chose the former, and as a result became
the short-lived (but famous) hero of
Homer’s Iliad.Meanwhile fights, duels,
and homicide about matters of honor or
masculinity are so common as to almost
need no mention.
Invented tradition.Invented tradi-
tions (a term introduced by E. J. Hobs-
bawm and Terence Ranger in 1983) es-
tablish social cohesion, legitimize
political institutions, and sell commer-
cial products. Examples of invented tra-
ditions include George Washington
chopping down cherry trees, fat white-
bearded Santas wearing red suits, and
the Korean art taekwondoowing more
to the warriors of ancient Silla than the
college karate classes of Imperial Japan.
Much (perhaps most) martial arts his-
tory is invented tradition; as Thomas
Green has written, a system’s official
past is more frequently the product of
dialogue and imagination than chronol-
ogy (1997, 159).
Lord of disorder. Basically, people
get together and hold festivals in which the normal order of the world is
turned upside down. Thus feasting follows fasting. Energetic dancing fol-
lows heavy drinking. Women dressed as men abuse men dressed as women.
Trickster becomes Warrior-King, and The Fool becomes the Sage. During
these times, the authority of the state is always at risk: Something happens
when people move out of the house or yard or dôjô and into the street with
their martial activities. There is a subtext to the word street-fighter.Mar-
tial examples include stickfighting being associated with Carnival in the
Philippines, fairs in Ireland and China, and harvest festivals in Africa, and
wrestling being associated with fairs in Britain and the festival of
Duesshera/Muharram in India.
Military training.In traditional society, preparation for military ser-
vice often involves archery and stick games, energetic dancing (Indian tan-
dava,Brazilian capoeira,Spartan pyrrhiche), and horse or canoe races.
However, in industrialized societies, the focus often has shifted to shooting
and wrestling games. Not everyone agrees that wrestling and dancing are
worth the effort, however. For example, in a biographical sketch called534 Social Uses of the Martial Arts
A boy practicing
martial arts on a
beach in western
Australia, 1980s.
(Robert Garvey/
Corbis)