Martial Arts

[close] Wuxia is a Chinese word that literally means Martial Hero. These stories are about kung fu masters and their adventures. These Chinese stories differ from the tales of Japanese Samurai as usually the main characters serve no lord or king. They are often wandering heros that fight for righteousness. Wuxia tales take place in an alternate universe called the Jianghu, a place of adventure and danger, a place filled with martial artists, noble, beggars, thieves. We'll examine these stories and their history in this group. If you like kung fu movies such a Five Deadly Venoms, Kid with the Golden Arm, or, even the more modern, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and want to read the literature that inspired these movies, you're in the right place.

[close] This book is to discuss books about martial arts or that prominently feature martial arts.

[close] Historical European martial arts (HEMA) refers to martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. While there is limited surviving documentation of the martial arts of classical antiquity (such as Pankration or gladiatorial combat), surviving dedicated technical treatises or martial arts manuals date to the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period. For this reason, the focus of HEMA is de facto on the period of the half-millennium of ca. 1300 to 1800, with a German and an Italian school flowering in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance (14th to 16th centuries), followed by Spanish, French, English and Scottish schools of fencing in the modern period (17th and 18th centuries). Arts of the 19th century such as classical fencing, French Kick boxing called Savate and even early hybrid styles such as Bartitsu may also be included in the term HEMA in a wider sense, as may traditional or folkloristic styles attested in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including forms of folk wrestling and traditional stick-fighting methods.

[close] Meditation and Reflection thro' Activity and Movement