a half-hour martial
arts demonstration attended by South Korean president Syngmann Rhee
led to the official recognition of the Korean arts by means of Rhee’s order
for all Korean troops to be trained in these arts. Although t’aek’kyo ̆ n was
formally introduced into Korean military training by the end of the war
(1953), the unification of various kwan into what eventually became mod-
ern taekwondo did not occur until 1955. Tradition maintains that the name440 Political Conflict and the Martial Arts